I like it

@Peter Waugh : So the wrong tile looks better than our selection in your opinion?

Yikes! You ARE having some unfortunate luck with all of these tile mishaps! I would go with the tile that you selected. The incorrect tile doesn't give much contrast with the flooring. Upon first glance, I thought the wood went right up the wall.

I would make them take it out and replace it with what you selected. Unless of course you prefer this tile.

There is no way to tell if your selection would look better because we don't see a whole wall of it. Overall, your selection would have been less busy for sure. I hope you are planning on an area rug and other soft furnishings because all that hard is going to echo like crazy.

How often do you visit the construction site? Should have been your daily duty and you may have caught this in a timely fashion. He may fight you on making the correction, but I would want it changed. Don't be surprised if you're not charged again, if you never visited the site while he was working on the FP.

yes, we dint want it this BUSY. The floor is all tile as well. It looks darker in that picture. here is the floor tile:

Well, yes, this is an out of state build so I haven't been there a whole lot - lesson learnt! The flooring happened in the last 4 weeks. However, its all their mistake and i started talking to them yesterday and they havent really said NO. I will know for sure tomorrow.

The idea for us was to have elegant whites/greys and then contrast it with rugs and decor. But again, for us it was very hard to visualize how things would turn out after our design center selections.

@Natalie thats is LOVELY.. wish we had that aesthetic sense while choosing :)

Well I would want the actual tile I selected. So now you decide if you get it or not. The wrong tile may look good or better or worse than your choice. But it is reasonable to expect the tile you selected. What are your options at this point? What does the builder say?

Adding to my brief comment I like your tile compared to builder when looking at just one tile. However, when I see the entire wall installed I really like the look. I think the tile you selected will have a more subdued look. I don’t know what you were looking for.

That said it is your call. I Let something slide by on my first home and looked at it every day.

builder hasn't said NO. We will have our decision tomorrow - so wanted opinions here. I think I will have them correct both fireplace tile and bathroom floor tile mistake.

Wow two wrong installations! I know you are out of town, but it isn't unrealistic to expect that the tile you specified would actually be delivered and installed. It isn't that hard to read the spec sheet. You made these selections at the developer's design center? If you feel that you can overlook the mistakes, you should def be compensated in some way.

Get it to your specifications. That fireplace will drive you crazy. The GC is responsible for daily supervision not you! You are paying him/her for this in their overhead cost. As long as you clearly stated and documented your choices, it is his responsibility. If the sub messed up then the sub is taking the hit. Always hard to do out of town build but not impossible. Good luck. Be reasonable but don’t accept things you can’t live with.

yes, at the design center 6 months ago. Our appointments were a mess since the designated design consultant was no help at all. Actually its not the tile guys who made the mistake - the design center consultant put the wrong item codes/names in the spec. We had to take a designer friend for our second appointment who helped us redo our selections. I can only imagine the mess we would have if we went with our first appointment selections. :)) Fortunately the design sign off document has a full picture of all tile selections - so I dont think the builder can put it on us.

The builder should absolutely realize that the incorrect finishes were installed. And that they may not be consistent with your design. And should replace all the surfaces with your choices at no additional expense to you. If you prefer Natalie's example, you might want to accept a cash credit to zero out the tile and installation on the fireplace and in the bath and have it redone at your expense after the close.

I can't think of any place that that tile would look good; it's always going to be choppy. And the duplicate tiles are really obvious; one pair is stacked on top of each other (right side just above mantel). And 4 of the same tile are on the left (and again, two stacked on top of each other). That alone would drive me nuts--it's a real amateur mistake.

The tile installer didn't pay any attention to the repeat problem. But I think your original pick will have similar problems.

Your original choice has a much more subtle pattern and is more consistent with Natalie's example. Go for it. Their error, they pay.

AGAIN?! You should get what you signed the contract for.

So I will go with my correct lighter tile. Do you guys think it should be 33% offset staggered or should I go for stacked? the size of fireplace tile is 12x24. Considering my floor is staggered tile 12x24.

Glad you will get what you asked for. I much prefer stacked large format tiles for walls, the lines are cleaner and it makes the room seem calmer to me. But this is a personal preference. I find the vertical arrangement of offset tiles distracting & cluttery. For some reason on a floor the offset (running bond pattern) tiles look normal and fine.

