@karen paul, I concur with Studio Black about your observation...that is actually the Iris Gris (grey) tile in a different bathroom (you can see it if you follow the link you posted). Though I (well, at least my eyes) would disagree that it's a "sage green" in person. How about....sultry aqua? :-D

Studio Black, all I can say is everyone who sees this tile is mystified how fast it changes from a lovely blue-green under fluorescent lights (which most tile stores have) to a shrug gray in natural light. I'm talking to a company representative tomorrow. Hoping they'll help me bring out the blue! :)

The color in that photo has been manipulated. Here's another photo of that room, with what is probably a more accurate color representation. It's gorgeous tile, but definitely leans gray.

@Mittens Cat -

So, when you found this at your local tile store, did you just see a photo of the tile looking all gorgeously Iris-Aquamarine-ey? Or did you actually physically see the tile itself in the store, with the whole business of photons coming out of the store lights and then bouncing off the tile before arriving at your retinas?

If it's the first, you're probably SOL. If the second, it might be interesting to go back to the store and look at a piece of the tile in all the kinds of light you can get the store people to let you access - showroom, front window, office, storeroom, restroom, production area, loading dock, disused basement, wherever they'll let you go. If you're lucky, the people there will be interested in the problem and they'll want to try to figure it out along with you.

@Evelyn Gorfram, yes, I physically saw the Iris Aguamarina (see my note on spelling of this color in next comment below) on a wall in the tile store last week (nearly fell off my chair as I'd searched for it for months and had given up ever finding it). I'd sat in the same store at least a half dozen times before, discussing countless tile possibilities with my favorite salesperson. But this time, when I looked past the salesperson's shoulder, it was suddenly like I was a in a dream---wait...what?!...could that lovely blue-green tile on the wall actually be...The ONE? I'd noticed it there before, but for some odd reason my brain had concluded it was something else (something way out of my price range?), so I never actually checked. Crazy, huh?

Once we took it off the wall and I saw "Iris Aguamarina" written on the edge, I broke into squeals of delight. I'm fairly sure the other people in store thought I was on acid! But talk about fate! I'll admit, in person, it wasn't quite as blue-green as it'd looked in the photo, but I was fine with that...until I left the store with the tile in hand. When I got home, I desperately tried the now-gray tile under every sort of light we have and under every window, against different colors of towels and whatnot, trying to coax the color out of it. But like I said, it really only came to its beautiful blue-green state under the hideous compact fluorescent bulbs of the master bathroom (in the condo we're renting during our remodel).

The next day, I took my kid's advice and took the tile to IKEA's lighting section, where I held it against their long line of different types of glowing bulbs (varying lumens and kelvin). Alas, none really did the trick (possibly because the store's overhead fluorescent lighting was too dominant to really differentiate from the others). A kind salesperson there (who doubles as a college professor Art & Design!) said the blue-green will show up better if the rest of my bathroom walls were tiled in dark grey. Hmm, thanks but no thanks! :)

And yes, of course I brought the tile back to the tile store (had already emailed my despair the night before). The tile store, like many tile stores I'm guessing, is ablaze with fluorescent lighting, so of course it looked great in its original spot. And yes, I brought the salesperson outside to see how it turns gray. We're still hoping to make it work! Sorry for the EPIC long comment, but just another repeated warning to all the newbies like myself: don't fall in love with any color until you see it in person.

@smithrovich, yes I've seen those photos you shared as well, but the tile there still looks bluish, enough that I still love it. If you want to see more of a "transformation" of the same tile, check out these two pics of the same room---I'm sure this happens a lot, which is (again) why clueless newbs like myself need to see these products with our own eyes (and under our own lighting) before buying a whole order of it.

p.s the one at the bottom is the more accurate (and preferred!) tile color...to my eyes, at least! :)

BTW, if anyone else is looking for this tile (and judging by the comments on Instagram, many are!), Iris Ceramica is based in Italy and has a U.S. office in Anaheim, Calif. https://www.irisus.com/

However, this specific tile color is not easy to find (possibly discontinued?).

Also, the spelling of the color often varies: Aguamarina, Aquamarina, Acquamarina, Aguamarine.

Here's the closest thing to it I can find on the Iris site: https://www.irisceramica.com/products/may/wall-tiles-azure

The inspiration photos suggest a beautiful rich paint color or wallpaper as alternatives. Sorry, but I don't think you'll be able to make the expensive tile look the way you'd like.

I was just coming here to say exactly what live_wire_oak said. The complement of blue on the color wheel is orange so you want to bring in lots of orange and/or peach tones to make the blue pop.

Here's what Live Oak and I are trying to show. Notice how the cabinets on the right now appear to be a bit bluer? I did nothing more than add some orange to the walls.

