Confession: I have a strange soapbox. I have many, actually, but this is just one. It's tile. I love tile pretty much anywhere. If it is laid the wrong way, though, it just sucks. I rent a home, and the kitchen has a ceramic tile that is cream colored and printed with taupes and beiges. Sounds exciting, huh? The person that laid the tile paid no attention to how the tile was laid, every square with a different orientation. Big deal, right? WRONG! Instead of looking spontaneous and natural, it looks constantly dirty. I can sweep, mop, steam, scrub... It doesn't matter. It always looks dirty. Two people are to blame for this senseless mental torture: the builder/owner who assumably picked the tile (not my landlord) and the contractor who laid it while wearing a blindfold. So, how do you avoid meeting this same fate while building or remodeling? Whether you're a DIYer or a pay-somebody-else kind of person, when you pick your tile, try one of two things. 1) Take a photo of the tiles and print enough to make a square in your room, 3'x3' or 4'x4'. 2) Lay them out in the store or grab a few samples that you can easily return in you hate them. Use either method and lay the individual tiles in a square all facing the same direction and facing different directions. Make a note of which you prefer, if there is an obvious difference. Save the headache.
note: If you're using natural stone (ie. every piece is different) or a solid color, this obviously won't become an issue for you.
note: If you're using natural stone (ie. every piece is different) or a solid color, this obviously won't become an issue for you.