Pleasant Surprise.
The tile is grouted! And I love it!
It’s not magic or made of fairy dust… (which is what I really wanted.) But for something I can scrub and disinfect and never think about sealing or etching or the other 97,000 issues you have to consider with marble… I love it.
- My advice about choosing tile.
- My frustration trying to find something I loved.
- See the finished bathroom!
Stacey@agoodehouse
May 6, 2012 @ 5:06 am
I know you’ve been struggling with this choice…. but YOU DID GOOD! I think it looks “magical” indeed. Seriously, I think you’ll probably love it more and more every day. Congrats on your new and almost finished floor. If you already mention this… sorry to ask… but what is it exactly? What type, I mean. Ceramic, marble, etc. It’s classy!
VictoriaElizabethBarnes
May 6, 2012 @ 5:58 am
Thank you! I am happy with it. It’s porcelain, 18×18. The sill is marble. Walls will get subway tile about halfway up…
As you know, progress is such a glorious feeling. (Especially since I am not required to do anything during this particular step!!)
Stacey@agoodehouse
May 6, 2012 @ 6:15 am
Okay, I thought the sill might be but then wasn’t sure about the rest. I adore subway tiles. Look forward to seeing it. Thank goodness you’re making progress.. because I’m not. So I’ll be happy and excited for one of us. 🙂
Dana
May 16, 2012 @ 1:03 pm
I’m confused. I think my RSS reader fed me your posts in the wrong order. Didn’t I just comment on your post about not knowing what type of tile to us in this bathroom? Oy. Anyway, sorry to be out of step. I think it looks great, by the way. It seems to meet all your functional and aesthetic needs.
Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
May 17, 2012 @ 9:33 am
Probably your reader… although anyone could be confused, I’ve written way too much about tile.
It does feel functional… at least as far as assuaging my inner grout freak.
Monika
September 22, 2012 @ 7:51 pm
Hello, I have to say your bathroom looks fantastic. Quick question about the tile..I have been shopping around for marble look alike and seemed to have found one (porcelanosa carerra) however yours looks awesome as well. Is your tile completely smooth as in mirror smooth? I’ve noticed that a lot of marble look tiles look great until the lights hit them and you can see slight “ripples” …I guess the best description I have is the texture of walls – roller ripples… The porcelanosa tile is completely smooth just like polished marble. How is the peronda? Thanks in advance.
Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
September 23, 2012 @ 10:51 am
My tile is mirror smooth. I know exactly what you mean about some of them being textured on closer inspection… Mine has no ripples or anything.
I looked at the porcelanosa. I *think* I remember it because I could have gotten it in 22” or 24”?? Which I would have loved… so assuming I’m remembering correctly I really liked it. It was almost exactly what I wanted. Except that it had a creamier, more yellow base tint. Which didn’t work for me.
Again, I might be remembering wrong. I looked at a million tiles…
PLUS, if you’re not using subway tile on the walls, it may not matter to you. I love the true grey of real carrara, and when I laid out my options next to a bright-white subway tile, I noticed shade differences that I might not have otherwise.
Monika
September 24, 2012 @ 11:13 am
THANK YOU!!! That’s exactly what I needed to hear. I’ll have to check this tile out as well before committing… The store you bought it from wouldn’t happened to be “Magic Floors” on Franklin Mills Blvd, would it? I sure hopes cause that is my next and final stop. Thanks again for the reply.
Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
September 24, 2012 @ 11:36 am
I got it at a small shop in NJ… not too far from the Ben Franklin, so if you don’t have any luck in Franklin Mills, and you have the energy for another trip… let me know and I’ll look up their info. GOOD LUCK!!
Monika
September 24, 2012 @ 6:34 pm
Yes please send me the info. I’m actually in nj (and looked in so many stores north and south nj -this pa store was going to be the last one) but rather go to the store where you bought yours from first. Thanks so much.
Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
September 25, 2012 @ 8:19 am
They were really nice to deal with. When we decided for sure, they were able to order it for us by the next day… I think they have another, larger store somewhere in PA with a warehouse.
Tile Gallery
302 Crescent Boulevard,
Brooklawn, NJ
856-456-4777
I hope you like it! I will feel bad for sending you on a wild goose chase, if you don’t!!!
Maggieful
May 16, 2013 @ 10:56 pm
I absolutely ADORE that someone felt the need to put masking tape on the joiner piece that says “no step”.
Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
May 17, 2013 @ 6:03 pm
LOL… I know, Paul is nothing if not thorough.
Michelle mckenzie
October 25, 2013 @ 6:39 pm
Finally! Someone who GETS it! We built our home – which I know should be easier than remodeling, but it was literally chaos and insanity over little things! I was utterly obsessed over crystal knobs in the master bath. I wanted a crystal chandelier and knobs and as much crystal as could possibly fit in that one perfect room. My husband SELLS knobs. He builds cabinets for a living. His brother (who owns the shop with him) could not possibly fathom why I was out looking in shops and online and every.possible.place.in.earth for a knob that had to be a particular color crystal and back and finish when they had knobs for FREE! The ones they stock are nice. Pretty. They are used everyday in houses that cost 10 times what ours does. But they were not crystal!!!
In the end, I found the perfect, beautiful knobs I wanted. And the chandelier, and tile and faucets — it went on and on 🙂
But when a guest comes over and happens to go in that master bath – they almost always remark – hey cool knobs!
