Kitchen Tile Opinions (updated with water damage problems)

[McGyver]

So more pictures of the kitchen:







and this is the pattern that i think will look the best. basically a "rug" of 6" tiles in the center with 12" tiles around.



more vinyl will be about $1.50 per square foot. tile will be around $2.50 per square foot. so in a ~120 square foot kitchen it doesnt make sense to put down crap that will be ruined in another 5 years when the tile will last longer. i dont expect to get more rent, but since i already charge a premium, it does help to justify it.

also, i really dont like the idea of light tile. i think it will show too much dirt.

i think that darkening the color of the cabinets/drawers or replacing the doors/drawers and adding hardware will make everything but the counter tops look better than contractor grade. honestly i'm not looking to do a huge makeover, i just want something that will last for a while. since its going to be there for a while and i only have to play for supplies, why not make it sort of fancy?

[Axxe]

For a rental, keep it simple. Light tile with dark grout, normal straight layout. Nothing wrong with a simple and fresh floor. I personally would just put lino back on for a college frat house, unless the tile wasn't much more. Then just simple tiles. Also, don't skimp out on mortar, make sure you get one that can flex properly, you can bet your last dollar there will be shitloads of traffic and many dropped objects on it. I personally always thought intricate tile designs in an otherwise barren builder kitchen looked like lipstick on a pig. Just made the rest of the kitchen stand out that much more.

[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.

[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

[z31maniac]

College kids will fuck it up.

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

[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.

[E30_Pare]

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

[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.

[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]

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.)

[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.

[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:

[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.

[325ix]

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

[cabriodster87]

tile


lighter color on right......

w/this border....

and this pattern, or no border.