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Lotus Construction Group I am a big fan of the faux wood tile floors. if the color works well you will be fine. I believe that is perfectly acceptable to have the two side by side. i hope you can do a completely flush transition however.

Dytecture Personally I would try to continue the same wood flooring into the bathroom if that's the look you are after.

Judy M Cannot add real wood to bathroom as then all the 2nd story floors would need refinishing AND i have a wool runner in the hall that would have to go to do the refinishing and none of those things are in the budget.

Both 1st and 2nd floor have the lighter oak color floors, literally every room on both floors have the oak except for the powder room.

Lifeline Property I'd stay away from wood unless you have excellent ventilation that will prevent steam from building up and eventually warping the floor. However, there is a ceramic and porcelain tile that is made to look like wood but eliminates the worry entirely. I've seen these in Lowes or Homedepot and their nice.

Judy M


Here's an example of how my floor would look., notice the real wood in hall outside bathroom door.

Judy M This the color floor tile I like but as I said it is much darker than my real wood oak floors on entire second floor.

Lifeline Property I definitely would not try to match the hall wood floors. Since most of the bath is white, perhaps go with a porcelain tile (that looks like wood) or a marble tile in white and gray hues. If you want a solid color then my suggestion would be to stick with a medium grey or darker grey color to add some contrast. What color are you painting top half of walls?

Merry Powell Interiors If you love the faux wood porcelain tile, go with it! Just make sure the color of the tile is compatible with, but very different from your wood floors. If you cannot make a flush transition, consider doing a black marble threshold. What you are going for is contrast between the colors of the tile and the wood, but they need to get along. It would also help if you did a different design in the tile such as a herringbone pattern, to further differentiate from the wood floor.

Judy M top half of walls will probably be "iceberg" BM color. The tile I am removing is carrara marble, want a change. Having contrast is what I was trying to achieve with the wood look tile.

I have seen a few gray porcelain tiles I like, but they seem a bit more modern looking than the rest of the classic elements I have chosen.

Judy M So the porcelain companies do not make saddles that match the tile? Thanks Merry, I did consider a change of pattern in the tile to make it different from the hardwood.

Merry Powell Interiors Not sure if you will be able to find a match, Judy. Depends on the manufacturer. But there are other solutions. I think if you really love this tile, you can make it work. If you don't like the transition once it's done, close the door! If you go with a tile you like less, you will always second guess your decision.

ccwatters I love faux wood porcelain tiles, but not so much when they adjoin to real wood. I might go with gray grout for your subway tile (it is functional, and as a bonus really softens the look of the tile), and then go with a porcelain tile for your floor that is gray or has gray tones . There are so many beautiful choices and tile is far more functional than real wood ever could be in a bathroom.

First two photos show the subway with gray grout.
The third has gray wall tiles that could be pretty on the floor. Nice pattern and soft gray color that's not too dark

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Merry Powell Interiors If you are not in love with the faux wood tile, you might consider a filled travertine. It has that timeless traditional look, and has great texture and character. You already have experience with marble, so you know you will have to seal it.

Judy M My first choice was basket weave in either black or white or gray and white, but I used that ( inblack and white) in a vacation home recently and would like something different. The other element that keeps drawing my attention is mosaic, but every one I choose is way too pricey, even for this not very large bathroom.

I might take a second longer look at porcelain tile in various shades of gray.

I cannot choose counter top for vanity until I can decide on the floor. vanity needs to be ordered, very soon.
I would also like accent tile in the shower area, a long rectangle along the valve area. again, I am stumped on choice.

ccwatters While I think a lot of traditional small tiles on floors are so charming (love basket weave), I just never have the guts to go that route because of the excessive grout and therefore extra maintenance.
As far as the accent tile, I'm not sure what style you are going for. The photo below is a pretty idea that is "style" neutral and would look nice with the white subway, light gray grout on walls and soft gray tile floor. This would leave you with the option of accenting with color on the wall paint and bath towels....and be able to change your mind on those colors in years to come without having to redo the whole room.
Have to say though, I have beautiful accent tile in my master shower and am not such a fan anymore because of all the grout that is so susceptible to mildew. Just something to think about (though I am path-of-least-resistence when it comes to cleaning ;)
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BeautifulRemodel.com Hi Judy

I think the photo you've shown (by Shannon Ggem) is a good example of how the wood-look tile and the real wood can work together. Much of what makes this work imo is that the tile and wood are perpendicular to each other, and that their color is also clearly defines that they were never meant to look the the same, but instead to complement each other.

