Do the existing tiles come up gracefully in one piece? Or do they break when carefully removed?

I think it would be nearly impossible to lift existing tiles without breakage. We might be able to get a few by scavenging a closet floor, but most would break. To patch, what's missing, I think we'll need to make most of our cuts along grout lines.

To redo an entire apartment doesn't sound like a very green solution. ;) Anyway, I don't have time for an entire re-do this year.

Will you be placing something under that window that will block some of the floor on that wall? If so, maybe you could carefully steal a few from there and re-use them where they show more. Then get as close a match as possible to use under the window.

Identical throw rugs to make it look intentional

If you think you might put in new tile in the next year or two, then you could do a band-aid job ... lay down plywood of correct thickness to match tile height. You can scribe the plywood to whatever shape you need. You can then faux paint the plywood with a tile design/color that matches the tile.

Seems silly to waste all this time patching/matching up a tile floor that you might rip out anyway in a year or two.

Well, then you need to go back in time and renovate in such a way that no flooring is exposed!

The only way a pattern really works is if you either (1) do it all around the edges of the room, or (2) make a contrasting "rug" in the middle of the room. With the wonky angle of the original tile, you can't really do (1) easily, and I presume that the challenge of hammering up a subset of tile without breaking what's left prevents (2). You need to either retile the kitchen (allowing it to be discontinuous with the rest of the apartment) or find a way to live with it the way it is, by just throwing down mismatched tile, or covering it all up with vinyl, or using a lot of rugs.

This is a design forum, so most people are suggesting solutions that look good, which might require destructive waste (as did, presumably, the work on the space thus far). If you don't care about the looks, then you don't really have an issue worth posting.

Oh, I don't know. I've seen some wonky but fun and amusing solutions for patching in damaged tiles... Like this: https://www.wetdogtile.com/photos_and_ideas_files/images/bathroom%20photos/install_3r.jpg Well, that's a bit too cute for me, but hey –– we're between the beach and Disney World here. I think that with a little creative, out-of-the-box thinking, I'll come up with something. I may create some kind of border around the edges of the U-shaped area between the facing cabinets and under the window.

Silken1, yes, there will be a counter height table and two stools by the window. That may hide some of the floor, or, at least, redirect the line of sight.

Stalk the tile stores to find something close. Do both corners the same and live with it.

Thanks for info about not being able to remove tiles in one piece. I suggest going ahead to use the 6 leftover tiles and the box of non-color-matched identical tile. Fill it in as necessary, but don't break whole good tiles that are already laid down. You can replace the whole floor when necessary. An ecologically sensitive choice for kitchen rugs would be a recycled fabric rug such as a braided rug or a woven rug made from old jeans.

If you happen to be in a condo or townhouse development, you could put out a word to your neighbors to see if any one has matching tile stashed away.

I appreciate all the feedback. Keep it coming! Speaking of 'live with it' – Years ago, I patched in a tile area in the living room when balcony reconstruction caused breakage. I've lived with the patch for so long now, I've learned to like it... The contrast breaks up the monotony of our checkerboard of 8"x8" tiles. So, maybe I'll do something similar in the kitchen: A 3' x 6' "tile carpet" that defines the eating alcove, or (if feasible) scavenge some 8"x8" tiles from the center of that area and use them as a border around a smaller tile carpet or medallion. Here are some photos of the patch job in the living room. The original 8"x8" tiles date back to the mid-1970s. Retro! The grout lines are wonky because the building is round and the rooms are wedge shaped with no right angles. I will stain the grout a lighter color to make the lines less prominent.

The thing about tile mosaics and borders is that they are designed to be accents that call attention to themselves. You have new kitchen cabinets with old flooring- do you want the old flooring with new border or mosaic or the new kitchen cabinets to be the star? There's no right answer, it's personal choice.

apple_pie_order, I love your advice. As for the new kitchen cabinets... I'm not sure they are 'stars' -- they're just very basic Shaker style cabinets. So much better than the 1970s pressboard cabinets they replaced, but nothing special. Still, I sure don't want my old floor to call attention to itself. Maybe if I use subdued colors and an uncomplicated pattern? In another condo, I used the "medallion solution" to patch in an area where part of the floor was missing. But that was in the entry area, where a bit of drama made more sense.