I am soooooo bloody sick of tile and stone soaring to the heavens I could scream. Pick something new , a soap stone surround or something, a white marble tile, install at a reasonable mantel height and drywall the darn thing above that. Your selection was too warm for the look you wanted, and this mistake is as well.

The fact that I can see no reason on planet earth for 22 foot ceilings is irrelevant I am sure of that.

What I like about the installed tile is the color, there's contrast to the walls; that said, are you planning to paint the walls? Otherwise the new tile will likely not create a defined space. But regardless of this, is there any trim on the sides of the fireplace? On the photo, the edges look a little wavy; that would bother me the most.

Good morning Jan,
I have a 22 foot ceiling with a muskoka fireplace. Love it!
Have you ever thought that perhaps a ceiling of that height has purpose to the design and structure of the house?
If you have recommendations, perhaps you can share a picture.

To the owner: For the builder to have made an error is one thing. Do you have a contract, or written agreement of what was suppose to have been installed?

I find both the floor and the fireplace to be busy, and certainly not the serenity and soft Hughes you describes as hoping to achieve. Could you have the fireplace tile replaced with a new choice? Perhaps a similar style to the stacked stone shown above.

Id like to see pics of the kitchen, and surroundings, as this may help in having a global vision. Do you have contemporary or traditional taste in furniture?

Take the picture on this post to the design consultant to show her what the 12x24 looks like installed. She might be able to help you pick a tile that would not be so busy...Good Luck.

I can’t believe how many times I am agreeing with Jan latelybut I do on this 22’ ceilings are just heating and cooling nightmares and if you are going to tile a whole wall keep it in a plain tile no pattern and stacked and BTW corner fireplaces are a PITA to arrange furniture around .

Imran- Good luck with your new home. Hope it is as lovely as you had imagined.

Not enough contrast and if you aren't sure if it looks good then it doesn't look good to you. Make him change it.

I do like the tile that's installed, but I think your original choice would be better- it contrasts better with the flooring and will look less busy. I agree with a previous comment about doing a stacked layout also, just to simplify things.

We have that exact tile in our bath and it is beautiful. Although, I do know the one you were wanting installed and I think you should have them change it. The tile you chose is lighter and would make the perfect contrast with your beautiful dark floor. Follow your plan and you won't regret it. Better to do it now. We had to make a few changes on our custom build. So glad we kept with our plan and made changes when things got off track. We were there every day acting as the GC. Make sure someone is sending pics to you of everything, every day, and taking responsibility. Everything you order has to be double-checked. Read and re-read. Check colors, dimensions, plumbing fixtures, where things are to be cut and installed. Many, many daily decisions. Also with mechanical, electrical, etc. Double-check your GC. Double-check your subs. I am sure you have a good GC. There are just so many details. Maybe offer to split the cost now to get it done right? Depends on the circumstances. It is a puzzle and putting it all together is challenging and complicated at times. Tile products are so much more technical today with all of the new water proofing systems, adhesives, grouts, sizes and types of tiles. Check your tile grout, under the soap dish, in the corners, etc. when you get there to make sure there are no gaps. So glad we made our changes. The bathroom in this photo had to have changes. Here is how it came out with the help of so many to get the job done correctly. The tile is amazing btw! Easy to clean and very sturdy.

I like it if you had hardwood floors instead of tile. As installed, the busier pattern appears to be fighting with the floor tile. Sorry you've had so many headaches. Wish you better luck as you proceed.

@Chantal M - yes we were hoping to achieve contemporary but may have missed the mark :)

It all looks very nice and contemporary. I think if you're going to stack the tile, it might be better with a plainer tile. If you're using your first choice, staggered would work better because of the pattern.

@ Patricia

You just cracked me up!

Next question/ thread will be why is my room hot/cold/noisy and WHAT do I do with these windows?!

Imran,

Thanks so much for sharing pictures of your kitchen.
Its beautiful and now we know that the goal for the living space is going to be contemporary as the kitchen.

Here are a couple of alternatives in pictures I found.

Have you made any final decisions?