Over Our Shoulders: Choosing the Right Grout Color
We spend a lot of time and effort picking tiles to achieve the perfect look for our home, not realizing that our choice for grout color is just as important. Tile grout color can be considered as either a backdrop, a highlighter, or a unifier that brings the tiled area together as one design piece.
Many homeowners often wonder how to choose grout color then leave the decision to their tiler who could choose a shade that doesn’t go with the aesthetic that was originally designed.
Let’s try to avoid this faux pas by learning more about how to choose tile grout colors.
brown colored grout being applied on newly installed tiles
What Factors Should be Considered Before Deciding on Grout Color?
Location of Tiled Area
Grouting choices are affected by location. Is your tiles area an accent to a large space and draws the eye to a particular area of the house or does it have to integrate seamlessly into the backdrop? Does it have a function apart from aesthetics?
This would be tiles installed in kitchen backsplashes, bathroom walls, or floors. Are your tiles meant for an outdoor area? You will have to consider that more factors might cause discoloration and pick a color that can cope with the situation.
Type of Grout to be Used
Before deciding on the grout color, you have to know from your contractor which type of grout is best for your tile choice. Some types have a wide range of colors while some have only a few shades available. Epoxy grout has become popular because they are more resistant to stains making them ideal for high-use and high-traffic areas of your home.
Overall Design Goal
The final choice of grout color must help achieve the look that you’re striving for. Consider if you need to play with patterns or need the surface of the tile to look continuous. How to choose the right grout color anchors a lot on the design simplicity or complexity. It must also play well with the surroundings like furniture, accent walls, and other design facets of your room or space.
Let’s answer some of the most frequently asked questions on how to choose tile grout color.
Is It Better to Complement or Contrast Grout Color with Tile Color?
Contrasted grout color
Deciding whether to do darker or lighter on your grout color choice is a matter of taste.
What look do you want to achieve for your tiled area? Is it a subdued portion of your home that blends in the general scheme of things or would you like an area to pop out and make a statement? Will your tiled area delineate functionality? To guide you to attain the look you are striving for, here is a general guide on what color to pick for tile grout.
Picking a contrasting color for your grout means going several degrees darker or lighter than your tile color. This is often used when you want to highlight the pattern of your tiles, tile shape, or to achieve a certain ambience. An example would be choosing dark grout on lighter-colored tiles to create patterns for a dramatic effect.
Grout color that is complementary to tile color is chosen for the unifying effect that they achieve. It creates that seamless look and is often done to emphasize space and size.
Can Tile and Grout Color be The Same?
Don’t stress about picking a grout color that is the same as your tile color – it’s more likely for you to find the closest shade than a color match. Even if the grout seems the same color, mixing it into the water and the curing process may alter the shade. Instead of referring to package color or even the actual dry powder, look at grout samples that your local hardware store will usually have.
What Color Grout is Best to Use with Beige Tile?
You need to answer the same questions posed earlier. Do you want to contrast? Or do you want to complement? Complementing beige tiles means choosing similar neutral tones like white, off-white, bone, or a light shade of gray.
If you are feeling more playful and want something eye-catching, go for a contrast. Check for a shade of tile grout that will go with the rest of the room like furniture or decorative displays and create a dynamic yet appealing contrast. You can go for tile grout colors in shades of blue, green, warm browns – the choice can be based on your personal preference.
What Shade of Grout is Best for Colorful Cement Tiles?
Cement tiles will have several colors integrated into their design, choose the most neutral color included in the design palette and pick a grout color closest to it. Make sure you have a tile installer who know how to beautifully install your cement tiles with no unneeded spaces and gaps between the design.
My Tile Grout Color is Wrong! What Can I do?
If you’re suffering from buyer’s remorse and look at your tiled area thinking you made a mistake – don’t panic – yet!
How long has it been since your tiles were installed? Wet grout almost always appears darker than dry grout. It will take from 24 to 48 hours for it to completely dry, depending on your tiled area’s humidity and temperature levels.
It’s completely dry, can I change the grout color? There are penetrating grout stains available. They are similar to wood stains. The good ones are oil-based and they are very painstaking to apply. It has to be brushed on the fine grout lines, taking care of any transfer that could discolor the tile surface. Ideally, you can change from lighter to darker. If you want to change from dark to light, you might have to consider regrouting.
Beware though of the grout stain that you purchase. Some products are paint mixed with thinner. This tends to form a hard film over the existing grout instead of staining. This can destroy the adjacent tiles as well as weaken grout when they eventually peel off.
Always try to gather opinions and recommendations from experienced tile installers especially when in doubt. Request for grout samples, take your tile samples and see how it fares with the actual grout color. Many of us want to be productive and want to feel that sense of accomplish that do-it-yourself home projects bring. So whether you do the task yourself or hire a professional, it pays to weigh the options first before deciding on a grout color for tiles.
