Hello,
I would like to share our thoughts on choosing the bath tile in the green home that we are building. In this simple farmhouse the appeal is the views, open space and honest use of materials. Decorative touches can come later, from furnishings, accessories and things people have. If the construction elements are too decorative, then personal items that are added later will overload space, we feel.
For this reason, we prefer to let bath tile be a background element, rather than a decorative feature. No contrasting backsplashes, colored stripes, carved tiles or other accents that draw attention will be used.
Here are the tile choices that were considered:
White subway tile: Subway tile has been popular in recent years, and we see it a lot. The old vintage version of this tile is a 3 x 6 inch, flat tile, with square cut edges. Today’s version is thin, with rounded edges, and is often a little pillowed. Somehow the modern version looks a lot like the basic 4 x 4 bath tile that is commonly used, but with a different shape.
Colorful ceramic tile: There are some beautiful ceramic tiles to choose from. Some of the new 4 x 4 bath tiles had great lush color, and they would have been fun to use.
Travertine: We have used Travertine several times in bathrooms, and were satisfied with the choice. It is durable, and inexpensive. The problem with Travertine is that we are tired of it, and it is a bit too busy for the room.
Slate: We have used slate in the past, and liked the earthy, rustic look. However, this time it was too strong for the room size and style that we wanted.
Leuders Limestone: This is a grey-tan tile that is cut from Leuders stone, a dense limestone quarried in north Texas. Leuders stone is often used as an exterior material. It is indigenous to our area, and a good fit with the Texas farmhouse style.
We settled on Leuders Limestone as the right tile for this house. It seemed to pick up and continue the natural grey concrete floor. The walls are off white (Sherwin Williams – Raime), and trim is light sage green (Sherwin Williams - Nacre). The color palette is stone grey, tan and green.
The Leuders tile was purchased in 16 x 16 pieces. They cost about $7.00 per sq.ft. Our tile man cut them to make 8 x 16 and 4 x 16 pieces. These were alternated to create a pattern.
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