Dark grout brings out bold tile contrast
We’ve looked at several different kitchen and bathroom floor finishes, here on our website. We’ve looked at several different types of finishes and options because choosing and selecting these types of materials are a big part of the overall design of kitchens and bathrooms. There are a wide variety of options that span across different material types and many different color and texture ranges as well. Also, tiles themselves, particularly, can be selected in a wide variety of different shapes and sizes. Sometimes the shapes and sizes are integral to the overall design aesthetic.
As you can see in the pictures below, this is a very neutral type of color range. It’s a light gray color. It can basically blend in with most types of other finishes. One of the distinguishing characteristics though is that it’s a bit cold compared to some of the warm natural or more earthtone type color ranges.
These tiles are laid on a square grid. The tiles are also square, but even rectangular shaped tiles can be set on a grid that has no offset between different courses of tile. This is a relatively simple layout. It’s also set parallel to the walls of the room. A generation or so ago, it was somewhat popular to install tiles at a diagonal to the walls of the room. This type of layout is a little bit different from a visual aesthetic perspective, but the installation is similar. The diagonal type shape generally requires a higher degree of cuts and therefore more time and cost in labor, though.
The grout lines stand out a bit because they are much darker than any parts of the range of colors in the exposed surface or face of the tile work. Like many tiles that are glazed to replicate visual patterns or ranges of colors from nature, this gray also has a cloudy range of colors made to look a bit like natural stone.
Earthtones have a warmer look, but they also sometimes feel a little bit dated because not that long ago designs used a lot of earthtones that had repeating accents throughout a lot of residential styles. This fad wore out of it about a generation or two ago. Grays might be a little bit cold or soulless, but they sometimes feel a little bit more neutral.
The picture below shows a somewhat typical floor drain. Recently, we also looked at a similar size floor drain that was cut in a round shape. Here this particular floor drain is installed in the middle of the main area of the floor and this particular bathroom does not have a shower.
Floor drains are to be expected in a shower. There’s a wide variety of different types of floor drains, some of the most common ones are square drains like this, round ones of roughly similar sizes, and linear slot drains installed more at the edges of the room or at the or near the edge of a shower. All of the different floor drains need to be accommodated with cutouts in the tile.
Slot drains are generally a little bit more elaborate of an installation overall, but round cutouts are usually one of the most complicated installations, particularly where the cutout stays within one tile. It’s also a little bit more complicated when the overall floor tile layout happens to coincide with the dream near an edge, but not at an edge. Here we showed that example. This cutout is just more complicated because the thin edge that remains next to the drain is very fragile up until the point that it’s set into the tile mortar.
The dark grout is in contrast to the remainder of the colors of the tile. It’s not that it clashes or that it detracts from the aesthetic of the tile, but generally, as a simple rule of thumb we recommend staying within the range of colors of the tile for a grout selection. We often recommend going with the darker of that range’s colors or shades without going beyond the darkest colors of that range.
When you look closely, you can see a slight misalignment in the corners, spacers will generally be set in the grout lines at the sides of the tile, but setting spacers directly into the four corners of a square tile layout can make it difficult to remove the spacers later. Here’s an example where we would recommend more careful installation overall.
Dupont Kitchen & Bath Can Help
As dedicated and local DC metropolitan kitchen and bath builders and installers, we pride ourselves on turning your visions into reality. Your kitchen and bathrooms can reflect your unique style and be designed with personalized aesthetics. It can be a process from creative designs to the realization of your dream space. Specializing in kitchen and bath construction, we bring expertise and skills to every project. If you’re contemplating a renovation, upgrade, or modernization in the local market, we’re happy to be your team. Consult with us, and we can start together on a path to redefine and elevate your DC living experience.
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