As for the transition in height between the two materials, what thickness wood do you have? It could be 5/16" top nail through 3/4" T&G. Whichever option you have, your tile setter can use the doorway transition tile to create a subtle slope between the two (some minor back-grinding may be required if its transitioning to 5/16")

Steve

Merry Powell Interiors There are some new grouts on the market that are very stain and mildew resistant. If you choose to do a mosaic floor, I would suggest using this grout in a darker color. See a good tile supplier (not a big box) for this product. Not all mosaics are pricey. There are really good-looking marble basket weaves available for $10. - $12. sq. foot.

Judy M Thanks for all the suggestions. I am now on the search for gray porcelain tiles or gray or brown wood look tile.
The information about the transition piece allows me to have an informed conversation with the tiler.

@ Merry, I love the basket weave but have used it recently in another project and really want this bathroom to look different from that other project.

swiemann We actually just had the same dilemma as you! We have cherry wood floors throughout the house and wanted the wood look tiles in our bath. We decided that doing a wood that was "too matchy" would just look plain terrible so we went the totally opposite direction for our tile. We went with something much lighter and more of a natural, bare wood look. We liked it since it had a lot of white undertones throughout (we too have a new white tub, white subway tile, white vanity, etc)!

You can checkout our progress along the way! --> http://fabulouslyvintage.blogspot.com/search/label/DIY

Hope this helps some! :)

Lotus Construction Group Hi Judy,
I am not sure what your setter is going to use for the substrate. Float construction or a Hardi Backer. there are uncoupling mats that are good to keep elevations to a minimum.

Judy M @ Lotus , The tiler mentioned a floor leveling material called ultra plan M20 self level. We are doing an underfloor heating system. They are also using a wedi board system on walls above tub.

Lotus Construction Group Judy,
Are you on a raised foundation or slab?
Mapei M20 is usually used for resurfacing existing concrete and can be polished or stained. It can be used on an engineered plywood sub-floor but a min of 1-1/4" thick. If you are on a sub floor the best way to keep the elevation down as low as possible is to use an uncoupling mat there are several companies that make this product. The heating system will play nicely with the mats.I have seen the Wedi board system and should be fine for tub surround.. A nice way to keep costs down compared to a float construction. Just a note you can watch a video on You tube on how the wedi board works. If installed corectley it will provide a good waterproof. surround.

Judy M This bathroom is on the second level, so no concrete slab. I should mention that the tiler thought we were putting in marble basketweave ( we have not finalized materials) we were just trying to get a labor quote at that point. Now I am narrowing down my choices and not sure about the basket weave, I am going to look at the wood look porcelain tiles before I decide.

would the mat be needed if I am using the wood look porcelain?

Thanks so much for the info. A bathroom is so costly and each contractor seems to have a different way of installing. The other two we contacted do not use the wedi system. each one wanted to put the ventailation fan in a different spot etc.

The guy we'd like to use has used it often and he says he's never had a leak.

It's like every cook has a different recipe for pasta sauce! How do you know which one you'll like?

14thstreet I like the idea of a dark gray toned tile with all those beautiful white finishes...
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I think the contrast would be lovely and timeless as well.

BeautifulRemodel.com Hi Judy,

The fact that your tile installer has even heard of Wedi products, let alone uses them is a good sign, so you're probably in good hands :) With regard to the "mat" being needed (eg Ditra and Wedi): while its not critical, it will help to minimize the possibility of cracking from movement in the floor framing. (It also completely waterproofs whatever its placed over) I personally prefer Schluter's Ditra mats for floors but I believe Wedi has similar products.

Steve

Judy M Thanks Steve, That's how i felt about them using the Wedi. I will discuss the use of the schluter mat for the floor with them.

Judy M ...