Laying tiles in the kitchen as an apron or in the bathroom is popular. To increase space and light, light tiles are often chosen, and owners are faced with the question of what color grout to choose. After all, white grout is impractical. Recently, designers have fallen in love with using dark grout on light tiles. The solution looks stylish and lasts a long time. The operating rules and design options will be discussed in detail below.
What is grout used for?
Grouting seams serves not only to give a finished look to the walls of the room, but also to improve the quality of the repair. Grout for white tiles or other performs the functions described below:
- Protective layer from moisture and dirt. The grout joint itself can become saturated with water and dirt, but it serves as a barrier in front of the adhesive solution and the wall, which helps prevent the formation of mold and mildew on them;
- Concealing styling flaws. In this case, they resort to the same color with the tile material; the combination of white tiles with black grout requires more professionalism from the master in order to prevent the appearance of defects;
- Decorative property, the general appearance of the finish depends on which color is chosen;
- Completeness of the design, selection of the color of the grout mixture to match the main furniture, and large elements of the room will help make the interior more harmonious.
Rubbing the seams serves not only to give a finished look to the walls of the room, but also to improve the quality of the repair.
What is a hog tile
The tile is an elongated rectangle. It looks like a brick. Can be flat or voluminous. In European countries, it is often used to decorate walls in the subway. Therefore, the name “metro” may also appear.
The ceramics got its name “hog” due to two holes on the edge that resemble a snout. These holes are needed to transport the material. And if necessary, they make it easier to cut the tiles into two parts.
Main functions of grout
The combination of grout with the selected material will help create a unified interior. But modern styles involve a variety of color combinations. In this case, the grout joint will also serve the following purposes:
- Protection of the base from the negative effects of moisture;
- Elimination of temperature gaps;
- Decorating function.
The toilet, kitchen and bathroom have high levels of humidity, so the walls should be additionally protected from moisture. The gaps between the tiles must be closed to obtain an airtight seal.
The gaps between the tiles must be closed to obtain an airtight seal.
Main types by shape
With chamfer
A ceramic surface with a chamfer looks more prominent, shadows reveal volume.
In this interior, the combined apron area is in harmony with the facades made of natural wood.
Boar tiles in a wooden kitchen
Stylized bricks perfectly complement the modern style due to their laconic shape and colored inserts (to match the lower modules).
Boar tiles in the kitchen in a modern style
Kerama Marazzi tiles, Gamma series.
Kitchen apron made of boar tiles
Corner kitchen with white hog tiles
Video about how to save: Cheap “hog” tiles from Belarusian Keramin.
Without chamfer
Elements without a chamfer do not look as voluminous as ceramics with chamfers, but no less expressive.
Interior in neutral colors.
Classic kitchen with beige ceramic splashback
Classic brickwork with horizontal offset.
Advantages and disadvantages of dark seams
Light tiles with dark grout can be used in different cases. At the same time, before choosing a color solution, you should understand the positive and negative sides of the issue. The advantages include:
- Stylish and modern solution;
- Highlights tiles;
- A beautiful appearance lasts longer.
The disadvantages are:
- Highlights shortcomings if they were made when laying the tile material;
- Cannot be applied to all design styles;
- Can add gloominess to a room.
Light tiles with dark grout can be used in different cases.
Hog tile sizes
Standard sizes for this type of tile range from 120 mm by 65 mm to 250 mm to 100 mm.
In this case, you can find other forms:
- 100 by 200 mm;
- 150 by 300 mm;
- 75 by 300 mm;
- 75 by 15 mm.
The choice of size depends only on the desired final picture and the customer’s preferences.
Interior use
Using such a color combination is possible only for modern styles. An example is Scandinavian, urban, loft and modern styles. It is important to use minimalism here; for this reason, the tiles should not have a complex pattern so that contrasting seams do not look unnecessary. The presence of dim elements is acceptable, for example, imitation wood, marble, etc.
When choosing, you should also focus on the water; if it is hard, then light spots will remain on the surface of the tile, so it is better to use a lighter grout. On the floor, black is preferable, because the floor is much more dirty than the walls.
Using such a color combination is possible only for modern styles.
Features of working with boar tiles
- Tiles must be purchased with a margin of 7-10%. The consumption of such finishing material is higher when placed offset. Some of the hogs will be cut up. Remains can be used to replace damaged items.
- The wall must be level. Therefore, before laying the tiles, carefully putty and plaster the surface. Use a laser level and beacons. For better adhesion, it is necessary to treat the surface with a primer.
- Hog tiles are thicker than regular tiles, so tile adhesive will be required by 20-30 percent more. They need to lubricate both the wall and each element of the apron.
- Since preference is most often given to contrasting grout, the seams must be made perfectly and be up to 5 mm. Otherwise, the apron will look sloppy.
If the choice fell on volumetric tiles, you should pay special attention when installing sockets. Their edges should not overlap the chamfer. Otherwise, unsightly gaps will form.
