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Post date: Nov 14, 2014 11:28:37 PM
Another of the many decisions I must make is choosing flooring material, shape, size, texture, and color. I'm not very good at this.
To quote from my Requirements document:
Will have area rugs. Possibly vinyl tile that looks like ceramic. Sheet vinyl can be easily changed, is not hard (so things don’t break when dropped), is fast to lay, and durable. Then if the color or style doesn’t suit, it is easily replaced - can’t say that for ceramic tile!
Some vinyl tiles look very much like ceramic tile (for the kitchen, for example) and are easier on dropped glasses and dishes. I am very pleased with the vinyl tile we installed 25 years ago. However, porcelain tile will last even longer. Otherwise, Congoleum or Armstrong vinyl tiles are very well rated and look very much like ceramic tile.
Bath floor probably should look like or be small tiles or stone. Low gloss, low slip. Not plain white with white grout, because I’ll never keep it clean enough. Small white porcelain tiles with gray grout would work, tho. Tile floor in the shower must be non-slip.
Cars don’t drip oil like they used to. Let’s leave the garage floor bare concrete, natural color.
I’ll try to get more specific…
The only two rooms that don’t seem right with bare concrete are the kitchen (because glass shatters on concrete and a visual distinction from the Sala is nice) and the bathroom. The bathroom is just tradition - I have no explanation why I want tile there.
Bath
Bath
I don’t really want shades of brown in the bathroom, except that shades of brown seem to be the current style. One advantage of brown is that it looks like dirt - both from a cleaner’s standpoint and psychologically - brown belongs down.
Light blue or light gray. Tiles that look like tiles, not stone or stone-like.
These tiles (left) are too big and too glossy (slippery) for a small bathroom, but the color is nice:
I like mosaic tiles like those on the right. Could be square or hexagonal or even triangular (Lyric Retro Treble Glazed Triangular Tiles LT-300).
Mosaic tiles on the floor with lighter (even white) subway tile (3x6" glossy) half-way up the walls would work.
A wooden trim board caps the wall tile and provides a place to install towel bars.
I like this blue that reminds me of Delft:
I also like DalTile 'Veranda Solids', especially 'Sunlight' - a yellow. But I fear that too much yellow on the bath floor might be just that - too much. Yellow walls are very nice, however. This tile comes in a number of shapes, including large and small field tiles, borders, plus 3" mosaic tiles that would work well on the shower floor. Shade variation high, adding to the visual interest.
Another set of tiles I seem to like is American Olean’s "Urban Tones". They have rich colors.
Kitchen
Kitchen
Kitchen floor should probably look like Spanish tile in an adobe house.
But ceramic tiles are hard under foot when one must stand for long periods, and glassware breaks when dropped on ceramics or stone. Vinyl is cheap and horrifying to the cognoscenti. Some 16" square vinyl tile looks as though it could be ceramic, holds up very well, and is easier to change. But the Armstrong Dellaporte tiles are grouted - seems to be the antithesis of an easy-to-care floor.
Most of the colors are beige or some variant of light brown. I was looking for a brick red Spanish tile appearance that does not seem to be in style. Most of the vinyl tiles have an exaggerated texture that is not my style. Sigh. I may be too old for this project when it comes to interior finishes.
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