Kitchen Tile Opinions (updated with water damage problems)

[McGyver]

I own a house that will be full of college kids for the foreseeable future. The original linoleum floor got pretty much destroyed so i decided to tile it. The problem is that i can barely dress myself, so picking out tile colors to match my house is next to impossible. I just dont want to finish it and have the whole kitchen look cheap/not thought out.

Said kitchen (long and narrow):



The tile im thinking about going with in the easy way to lay it:



What I think will look better:



And one side of the rectangular boarder:





Now i was trying to choose between these two shades:



and these two boarders:







Opinions? Suggestions? Anything? Oh, and cost is a huge factor in this.

[nrubenstein]

Lose the ugly border pattern and the other small tiles. The main tiles look like 18". Swap them for 12". And honestly, if you are laying them yourself, lay them in the way that requires the fewest cuts. Go with the darker colored of the two main tile choices.

Edit: don't forget that the only way to make that kitchen not look cheap and poorly thought out is to gut it and start from scratch. You should not be putting a lot of effort into this one.

[cabriodster87]

tile


lighter color on right......

w/this border....

and this pattern, or no border.

[325ix]

I say just go with 12in. tiles in a simple straight pattern. Don't make it harder than it has to be.

[M-technik-3]

Small galley kitchen is always going to look like a galley style but I don't agree about it looking cheap. At some point you could put concrete or some other natural stone for counter tops.

Darker tiles will show dirt more than a lighter color. Might want to head out to some open houses to get some idea on colors for tile. We just ordered our tile for our kitchen. Ours is a 19x12 with and attached dinning area of 8x12.

We went with a tile that had natural colors but is on the darker side and has a bit of green in it. It blends nice with our granite and works with our cabinetry which looks like yours.

[tonerrrr]

Based on who is going to be there go with the darker tile which will make darker grout look better. Trust me, your grout WILL be dark no matter what you do.

I don't know why people are saying use 12" tile.... The bigger the better for tile. At least that's how it is down here.

For anyone else wondering, the tiles in the pictures are 12".

If you're going to do the "rug" then do it with inserts in the middle:


You see the diagonal pattern with the small dark tiles straight? Those are inserts, they look badass when done correctly.

Here's a room I did in my house with inserts:


And my living room:

[nrubenstein]

Based on who is going to be there go with the darker tile which will make darker grout look better. Trust me, your grout WILL be dark no matter what you do.

I don't know why people are saying use 12" tile.... The bigger the better for tile. At least that's how it is down here.

For anyone else wondering, the tiles in the pictures are 12".

If you're going to do the "rug" then do it with inserts in the middle:


You see the diagonal pattern with the small dark tiles straight? Those are inserts, they look badass when done correctly.

Here's a room I did in my house with inserts:


And my living room:

Giant tile looks good in open spaces. It makes small areas look small.

[nrubenstein]

Small galley kitchen is always going to look like a galley style but I don't agree about it looking cheap. At some point you could put concrete or some other natural stone for counter tops.

Darker tiles will show dirt more than a lighter color. Might want to head out to some open houses to get some idea on colors for tile. We just ordered our tile for our kitchen. Ours is a 19x12 with and attached dinning area of 8x12.

We went with a tile that had natural colors but is on the darker side and has a bit of green in it. It blends nice with our granite and works with our cabinetry which looks like yours.

A small galley kitchen with shit cabinets and shit appliances is going to look cheap and crappy no matter what. It is not impossible for a small galley kitchen to look good, but everything in *this* small galley kitchen would need to go into a dumpster if this were a serious effort at making it look no cheap and crappy. (And that would be silly in rental housing for college students.)

[tonerrrr]

Giant tile looks good in open spaces. It makes small areas look small.

Right but 1 18" down the middle of the kitchen would look nice on a diagonal.

Wrapping around the island and the other areas needs to be taken into consideration when doing this though. You don't want any tiny triangle anywhere ;)

OP, post better pictures of the area!

[nrubenstein]

Right but 1 18" down the middle of the kitchen would look nice on a diagonal.

Wrapping around the island and the other areas needs to be taken into consideration when doing this though. You don't want any tiny triangle anywhere ;)

OP, post better pictures of the area!

I disagree. :)

But really, the key point is that this is student housing. It just needs to not look like ass the way I suspect that the VCT looked.

[E30_Pare]

If that shit aint Italian marble I don't want to talk bout it. I like the second option darker tile.

[DaveNorCal]

I would not put that kind of time and expense into a rental. Are college students going to pay you more in rent because you have a ceramic tile floor in the kitchen? Ceramic tile is easily broken if something moderately heavy is dropped on it. If you go this route definitely keep some spare tiles. As someone else pointed out the grout will surely be a mess. Even in my own home with tile counters it's a constant issue.
My recommendation is to put down some decent synthetic tiles in the simplest, most symetrical layout that is feasible. Save your money toward a total re-do of the kitchen for when you are living in the place, if you don't sell first. Peoples' lives change, especially young people's.

[z31maniac]

College kids will fuck it up.

I'd put down more linoleum/whatever and call it good.

[imsotyerred]

College kids will fuck it up.

I'd put down more linoleum/whatever and call it good.

and in Richmond...hipster PBR barf and pipe tobacco

[Thizzelle]

do what ever is the cheapest, it's going to be college kids they will fuck it up. also get dark grout and dark tile it will hide the dirty ass floors better. My whole house is tile with 16", would rather have the biggest tile they make, just looks better IMO. Floor was cold until I insulated the crawl space with rigid board on concrete and vapor barrier on the dirt, much better and cleaner looking under the house.