Can be an issue . Is this gong all throughthe house ? If so IMO the simpler that layout the better in fact 24 x48 tole if you can find a tiler who knows how to work with large format tile I like 12 x24 stacked usually with matching grout I use it in bathrooms and showers wall too. Busy floor patterens are one of those things that you tire of often.

I'm not keen on the large format, and I'm afraid I cannot get the 12 x 24 now, after all. "Discontinued" is what I was just told.

The rest of the house will be in hardwoods or other tiles

Oh, and stained concrete in the lower level

Thank you for the ideas, Debbi and Patricia.

Oh, and I'm looking for a natural stone tile, not porcelain or ceramic.

You may want to look into Cleftstone and see if they are in your area. They have some nice slate and quartzites and they cut to size. Or Onyx France or Bayyurt Marble. Dal tile also has some natural stone in those sizes.

Good luck!

What is the stone you want? Go to the best tile showrooms in your area; they will have options.

Ditch the pattern lay. It is not a good pattern to choose, and tries to (unsuccessfully) make a feature of a floor that shouldn't be a feature. It's an unattractive choice.

Is this the tile pattern that you would like to do?

If you are open to using slate tile, this is a pattern that is used fairly often with real slate tile (plus other types of tile):

It is referred to as a "Versailles" pattern.

Slate comes in all different colors. Brazilian slate is a gray/charcoal color (it may also come in a blue/green tint - or maybe that color is from another place of origin - I'm not sure). I have Brazilian slate tile (4x12 - in a herringbone pattern) in my mud room - and it is very easy to maintain (and does not have issues with pieces from the top coming off + is not slippery when wet). My slate tile is gauged (pretty consistent in size) + mostly honed (I didn't want all of the tile to be completely honed because I like having some variation - but not a ton of clefting = rough surface). You can enhance the color with an impregnating enhancing sealer (or you can seal it with a shiny or matte impregnating sealer that does not change the color).

MSI sells Brazilian slate tile through various tile places + Home Depot - HD has 12x12 and 16x16 (+ several other sizes) - but it did not list 18x18 - but it might be available in that size from a different retailer. HD did list 24x24 and 18x36 - I know people who have had their installer cut their tile down to the size needed - 18x36 would be nice because it would only require one cut down the middle - however, I don't know how much would be lost due to the cut (= how close the two tiles would be to 18"). A 24x24 tile can be cut down - but I assume that it would add a significant amount of $ to the labor cost.

Here are a couple other photos of the Versailles pattern with Brazilian slate:

The pattern looks less pronounced in the next photo due to the use of a darker grout -

Here is the Versailles pattern using natural/real travertine tile:

Hi Dani, Thanks for your feedback. I understood that the Versailles or French pattern uses four sizes, while the Kiawah only uses the two. I liked the simplicity of just two. I must disagree with Kimberly and say that yours looks quite pretty. We have a slate floor in our current (quite old) house, and I was seeking something a bit lighter this time, so was looking into the travertine. Our last house had limestone, and while I loved the rustic look, it did develop some pits over time that my husband didn't care for.

Skippack, thanks for your feedback. I've been looking, but it's difficult getting help from a salesperson who wants to get me "all the way there". They either have one size or the other, and don't seem to be able to find an alternative that gets me where I need to go, and I'm not interested in anything but a natural stone.

Where are you? In my area it is fairly easy to get stone in various sizes to make patterns like this. I've always called this pattern hopscotch... If you are east coast try garden state tile.

Thank you Hallett, I'm in SC. Will check them out and perhaps if they cannot ship to me, they can point me in the right direction.

I tried searching the pattern you described and didn't find anything. Maybe that is the problem? I did find this

Some places call it a hopscotch pattern and I saw one place call it a pinwheel. Maybe if you show the pattern to the tile people, they will understand your idea. It seems pretty simple to me.

Good luck!

Looks nearly the same as my Kiawah, Debbi! Just oriented differently.

You don't say what finish you want in the travertine; keep in mind that pits are part of this stone. The 12x12 and 16x16 are more common sizes, that said, they are not very popular these days and will need to be special ordered.

Bjstem sc is a big state but garden state tile has locations in savannah and Charleston (maybe others) and savannah Hardscapes over in Bluffton would be worth a try too. I’ve shipped tile from here to Las Vegas before (easier for me to shop here than there)

Hi Skippack; I'm looking for honed and filled.

Just found a company out of Baltimore that seems to have it. Cross fingers and toes!

If you want Ivory Travertine filled and honed in both 12x12 and 18x18; it's available. If you need help, please email me at info@skippacktile.com.