Kitchen tile flooring

[herzzreh]

I'm an idiot when it comes to stuff like this...

What do I match tile in the kitchen to? Is it countertop? Cabinets? Walls? Just do whatever the hell I want to?

 

[Lucky7]

There are a few schools of thought on this topic. What kind of cabinets do you have? Oak, maple, cherry? Stain? Stain+Glaze? Painted + Glaze? Contrasting the cabinets can really make the cabinets stand out. Complimenting the countertop can tie everything together. What type of tile are you going with? Porcelain or natural stone?

 

[tiecollector]

If you don't know, don't go too crazy. Stick with some combination of traditional basics and you probably can't go too wrong.

I'm planning on putting terra cotta tile, white cabinets and a dark grey (almost black) granite countertops.

 

[herzzreh]

They're stained. I'm leaning towards procelain... bit easier to maintain, IMO.

 

[Gus]

I think it is best to match the style of the kitchen. So, if it iss rustic, you might have terra cotta. If it is a slick urban look it might be black and white. I would avoid bright white floors.

 

[tiecollector]

In my case, it's a tough call. The house is an old house that has kind of a farmhouse feel but I want to make it modern. As a first go around at interior decorating I don't think it's that easy to do, but I'll try. I'm definitely not into the whole completely rustic, haystack bench look you see in architectural magazines. http://www.walkerzanger.com/catalog/ecatalog.php Here is a cool tile company I just found. Don't know how much they cost though. For the kitchen I was thinking of something like on page 330 but arranged in a grid, not offset. It has a pattern that kind of mimics slightly the wood that was there before. I also like the terra cotta on page 88 and 90 If you do white floor and stained cabinets, it will look like this:

I kind of want mine to look like this, but with some sort of tile instead of wood.

 

[johnapril]

I would advise going to a high-end tile store and asking for one of their designers to help you think through the options. There are so many cool ways to do tile, and so many options and profiles, you might find a solution you hadn't thought of that really satisfies you. Note that just because you work with a store's designer doesn't force you to buy tile from the store.

 

[Lucky7]

Originally Posted by tiecollector

In my case, it's a tough call. The house is an old house that has kind of a farmhouse feel but I want to make it modern. As a first go around at interior decorating I don't think it's that easy to do, but I'll try. I'm definitely not into the whole completely rustic, haystack bench look you see in architectural magazines.

http://www.walkerzanger.com/catalog/ecatalog.php Here is a cool tile company I just found. Don't know how much they cost though.

For the kitchen I was thinking of something like on page 330 but arranged in a grid, not offset. It has a pattern that kind of mimics slightly the wood that was there before.

I also like the terra cotta on page 88 and 90

If you do white floor and stained cabinets, it will look like this:

I kind of want mine to look like this, but with some sort of tile instead of wood.

Walkerzanger is high end, high quality tile. If the terra cotta you are referring to is unsealed, I recommend sealing it several times before running your day to day activities on it. There are many terra cotta looks in porcelain that will be much easier to maintain.

 

[tiecollector]

Originally Posted by Lucky7

Walkerzanger is high end, high quality tile. If the terra cotta you are referring to is unsealed, I recommend sealing it several times before running your day to day activities on it. There are many terra cotta looks in porcelain that will be much easier to maintain.
Thanks, I'm going Tuesday to check out the showroom. I will ask what would be best for a kitchen. I also like the look of limestone but don't know anything about tile materials really.

 

[Lucky7]

Limestone is beautiful! Quality varies greatly in natural stone, so if the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. Check your PM.

 

[marin]

Originally Posted by johnapril

I would advise going to a high-end tile store and asking for one of their designers to help you think through the options. There are so many cool ways to do tile, and so many options and profiles, you might find a solution you hadn't thought of that really satisfies you. Note that just because you work with a store's designer doesn't force you to buy tile from the store.

+1

My wife and I tried this for our master bathroom, and the designer provided great ideas, one of which we used. Although her store was not the cheapest, the price was competitive and we felt good about buying from her. One other bonus was that she provided a good list of installers.