I’d recommend doing what was done in the inspiration photos, instead of bringing in orange or peach accents. They used a warm gray tile on the floor and warm toned woods. The floor tile and wood help to bring out the blue/green in the wall tile.

Mittens, is this anything you would consider? It seems a lot lighter than the one you love. It maybe more green than you like, though. I found it being advertised on the page when I was looking to see if Seneca Tile had a color similar to the one you like. It is not Seneca, it is Esenzia Mare ceramic til and it is at Floor and Decor. I have read here that their tile is not considered high quality, so you would have to investigate it.

https://www.flooranddecor.com/porcelain-ceramic-decoratives/esenzia-mare-ceramic-tile-100410950.html

Thanks folks! I'd wish I'd thought of the warm wood vanity earlier. I've already paid for my walnut fronts (whose tones run cool) for my IKEA Godmorgon vanity and there's no return policy, though perhaps I can still switch from walnut to their mahogany veneer. Hmm..

In other news, I visited the Iris Ceramica U.S. office today in Anaheim. (Yes, I go the extra mile for tile...or 100 miles!) And naturally I forgot my transforming blue-green-gray tile sample--good grief! But the employee who helped me was good natured and we went on a hunt through the warehouse. In the end, he concluded that the tile in the magical photo must not be one of theirs, but he came up with something close in color and finish. And yahoooo...it doesn't go gray when I take it into natural or non-fluoroscent light! Unfortunately it's only in a 4"x8", not the bigger size I'd hoped for. But yay for small victories! :)

I'm pretty sure it's this: https://www.irisceramica.com/products/be_in/wall-tiles-turquoise

@Nancy in Mich., thanks, you're a doll! Funny thing: that blue Floor & Decor tile was one of the very first I fell for, way back earlier last year. Unfortunately, my husband does not have the same love for color (other than red race cars!) as I do, so he kind of shrugged at it. But hey, at that price, I might as well tile the laundry room, right? :-) Thanks for digging it up! I live within a couple miles of F&D so I'll take another look. And yes, would love to hear thoughts from all you wise ones on their tile quality?

OK, someone just pointed out to me that this color I've been obsessing over looks a lot like the Southwestern blue and pink craze of 25 years ago. Ugh. Tell me it's not so??

mittens,,,(I also go shopping down there on State College. my tile place is State college Distributers.) They have tons to choose from, but I did snap a pic of these. you like the aqua one on the left?

if you like that shade of blue, what about these ? Winchester tiles

Rockpool, Cove and Reef

https://www.winchestertiles.com/details?product=W.ELPRE2406

Danube

Agapanthus. (I love this color)

and they have many more.

another option is Encore Ceramics. they have beautiful Glazes. Their tiles come in many sizes and shapes.

tilebar has this one, and quite a few other blues

https://tilebar.com/seaport-topacio-2x10-polished-ceramic-tile.html

Seneca Tiles

Refund?

See if that tile brand has both a more pale and a darker shade of the same color and look at the three colors side by side and check white as well to see which, if any, might help as an accent tile.

brandi it's right there at the bottom. Quarry, Blue Lagoon is the color. here's the link. comes in many diff shapes and sizes too

https://senecatiles.com/quarrypavers/

https://senecatiles.com/2-x-8-quarry-blue-lagoon-2/

thank you

If you can find the original tile, do you think it might work to place a backlit mirror on it to shine the correct kind of light to make it blue, without having to have all your lighting fluorescent? I don't know if all of those mirrors are LED or if some might use fluorescent?

@Olychick, thanks! Interesting idea, I'll look into it. I am definitely not going all fluorescent (ack), but figured I might mix in cool LEDs with warm to help get the gray out (maybe it'll work on my hair color as well! Ha.)

@Beth H, you're always so generous with your time and expertise, thanks! I have been soaking myself in a sea of blue tiles for the past 9 months, but last night it dawned on me that maybe I should be scaling back my blue-hue dreams when it comes to installed surfaces and stick with blue accents instead. (Read: we don't know if we'll be in this house for short term or longer.) FWIW, we're aiming for a Midcentury Modern meets Organic Modern, if that's possible.

What tile will you be using on the floor with this?

@Sylva Oughourlian, sorry just saw your question: we're doing graphite gray porcelain floors in that bathroom.

@Beth H. :, so many great choices there---Agapanthus, wow!

@Nancy in Mich, I finally ordered samples from Seneca (thanks for the nudge!) and it's the first time everyone in the household, cat included, simultaneously swooned! So gorgeous!

BTW, I've decided to go organic neutral in master, but letting son go a little wild for his bathroom (he wants all white and one wall of bright blue--still deciding but leaning toward Sonoma Tile's Bora Bora for that). So, I'm saving these beautiful Seneca Tiles for our guest bathroom...where I plan to spend all my free time. :)

I've used Iris Maiolica in Aquamarina before in projects.

https://www.irisceramica.com/products/maiolica

Could this be your original tile?

