I am participating in the 8 week Spring 2021 One Room Challenge and we are on week three. This week we are talking all about the tile floor. For all the things we wanted to accomplish in this bathroom…timeless look, stylistically accuracy to the character of the home, updated feel that fits with todays style, modern day bathroom function, and colorful. I knew marble mosaic was the right thing for the bathroom. We just had to install the heated floor first.
I think I might have been the most hated designer in College Hill because I took out the old pink basket weave marble mosaic. Hopefully I am back in the good graces of the old historic neighborhood by adding a more neutral version back into the space.
I have said it before on my instagram stories. We could not keep the old tile. Well, we could but that meant we could not fully fix the leaking plumbing sitting underneath it. The eroded cast iron pipes 90 years old needed to go and to get to them without tearing up everything underneath (which doesn’t need to be remodeled) the tile had to go. This is a piece of the tile after removal. There was 6 inches of concrete underneath it. You couldn’t remove it without removing the concrete.
I know its hard to take the old things out but sometimes you have to make the house last 90+ more years. The decision was between the old house or the old house. We chose the old house. This will make it better. AND…. we were able to put a heated floor into the space.
Old House Charm + Modern Function = AWESOME
The plan for the space was very neutral on the floor and then fun color on the wall. The homeowner liked the pink and white but she LOVES green. So we are giving a nod to the old colorful bathroom but just choosing a different color. The green and white will be in the shower.
The mosaic tile makes the space look larger.
The flower center is brown and beige and it looked better with the beige glazing on the handmade tile. We chose the same grout we will be doing in the shower and the color of grout was an unexpected choice for the grey marble…. beige. There is beige in the flower center but I will be honest. It looked off without the shower tile. The gray color of the marble was so overpowering on the floor it felt like a mistake. We almost grouted over it all but my design instincts kept pushing me to hold off.
The beige had no partner yet but warm of the green and the glazing on the edges of the shower tile would bring that color in… as well as the warmth of the brass fixtures. It would soon made sense and I just needed to wait. I am glad I did because it felt unbalanced because it WAS unbalanced at this stage. The green tile is in and the grout color was the right choice! Gray grout in the overall finished space would have been unbalanced. Glad I stood firm with the beige. Stay tuned.
Follow Along With the ORC
- Follow along with my progress here: Week 1, Week 2
- Follow along with the featured designers week 3 here
- Follow along with my fellow guest participants week 3 progress here.
Next week: The Shower tile……
Hi! Are you able to link the tile or let us know where you found it? The floor tile I mean. Love this project—it’s now the main inspo pic for my primary bath reno!
Yes its from Marble Online. There is also a more affordable version at Floor and Decor
Hello, what edging trim did you use?
We always use schluter on the floor trim with a wood transition. We painted the walls white so we used White Schluter Jolly
We are also using this bathroom as our inspiration. With that in mind, what color (brand/sourced) beige grout did you use? It was definitely the right choice!
Mapei Ivory Grout Color