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sam_pallotta

Help choosing grout for bathroom tiles

2 years ago

Attached photo shows tiles I have chosen for our master bath reno. Blue tiles will be used on an entire wall in shower/behind bath stacked as shown in my inspo photo. Light gray hex tiles for all floor except interior shower floor which I plan to do with the pebble tile.

I know I want to use a light gray grout for the hex floor tile, but curious on opinions on grout colour for the blue tiles and pebble tiles going in shower floor. I love the way the blue tiles look in the inspo photo, do we think the grout is light gray there too?

Thanks for your help!

Comments (15)

  • 2 years ago

    Can’t figure out how to edit my previous comment but I added a second picture of my blue tile for inspiration, and to me it looks lighter than first inspo photo grout. Would love opinions on which way to go! Thank you 🙏

  • 2 years ago

    The 2 pix with the blue tile--look like similar but definitely not the same tiles. The bottom one that says Holly; it looks like those tiles are longer. I think the bottom picture tile looks much nicer to me.

  • 2 years ago

    i would use light gray grout for all. Be sure that your tiler has experience with pebbles -- depending on the specific material, they may require adjustments at the end of every square to avoid grid lines, and might need sealing before the floor is grouted. Better to raise both issues ahead of time...

  • 2 years ago

    How much light is in your room? What materials are you using for counters and vanity? What color are you painting the walls? All of this context helps in pulling together the grout look. When I've selected grout, I've gotten little sample color sticks from the manufacturer so I can place the actual shade of grout next to the tiles. It helps tremendously in selecting a color.


    The hex flooring and wall tiles are beautiful together. The wall tiles appear much darker than the ones in your inspiration photo, so I would not use the inspiration photo as a guide for your grout choices.


    If you love pebbles, go for them. Your wall and floor tiles look contemporary and fresh to me and the pebbles seem really dated and rustic. I think the bring down and otherwise really nice look.

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    Which grout brand are you using? I like Mapei Frost a lot, it works well with blue tones. The floor selections are 2 distinctive styles; I would only select one of them and go from there.

  • 2 years ago

    Thanks all. @kendrah see attached vanity. Top is white quartz. Hardware black, faucets/ shower fixtures will be brushed gold. Light should be very adequate with addition of pot lights, vanity lighting and we have a west facing good size window. Thinking of doing white walls. I agree with pebbles being too rustic, thanks for pointing that out. Do you have any suggestions for what small tile would work well with my other choices for shower floor? Thanks!

  • 2 years ago

    Would something like this work better as shower floor tile?

  • 2 years ago

    Also would light gray grout with the white penny tiles be attractive? Or would white grout be better if I went with white penny tile?

  • 2 years ago

    @skippack tile we are going with mapei

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    I like the penny tiles - do you have a terrific tile pro? Penny tiles can be a tough install so just confirm they have experience with it - would be great to see pics of their previous penny tile install if they have them


    Eta - i think light grey would be a good choice

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    Mapei Silver for all. Frost is too light, and Cobblestone is too brownish. Silver leans in the blue direction already, and is the right light to medium value.

  • 2 years ago

    @la_la Girl I didn’t realize they were more difficult to install. I have a very good tile guy though so that’s ok! When you said go with light grey are you referring to the penny tile colour or the grout?

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    You could either go with light gray to blend in, or a soft white for everything and make the nex tile more graphic. We have very similar hex floor tile (ours leans a bit more light blue-ish) and we went with white. Looks great, IMO.

  • 2 years ago

    I'd like a 1" white hex on the shower floor with grout the same color as the floor tile color. The two hex's reference each other nicely, play off of each other's colors, yet are different enough.


    If you do go with penny, remember you see a lot more grout than with hex, so consider the grout a major part of the visual field. Look up pics of penny and grout to get a feel. Also, be sure to get a shower floor rated penny so it isn't slippery. Everyone says the grout between the tiles gives enough traction to not make it slippery. I disagree.



  • 2 years ago

    Can you get a smaller version of the grey tile for your shower floor? Having the same color in different sizes and/or shapes makes any bathroom look bigger and more cohesive.

    Penny tiles are great for the shower floor since it DOES have more grout - it makes it less slippery. But you need them to be similar to the other gray floor.

    There are a lot of different colors in this bathroom so far - grey, blue, white quartz, wood vanity. Your walls should play off the gray but be lighter.

    Use one color for hardware. Black would work with the blue and gray. Don’t use two different hardware finishes. Your mirror frame/trim should also be the color of the hardware.