Bathroom tile question, general opinions on design wanted!


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Old 03-30-15, 09:04 PM
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Bathroom tile question, general opinions on design wanted!

Hello,

I'm new to this forum and this is my first post! I'm in central California, in my mid 40's and have absolutely no design sense. None. Nada! So I would like to run a few things by you all and get your thoughts...



The picture I've attached has a bathroom on the right that is pretty close to what I want to do. The two pictures on the left are porcelain tile that look like wood. The bottom left is the actual tile I'm thinking of using.

Keeping in mind the pic of the bathroom as a general example of the look I want should I use white or dark grout in between the tiles? How would you stagger the joints (like top or bottom example)?

My plan is this "wood" tile for the floor, floating teak vanity, white quartz counter, 2 undermount rectangular sinks.

The shower will have similar 12 x 24 linen pattern tile (looks to be the same as the tile in the pic) for the walls, white quartz bench, river rock for the shower floor (mix of light to dark colors) with a white grout. Rain head shower, wall mounted shower head and a hand held shower wand. All in brushed nickel. Also, I will have vaulted ceilings with the beams stained the same color as the wood and the ceilings in white.

Thoughts, opinions, advice?

Thank you for assisting a design impaired middle aged single guy!
 
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Old 03-31-15, 03:11 AM
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Welcome to the forums! The woodgrain tile is a nice choice. I would likely reduce the size of the grout joint to 1/8" and, by all means, use a darker colored grout. I would reconsider using white grout in the shower as well. Nothing says "I spend most of my time cleaning" like white grout.

How do you plan on controlling the 3 shower heads? Most only have two options. The third will require extra plumbing and another control valve.
 
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Old 03-31-15, 03:47 AM
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The more you see the grout, the less it will look like wood and more it will look like tile imitating wood. So I agree with the smaller grout line and the darker or make it blend the same color. Think of a regular wood floor, you notice the wood first, not the lines between. Layout in the stepped pattern that takes approx. 1/3rd of a step on each tile and progressively makes a step pattern. If you ebb back and forth with an "H" pattern only, it will become distracting.

Are you doing the work yourself, or hiring the build out? Will need to quiz each on the intended build of the shower pan, curb and how to incorporate the glass with all the elements. The picture looks to be a screen glass only on one side with open on the back half. May look elegant, but the key is how are you going to keep water contained in the shower area and not leech or splash into the room.

I give my two cents on river rocks for a shower floor in this recent thread. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/de...le-shower.html

Lastly, to get your shower elements, you will need a standard diverter and a 6 function multi port valve. This allows you to use any one of the 3 separate units individually, or any combination of 2 together at the same time. With a vaulted ceiling, are you going to have the rain head come out of the ceiling or on a long arm out of the wall? All major manufacturers have 6 function trim kits. You need to spend additional time on the layout of the rough in plumbing so that the elements work with your tile layout and mosaic glass accents if any. In other words, it is easier to install a hole in a tile wall along a grout line as opposed to in the center or off center of a actual tile.
 
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Old 03-31-15, 05:47 AM
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Keep in mind that the dark color will make the room feel smaller as opposed to a light tile that will give it more airy feel. Send a pic of you bathroom so we can get a better feel for the overall look.
 
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Old 03-31-15, 06:03 AM
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You wanted opinions, so you get mine.

I wish I could like "wood" tiles. But no matter how they are laid, I can tell that they are tiles and feel that someone is trying to pull a fast one. It's mainly because all the tiles are the same length and, thus, obviously artificial. Same reason I hate laminate flooring that has multiple strips on a single piece.

If you do go this route (no reason that my opinion should change your tastes) I agree that darker grout is the way to go. You might even want lighter tiles, as was also mentioned. As long as the entire bathroom has a theme to it, it should be fine.


P.S. Thanks for the insight on pebble floors, czizzi. I had looked at one house with them in the shower and really liked how it felt (woke my feet up). But, that was for one minute one time. Not sure how much I'd like it for 10+ minutes every day.
 
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Old 03-31-15, 09:13 AM
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Thanks everyone for the feedback! I think dark grout for the "wood" tile is the way I'll go.

As far as the river rock goes - I've been on the fence about it and am still struggling with it. I thought lighter grout to counter the dark colors but also worry about keeping it clean. If not river rock then I'm not sure what else would work. It's hard to see in the example bathroom picture but when I zoom in on the white tiles they have it looks dirty... Arrrgggghhh! Any suggestions of a shower floor covering that would work with the theme would be appreciated!

I think I've covered all the other comments/questions in the attached picture. Any additional thoughts or suggestions are certainly welcome!
 
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Old 03-31-15, 12:40 PM
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If you are going to have a window in your shower, you better spend extra time waterproofing it and planning so that everything is sloped away from the window with double fail safe system to keep water from getting into the wall cavity. If you tile the sill, you need to make sure it is sloped back toward the shower and you use caulk against the window, not grout.

What will be the benefit of the vaulted ceiling in the bath. Looks like most of the detail is gone by the time you get there. Will look more like a bunch of crooked beams than a vaulted ceiling, IMO.
 
 

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