Thursday, August 20, 2009

Black or White?

I said if
You're thinkin' of
Being my brother
It don't matter if you're
Black or white
-- Michael Jackson "Black or White"

Actually, this is true. But if you're thinkin' about bein' my grout ... a completely different story, my friends. It matters. A lot.
And herein lies the dilemma.

I initially chose black. Took it back. And now comes the weekend of our discontent. I've GOT to decide on the grout color for the bathroom. I can't be stuck next week having to make decisions. That must be done so that the supplies are on hand and work can begin with a vengeance!

Here's the floor. The choice seemed obvious a few weeks ago when I first bought grout. It should definitely be black.


But then I reminded myself that the ceiling is black. So it should be white. Or should it?

This is really starting to annoy me. I cannot for the life of me decide. There's a voice in the back of my head that still says black. But I'm just not sure.

It's important to mention that the tub surround and fixtures are white. And, all of the beadboard and trim -- which is now a beige-ish antique white -- is now going to be pure white. Right after I paint it!

And here's the wallpaper, which is a mix of black and white. (I know it looks beige or sepia but it's not. Just an effect of not using the flash.)

So, with all of the white already in the room, shouldn't the grout be black?

Help! I'm SO confused.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the ceiling color is totally irrelevant to the decision. In fact, the rest of the bathroom is. It's black and white. Both grouts would be appropriate.

I tend to go for white because I guess I've never really seen black grout. However, black would be easier to clean and if you like it, you should get it. Ignore the rest and just look at the floor and pick what hits you! :)

Ty'sMommy said...

Ok, I say black, for two reasons.
1. the white grout may not look right with the white part of the tile. I can't tell in the pics how "white" the tile really is.

2. White grout never stays white for long anyway, not TRULY white anyway. And if you are going with pure white in the rest of the room, you don't want the grout to end up looking sandy, right?

Kate R said...

Ohhh, I really like the black shown in the picture, it accentuates the individual tiles.

Besides, I'm one of those people that thinks cleaning house is a necessary evil. The ease of black grout would be a definite deal breaker for me.

Vicki said...

I'm usually overwhelmed by too many options to choose from, but just these two would put me in a dilemma as well. Whatever you do go with it and don't look back. Either will end up looking fine.

denise said...

We did a medium/dark gray grout on the hex tile floor in our previous house and it looked very nice. To me, I think black is too black and white is just going to look gray eventually. That's my 2 cents.

I feel your pain--we're getting ready to tile our new bathroom and are approaching a similar situation! Good luck!

cd said...

I also cast a vote for the black grout. As someone who scrubs white gout every other month, trust me, it's not your friend. I scrub and re-seal to no avail. It never stays white and the gray looks bad against the white. Knowing the mother, you'd be scrubbing grout monthly.

Anonymous said...

I'm casting another vote for black. I think it would make the floor look stunning. Everybody has white.

sewwhat? said...

Yep, I agree, black is the way to go!

MonkeyGirl said...

I think everyone has said the exact things I was thinking - either color will be fine but I would go with the black for cleaning purposes!

Why S? said...

I agree with Denise, a dark or medium gray would be the way to go. I think that a true black would be too dramatic and might take focus from your tile. The gray might still read as black (and even if it doesn't, no one would care) but would be softer.

Randie said...

My husband and I installed that same tile in a closet we turned into a tiny bathroom, and we ended up using a light gray grout....