If only they knew 🙂
Deborah
November 2, 2013 @ 1:18 pm
Victoria, simply an amazing job in all of the projects, not just the bathroom! I found your blog while on the search for carrara like tiles and will be going with the perdona I think for our master.
Right now we are in the middle of a half bath reno and are laying the real deal, bianco gioia 12×12 that I got for a song at the local granite yard. After making batches of poultice to draw out stains and sealing them 3 times before we even laid the tiles I know I’m going for faux marble in the master!
My dad, who has a good bit of tiling experience, is laying the 12 x 12 for me this weekend and has remarked that it is incredibly more difficult than a 6×6 to get the tile level in all planes. I can’t bear to tell him about the possible upcoming 18 x 18 tile. Did your saint of a husband lay the bathroom floor himself or did you hire it out? Any tips for laying a tile that size?
Shawn
January 26, 2014 @ 4:44 pm
The danger of this post is that it’s making me rethink my bathroom flooring choice. If I spend the next three years shopping for the perfect marble tile, I will blame you.
And then send you pictures.
Abby
February 21, 2014 @ 5:04 pm
Thank you SO much for your numerous posts about your bathroom tile. I was looking for the exact same thing. After almost settling on another tile I saw this post and decided to consider it. Today I went and picked it up and it’s PERFECT!!! I love it I love it I love it. I can’t say thank you enough!!!!! Okay, just one more time. THAAAAANKKKKSSSSSSS!!!
Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
February 22, 2014 @ 10:35 am
No, thank YOU…. For validating my decision to dedicate a huge amount of time/energy/driving to searching for floor covering.
Good luck!!
maria scaler
April 17, 2014 @ 4:08 pm
Hi Victoria,
I am in the process of adding a new 5×9 bathroom. I, too, really want a polished hexagon carrera marble, but can’t take the upkeep with a small child. I am most likely going to go the same route and get the Peronda Museum tile or something similiar. Do you still love it a few years later? How big is your bathroom and what size would you go up to if you found the right tile? Also, do you remember the grout color you used? Thanks so much! I really love your posts!
BTW, I bought the benary zinnias and I am growing them (at your suggestion) under lights. So far, 95% have germinated. I am so excited. Thank you for the great suggestions! Fingers crossed.
Thanks!
Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
April 18, 2014 @ 8:41 am
I do still love it. It is very neutral and bright… Not to mention SO easy to clean. I do not remember the name of the grout – it was before I understood that I must document ALL details. It is a very light gray/off-white.
Our bath is 9.5′ x 5.5′. I would have gone as large as humanly possible with the tile. If I could have put in a solid sheet, I would have.
Good luck with the flowers! don’t forget to pinch them!
nicole
November 7, 2015 @ 5:41 pm
can you share your grout brand and color?
Chris
January 17, 2016 @ 9:15 pm
Love the tile and did a search…Found it on
Funny thing is it’s the same picture you are showing.
Sam Edwards
March 12, 2016 @ 6:25 pm
Ok I love your floor choice. I as well was going to do hexagon tiles but don’t want to clean all the grout. My question to you is do you find the polished porcelain slippery?? I have a 3 and 6 year old and don’t want to regret the tiles due to the slippery factor. Our floors will be heated so hoping this will help dry up any wet marks fast 🙂 Any feed back is much appreciated thank you!!!
Victoria Elizabeth Barnes
March 13, 2016 @ 1:50 pm
Hey, I’m pasting a comment from another post rather than try to recap what she wrote… the COF was news to me, but I’ve since read about it and it’s true.
“”The porcelain tile I was looking at comes in both a flat finish and polished. I was leaning towards the flat finish for two reasons – 1) I like it and 2) slip factor you mentioned above. I was talking to my brother-in-law who owns a tile shop. He mentioned that with porcelain tile, more often than not the polished and the flat finished tile have the same COF (coefficient of friction) rating. He said, ever look at a mall or food court… you will see lots of high polished tile? I checked and sure enough he was right. The tile I was looking at had the same COF rating for the polished and non-polished. Just something to think about when you are looking at tile. Polished doesn’t always mean more slippery!””
It’s here in the comments:
http://victoriaelizabethbarnes.com/bath-rehab/
mrsben
April 18, 2016 @ 7:26 am
Completed a large bathroom about five weeks ago and chose a large format porcelain tile for its floor as well which came in three glazes and was recommended for both flooring (medium polished) and high glaze for walls. Conclusion: LOVE, LOVE the flooring as definitely not slippery at all. In summary, do your research as to finishing/rating and you can’t go wrong as a good tile will be coded for appropriate application. Also will advise, never choose a bright white grout! Instead lean towards a soft white or even one in in the gray family like silver (particularly if working with a marble). -Brenda-
P.S.: In event your grout is not an ‘epoxy’ type there are plenty of spray-on grout sealers on the market that can be applied after the grout has cured. Again, do your research and follow manufacturer’s instructions re application.
LA Reagan-Barnes
September 30, 2016 @ 2:01 pm
Hi Victoria! I love your blog and I HATE blogs! You seem kind of amazing and I appreciate your work! Question—What was your threshold material and where did you find it?
Philip Kent
August 26, 2021 @ 3:47 pm
I’m obviously seeing this blog 10 years later, but your floor looks amazing!
Will you please let me know the brand of the tile? I’m not having much luck finding the 18×18 size.
Also, what color is your grout? It’s perfect for that tile.
Thanks!