Choosing between black and gray
Black is a demanding color; it cannot be used in a room where this color is not present anywhere else. If you want to grout the seams in black, then you need to take care of installing interior items of the same color. Otherwise, there is a chance of creating a bright accent that will unnecessarily stand out from the overall design.
If you want to grout the seams in black, then you need to take care of installing interior items of the same color.
White tiles with gray grout are a more universal solution; the color will not attract too much attention, and there is no need to install gray objects around the room. However, you can improve the style by using gray curtains or choosing gray tableware.
White tiles with gray grout are a more universal solution.
The renovation was recent, and the grout has already acquired a foreign tint
Even if the room has never been used, fugue (an alternative name for grout) may change in color.
There are several most likely reasons.
The seams were poorly cleaned of tile adhesive
The easiest way to remove the adhesive solution from the gaps is in the first hours after application. Speed is especially important with fast-hardening mixtures (look for the F in the name).
If the excess glue was not removed and the grout was applied over it, the result would be just such a dirty shade.
What to do about it:
Such an error most likely will not affect the quality of the surface. The tile adhesive itself holds quite firmly in the seams. But the grout may begin to crumble and fall out.
Essentially there are two options:
- Clean the seams to their full depth and re-grout. Again, this will not affect the adhesion strength of the tile to the base. But there is a risk of damaging the tiles if you work with a power tool. So you need accuracy and precision of movements, or a special tool. Much longer, but safer.
- Follow the path of least resistance and cover the grout with paint or a special felt-tip pen. It’s called a “grout marker” or “for tile joints.” We will talk about it in more detail below.
Hurry up: the plaster has not gained strength
Another reason for grout darkening. To use a colloquial expression, the plaster (or even the screed) did not have time to “dry”, and adhesive and tiles were already laid on top of it.
This situation is much more serious than glue residues in the gaps, because the real problem here is not the aesthetics of the grout, but the dubious quality of the surface. The adhesion of the layers in this case is very mediocre, so the tile will not hold firmly and will lag behind the walls or floor along with pieces of mortar.
Unfortunately, only complete dismantling will help here.
They messed with the grout: they added something for plasticity
For example, the master poured a little PVA glue or another similar household “plasticizer” into the mixture to make it more convenient to work.
Modern formulations do not like foreign additives, unless the additive is a specialized product that has already been tested in laboratories.
The white fugue quickly turns yellow from such amateur activities. It’s good that in this case you can get by with just the already mentioned marker.
You chose a low-quality or unsuitable tool (for example, prone to oxidation, rusty), or perhaps you didn’t clean it well.
You need to work with grout with a soft tool, for example, a rubber spatula (something like this). It will preserve the color and will not scratch the tiles.
Used dirty water to mix the solution
In the last two situations, the color can change either slightly or quite noticeably. And again a marker will come to the rescue.
They panicked early
If the grout has not yet dried completely, its color may differ from the declared one. It's worth waiting a little. Usually, the manufacturer writes on the packaging about the time when the surface will be completely ready. Focus on the time indicated by him.
Other color options
Not all colors are suitable for grouting white tiles. Using beige, cream and other light shades will make the surface feel dirty. Therefore, they should not be selected.
You can use not only the standard white, black and gray colors for this purpose, but also brighter and more contrasting colors - red, blue, yellow, etc. But in this case, you should definitely take care of combining them with objects in the room; the chosen color should also be present on other products so as not to get bored over time.
If you decide to make an unusual tile layout, then only dark grout can highlight such a design; using white is inappropriate.
If black is too dark for the owner of the room, then you can use dark green and dark blue mastic mortar for the joints. Brown shades will add warmth to the finish.
You can use not only standard grouts, but also brighter and more contrasting ones - red, blue, yellow, etc.
How to choose the right grout for tiles. Designer tips
The color of the grout is not as easy to choose as it seems at first glance; we usually decide this nuance with clients during the designer’s supervision. In my current project in the Rublevskoe Suburb residential complex, I had to get palettes of grout samples from several manufacturers to find the right tone. Initially, I only had one palette of one very common brand of grout. And it didn’t match the tiles chosen by the clients. Who would have thought that such a prosaic thing as cement grout could differ from manufacturer to manufacturer.
When contrasting grout spoils your bathroom
If you are conducting an experiment “How to ruin a bathroom during renovation, if it is almost ready,” I suggest you feel free to grab any combination of colored tiles + a completely different color of grout. For example, yellow tiles and blue grout. Or blue tiles and red grout. This technique is especially loved by those who saved a lot on tiles. That is, they didn’t just buy it cheap, but right at 500 rubles per square meter. Probably the logic is that grout will distract from the material.
Photo source: Yandex Images
This technique is especially often used with white square tiles. That is, at first the owners did not want a colored bathroom, but they laid the tiles and saw that it looked like in a hospital. We decided to “revive” it with grout.
Photo source: pinterest.ru
Dark tiles and white grout
This was the worst option. White grout looks much lighter in combination with bright colors.
Photo source: pinterest.ru
Here the grout emphasizes... Something. Exquisite tile geometry?
