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amyhmeyers

Advice about floor tile for this bathroom remodel

amyhmeyers
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

Hi, I'm remodeling my first of three bathrooms. I'm using emerald green 8 x 3 hand painted ceramic subway tile seen here:


I've chosen this midcentury vanity:



round mirror/medicine cabinet:


pendant lights next to mirror:



and finally, for showerhead and faucets:


So my question is: we are doing a black/white checkered pattern (diagonal) on the floor. We have looked at 12 x 12 marble, which is high gloss, some variation (a little speckled in the black and veins in the white). I am thinking that a better choice may be encaustic tile in solid black and white (probably would be 8 x 8 which could be even better because it's a very small bathroom. Given the tiles, vanity, fixtures, etc - would you go with a high gloss marble or a flat cement for the floor?

Also, the pendant lights are also available in white. The shower head and sink faucet are white and chrome and so I thought white pendant lights would be too matching. I decided to add a touch of black with the pendants which will hang in front of the green tiles. Do you think this is the right way to go?

Thanks in advance for any opinions and/or suggestions.

Amy

Comments (11)

  • badabing2
    5 years ago

    Just a caveat - gloss tile on the floor becomes an ice-skating rink when wet.

    amyhmeyers thanked badabing2
  • PRO
    Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
    5 years ago

    All tile is slippery when wet. Yes, a high gloss can be a bit more and I'd avoid if designing for "aging in place". But otherwise, rugs outside of showers are standard for this purpose. If you're doing marble, use a smaller, like 8x8, and use a honed for one color and polished for the other. Suits the look of your room. Love the pendants with the black. Refreshing to hear someone avoiding too much matchy, matchy while still picking up on the other elements and mood. Nice selections. Our two cents.

    amyhmeyers thanked Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
  • amyhmeyers
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    I was also concerned about the marble tile (and now even more so) Thanks for pointing it out. (Especially since this is primarily the bathroom for two ten year old girls).


    Jamie - the bathroom is pretty small - approx 30sf. I am tiling the entire shower, the outside of the tub enclosure (using a drop in) and one complete wall (the wall with the vanity ad mirror). The opposite wall will be painted white. There will be a frameless glass door and There is one frosted window in the shower , so not that much light. I was hoping with the high hats, there will be enough. I actually love dark bathrooms (my next one will be a black bathroom) so that part, I don't mind. I'm just hoping it is light enough to capture the green.


    Dragonfly- thanks for the advice. So if we go with marble instead of tile, 8 x 8, polished black and honed white. Do you think that this would be prettier than cement matte? The bathroom is pretty small and I'd prefer not to cover up the floor with rugs and mats so if that's the only way to make it safe, I'd prefer to forgo the beauty of marble if I have to just cover it all up.

  • PRO
    Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
    5 years ago

    amyhmeyers, Most of our clients use some kind of bath mat outside their shower for multiple reasons beyond the slipperiness factor. Beyond that, you want to make the bathroom look bigger? Extend your shower floor tile which I assume is a mosaic (pick a pretty one, black and white) and extend it into the the bath floor. Lots of options there that solve both dilemmas and work with the style.

    amyhmeyers thanked Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
  • T M
    5 years ago

    No advice. I love your styling though. The vanity is beautiful.

  • amyhmeyers
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    Thanks, TM

  • amyhmeyers
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    Dragonfly - I would absolutely extend the floor if I had a shower but since this is a bathroom primarily for our kids, both 10yo, we are using a tub. We are installing a drop in so we can tile the outside enclosure with the green tile, make it look a little better. The next two bathrooms after this are both showers only I'll definitely check in with design advice for those. Lots of tile...

  • Jamie Ludwig
    5 years ago

    I am not sure you will want to do the black tile in polished. It will show every water spot, finger (or foot) print and every spec of dust or lint like a mirror. A matt or honed tile will be way more forgiving for looking clean with two children using it all the time.

    amyhmeyers thanked Jamie Ludwig
  • jazzandjerz
    5 years ago
    I have a matte black tile floor in my bathroom, and I can’t imagine that polished would be much worse. Even with it being matte, it seems to show everything. I’d use it again though, I love it enough. :)
    amyhmeyers thanked jazzandjerz
  • amyhmeyers
    Original Author
    5 years ago

    When I looked at matte tiles in the store, I definitely the noticed the smudging right away and thought that the polished would be more forgiving. It sounds like they will be both be unforgiving. With 2 kids, 2 dogs and 3 cats and dark wood floors throughout my home, I've long since given up on practicality and just indulge in the aesthetics. Thank you both