Pattern Tiles in kitchen with lots of corners

IsThisOneFree

We're looking to (finally) tile under our kitchen units after renovating it over 2 years ago. We've selected a combination of plain and patterned tiles:

[Red]
https://www.tiles-direct.com/wall-tiles-c26/nikea-tiles-c791/parian-red-14-2cm-x-14-2cm-wall-floor-tile-12-pack-p4761

[Cream]
https://www.tiles-direct.com/wall-tiles-c26/nikea-tiles-c791/parian-cream-14-2cm-x-14-2cm-wall-floor-tile-12-pack-p4734

[Patterned]
https://www.tiles-direct.com/wall-tiles-c26/nikea-tiles-c791/parian-coloured-decors-14-2cm-x-14-2cm-wall-floor-tile-12-pack-p4041

We want to put them into a red/cream chequered pattern with a good dash of the pattern ones mixed in for a bit of interest.

The problem (or potential problem) is that there are alot of corners in our kitchen and the worktop line goes up and down at the hob and at the sink. The tiles are 15cm square each but none of the areas are equally divisible by 15/30cm unfortunately.

I've printed out copies of the tiles and stuck them to the wall, but no matter what way I lay them out, it's impossible to lay them out without there being half tiles in obvious places.

Any pics I've seen of pattern tiles online typically show them on a long wall with unbroken lines. So this is making me wonder, is our kitchen just "not right" for these types of tile ? Should we go with a plain tile which would be much more forgiving of a kitchen with lots of corners and lines like ours ? Or is this something that a good tiler can easily work around ?

awec

The tiler will work around the corners, but 15cm square tiles are really quite big for that space, you will have cut tiles everywhere and I'm not sure it will look right. IMO of course, others may disagree.

The most obvious areas will be the two corners at the hob there the wall goes diagonally. Both of those corners will have cut tiles on all 3 walls. The fact that you're going for a mix of tiles will make this more obvious than if they were all the same tile.

The fact that the wall is more exposed above the sink and hob is not really an issue, but again, it's just going to be more cut tiles.

listermint

There's alot going on with those tiles. Are you sure?

Busy stuff like that is ok in very small amounts anything larger and it ages the area very quickly.

Keep the pallet simple.

awec

listermint wrote: »

There's alot going on with those tiles. Are you sure?

Busy stuff like that is ok in very small amounts anything larger and it ages the area very quickly.

Keep the pallet simple.

Totally agree with this.

Calahonda52

100% agree with comments above.
It will look brutal, and have a lot of waste.
Stick with the cream and the pattern, lose the red, area way too small, uneven, for that sort of mix

looksee

I decided I wanted some patterned large tiles in the kitchen, but had the same problem of the top line being messy. So I just have one row of tiles (about 35cm I guess) immediately above the worktop and let the rest of the space be painted. I'm happy with it!

seannash

Ill be in the minority here but red and cream tiles are something my grandmother would pick out.
It'll look dated immediately after the first day
Also agree its going to be very busy

IsThisOneFree

Thanks for all the responses.

15cm square tiles are really quite big for that space

Maybe you're right, but I can't find anything much smaller, with the exception of brick/metro tiles (which are still 15cm wide but half the height) and mosaic tiles (which I don't like)

There's alot going on with those tiles. Are you sure?

Nope, I'm not 100% sure :-) But I'm leaning towards these ones

The reason I'm (thinking of) going for something like this is because to be honest, the entire room is beige right now (with the exception of a red brick fireplace) and I wanted to use the tiles to bring in a bit more interest. But my main concern really was having loads of half tiles around the place. For example, the area from the right of the hob to the edge of the sink isn't evenly divisible by 15, which means when we get to the area above the sink, we'll have a half tile near the top. And that area itself is 1 meter wide so again, not divisible by 15.

The only way I can think of the half tiles not having such an impact is to break the chequered pattern periodically (eg having 3 cream tiles together so that the pattern is a bit more randomized) so that it doesn't seem so "obvious" when you come to the half tiles. But I don't know if that'd help much either ...