@Beth H. : any idea what the Winchester tiles typically cost? Same question to @Nancy in Mich regarding Seneca tiles.

This would be for my son's bathroom vanity wall (about 30 SF). I made the mistake of bringing home a gorgeous Pratt & Larson sample and now I find it's $40/SF. I'm hoping to stay under $25/SF. Thanks!

Mittens,,no I don't. but i'd say somewhere in the 25-40 range. look at their website, under dealers, and find one local to you. give them a call and see what the range is.

@Beth H. : thanks. I finally unearthed the Seneca price from a zillion emails this morning: to my delight, they are around $20-22/sf AND all the colors my son likes are in their Quick Ship category--whoo hoo! I think that is the winner for son's vanity wall! :)

BTW, for anyone reading through this thread, I have to say I see I made a mistake about the Iris Ceramica tiles. no time to correct the misinformation now, but just fyi, the tile I so loved (start of this thread) turned out NOT to be from Iris Ceramica after all! Geez, sorry for the crazy fake news thread!

I thought I remembered Seneca being fairly reasonable in price. So glad you are able to use them!

Thanks to you, @Nancy in Mich! :)

That's sweet. I love the old-fashioned tiles like the ones made everywhere in the midwest a hundred years ago. All those tile manufacturers are gone now, except for a few specialty tile places and even fewer places like Seneca and Empro. I wanted to tour there on the way home from a vacation, but did not time it well. I could not use their product myself, so it is nice to see someone else do it. Did you see pictures of their beehive kiln? It is like a small building. There is an art to even stacking the tiles inside for firing. My Great Aunt was a ceramicist, and I think that I learned to appreciate the art from her.

I collect flower pots from McCoy Pottery, which was in the same general part of Ohio as Seneca is. I just want to go down there and explore! I probably never will due to worsening disability, though.

very sorry to read that last part, Nancy! :-(

I've used the Winchester a lot, and I recall it being closer to $18 a foot, if that helps. I think it's beautiful, and the glazed edge is quite useful on outside corners.

@scottie mom thanks! I meant to order some samples after Beth suggested them, but then I forgot, so thanks for the reminder!

Seneca makes beautiful tiles! I have Seneca in my kitchen. I can't remember the name, but it's a lovely cream/cashmere color. It's gorgeous.

@jo_in_tx, glad you love them! I finally ordered my son's choice, Seneca's Sea Glass, yesterday! :)

Following. Also, I have a question for everyone here. I have 30 yr old dusty blue 4x4 tile in shower, bathtub deck and on vanity. It is absolutely impossible to keep the grout clean in shower even with good ventilation. I hear the grout made these days is much better sealed and nearly impervious to mildew. Is this really true? As I plan to replace my 1990 shrine to dusty blue, if I tile will I be fighting the same mildew demon I have now?

Hope to see your project Mittens.

Thanks for all the info, folks. Now I have serious tile envy!

Jj J with cement based grout, its best not to use bleach products because over time it will 'pit' the grout. you're basically opening it up to catch more grime. But that's what people use in the bathrooms!

I used Mapei FlexColorCQ in my shower. it's a urethane base grout. So far no black of any kind. But my shower is completely open (no glass) so it dries out quickly.

make sure your fan is doing it's job and you might try leaving the glass doors open after showering, or wiping the tiles down w/a squeegee or a towel to remove most of the water. I know, it's a pain. but it does help.

following

humm things do change, have always been more of a green fan, but seeing all these blues, am thinking about the laundry area colors. ;)

Thank you, Beth H!

The Seneca tiles are gorgeous. They show up well in photos, and yet are even nicer in real life. I Originally picked a nice light olive/ sagegreen for a kitchen backsplash. It was green in the photos. When I contacted the manufacturer, discovered it was actually beige and only looked green in that particular photo. I am having two bathrooms done using the Seneca tiles. Using the blues and greens.

I am looking for this tile and I am wondering where you found it in the states? I know this is a long shot since your post was over 2 years ago, but from one aquamarina fan to the other, help!

Jamie, what tile are you referring to? and what color do you want?

Presuming you're asking about the tile in the OP the Iris Aquamarina - if so it's available on Wayfair https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/cartage-iris-aquamarina-cgta1013.html?piid=58788298

and many other places:

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=iris+aquamarina+tile

@karen paul interiors, the tile comes in a grey as well, which is what you see in that photo.

Hello @Mittens Cat where were you able to find this tile? I am also in the states and looking for it!

Seneca Tile suffered a bad fire a few years back and were not producing much for a while. I visited their site yesterday and see that they seem to be back to normal again. Mrjoshuamorgan3, you can go to senecatiles.com and click on the ”About Us” tab and they have a ”find a distributor” function at the bottom of the page. Enter your zip code. You can also order samples directly from them.