With a view like that who is looking at that floor anyways??

Do you have a photo of the non-matching tile set next to the installed tile? A piece of white paper helps the color balance (also good to take photo in daylight with all the lights on). If the non-matching tile is lighter in color, it may be possible to add a coat of tinted polyurethane to them to make their color a closer match. Fiddly work to blend colors for the polyurethane, but it may be fun.

You will never find the matching tile.

Since you still have something close and in that size I would just install what you have as the areas needed are small areas and area hidden from view if looking from the living room due to the shallow cabinets.

I would do colors in that section with either colorful stools or table to draw your eyes attention up instead of down. You can also incorporate a colorful rug to cover and distract.

Well, this is fascinating, apple_pie-order. Here are 4 photos:

(1) The non-matching tile (left) and the original tile (right) resting on a white tile outside in the sunlight.

(2) The non-matching tile (left) and the original tile (right) resting on a white tile inside the glass doors in the living room.

(3) The non-matching tile (left) and the original tile (right) resting on a white tile in the kitchen in the area that needs patching.

(4) The non-matching tile (left) set on the damaged floor abutting a portion of the original floor (right).

When the light is bright, the difference in color is barely noticeable. But in photos #3 and 4, the non-matching tile appears more brown in tone. I'll take another look after the sun sets tonight. Maybe there's some combination of fiddling that would help the non-matching tiles blend in.

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Thank you, Filipe... Yes, maybe a bright throw rug and chairs will distract from the color variations.

Thanks for photos. Those are very close indeed. Put the darker ones under the cabinet edges where the shadows will blur any color differences and butt the 6 matching ones up against the older tiles, wherever they are most visible.

I don’t see this as a problem at all! How exciting! A great opportunity to choose a small 4x4 or maybe 6x6 tile in actual fun colors. Perhaps laid diagonally.... It’s a dining area after all—might as well go with it and differentiate it!

I’d take full advantage and set this “room” off even better by including the extra part where the angle begins. Everything beyond your stove and straight across gets this fun little floor. How awesome! A small counterheight bistro set would be perfect in there for that beautiful view. Love this :))

Thanks, apple_pie_order. I feel very reassured... shadows may hide a lot!

Spisland, I enjoy your sense of adventure! I figured I'd probably run into floor problems when I made the decision to install narrow cabinets at the window end of the kitchen, and I decided that whatever problems cropped up could be addressed in a fun way. I like the idea of a playful bistro area, which might minimize the narrow, linear feel of my galley kitchen. But, I wonder if too much differentiation would make the kitchen seem even smaller than it already is, because one third would be visually set off as a separate space. I'm glad I don't have a tight deadline... this will take some mulling.

Years ago, we had a similar tile issue. Removed enough from under fridge and stove. Had enough for our repair. Put different ones under the fridge and stove.

April, I'll ask my tile guy if that's doable. There are also closet floors I can steal from. It's just that these tiles are so old (1970s) and they weren't especially high quality tiles. They may shatter when chiseled up.

Thanks jackiecr for your kind reply. Maybe just a pretend trial could help, using peel and stick tiles right off the shelf as a stand-in. Leaving the backside paper on of course :) Returnable!

Black and white ones on the diagonal could be a cute look...

And hinged shutters that In the daytime open flat against the walls by your window, further opening up your room and view!

Hmmm... I hadn't thought of using those peel and stick tiles just to see how things would look visually. That's a great idea. And the shutters... You read my mind. :)

Not advice to fix your issue, but this problem is a great argument for the never-ending debate on whether to extend flooring all the way to the wall prior to putting in cabs. The best advice imo I've seen on this thread is to put in complementary transition tile that butts up to all the cabinets. Some work but cheaper than redoing the whole floor.

I would do a fractured, irregular line on the existing tile that is already laid on the floor and use pebble tile in a color that blends with the existing in the remainder. Kinda' mimic something that you might see in landscape hardscaping.

Or, if you have partial pieces of the existing tile, you could do a fractured tile fill. Break the scraps into smaller pieces and lay them crazy quilt style.

I would prefer the pebble tile because it would look more purposeful if you create an irregular edge on the existing tile to lay the pebble tile up next to.

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