Stick with the cream and the pattern, lose the red

Out of curiosity, why would you loose the red rather than the patterned ? I have a friend who suggested the same, said she doesn't like that shade of red

For those that think the patterned ones are too much, below are a few pictures of the tiles in-situ. They're not the actual tiles, I just printed them out and stuck them to the wall. I'm not trying to change anybody's mind :-) Just give you a better idea of what they look like up before ruling them out completely.

https://ibb.co/fYHJrdr
https://ibb.co/SRsQb4N
https://ibb.co/WfN8fM9
https://ibb.co/YdvhRMz
https://ibb.co/M63RJ1H

My "Plan B" tile is a cream and red metro tile. But everyone I show them to says they prefer the patterned ones.

Snoddy

Would you consider placing the pattern tiles behind the hob and/orthe other alcove? Your walls are busy and you need to focus the eye on something. You could keep the other walls plain.

awec

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

Thanks for all the responses.

Maybe you're right, but I can't find anything much smaller, with the exception of brick/metro tiles (which are still 15cm wide but half the height) and mosaic tiles (which I don't like)

Nope, I'm not 100% sure :-) But I'm leaning towards these ones

The reason I'm (thinking of) going for something like this is because to be honest, the entire room is beige right now (with the exception of a red brick fireplace) and I wanted to use the tiles to bring in a bit more interest. But my main concern really was having loads of half tiles around the place. For example, the area from the right of the hob to the edge of the sink isn't evenly divisible by 15, which means when we get to the area above the sink, we'll have a half tile near the top. And that area itself is 1 meter wide so again, not divisible by 15.

The only way I can think of the half tiles not having such an impact is to break the chequered pattern periodically (eg having 3 cream tiles together so that the pattern is a bit more randomized) so that it doesn't seem so "obvious" when you come to the half tiles. But I don't know if that'd help much either ...


Out of curiosity, why would you loose the red rather than the patterned ? I have a friend who suggested the same, said she doesn't like that shade of red

For those that think the patterned ones are too much, below are a few pictures of the tiles in-situ. They're not the actual tiles, I just printed them out and stuck them to the wall. I'm not trying to change anybody's mind :-) Just give you a better idea of what they look like up before ruling them out completely.

https://ibb.co/fYHJrdr
https://ibb.co/SRsQb4N
https://ibb.co/WfN8fM9
https://ibb.co/YdvhRMz
https://ibb.co/M63RJ1H

My "Plan B" tile is a cream and red metro tile. But everyone I show them to says they prefer the patterned ones.

The red looks old fashioned, like the sort of tile you'd see in an old country house, but looks out of place in your kitchen. IMO it's too strong and bold of a colour.

If you're looking to avoid entirely white / cream stuff, I would personally look at more pastel tones and colours.

The patterened tiles aren't bad but they look like bathroom rather than kitchen tiles IMO.

IsThisOneFree

Sorry, forgot to respond back to this. Thanks for all the replies. I've not done anything since really. I will say, most people like the red, but I appreciate all the feedback.

I've decided to take a look at Winchester Tile Range - specifically the Strawberry or Burgundy and Off White:

https://www.winchestertiles.com/details?product=W.OW1004

https://www.winchestertiles.com/details?product=W.RA1004

https://www.winchestertiles.com/details?product=W.BN1004

There's not many stockists in Ireland so just trying to get a few samples at the moment. But thanks again for all the feedback.

awec

All of those still look very old fashioned IMO, though fair enough not everyone's tastes are the same, but it's generally telling when you have trouble finding stockists of things. Is there a particular reason you're set on such a deep red?

On the upside, those tiles are smaller, so there'll be less waste and less cuts than the previous ones.

listermint

awec wrote: »

All of those still look very old fashioned IMO, though fair enough not everyone's tastes are the same, but it's generally telling when you have trouble finding stockists of things. Is there a particular reason you're set on such a deep red?

On the upside, those tiles are smaller, so there'll be less waste and less cuts than the previous ones.

How to immediately date a kitchen 101.
Choose tiles from the 90s.