We used dark gray grout on white penny tile floors and it worked great. I only like dark grout on walls when it is white subway tile and they are practically butt jointed, meaning having just a very thin line of grout.

We just finished a project like this in the kitchen, and spent way too long picking grout. We finally went with a lighter gray than most of these pictures (ours looks most like the first kitchen on the bottom row). I'm really happy with it. I hated the white on white look, and agreed that it just ends up dirty. The gray allows the form of the tiles to stand out (and ours are a slightly different shape, so we liked having that emphasized). It also ages the kitchen, which was a goal.

Black grout on white tiles usually does not look that good on the walls when it is thick. These examples are really good demonstrations of it done right. Good post.

I used to have white grout in my old kitchen and it was so hard to keep white. I cleaned and cleaned, but it still looked gross. Now, we have white hex tile with black grout in our bathroom and I love it. I've never even thought about cleaning it. Hmm, is that bad?

Always makes me think of dirty grout. Not a fan.

Subway tile is retro, right? So why not grout it to look like it was always there? I like dark grout because that's the way it gets after 100 years. My contractor and I warred over my choice of dark grey grout for my hex tile bathroom floor...and finally he won. I constantly have a very dirty looking beige grout and wish I would have pushed harder...I would have liked it more!

looks diseased. and how do you tell when it IS diseased if it is already black?

Hmm... I need to retile my bathroom floor and was agonizing over whether to go with dark or light grout and was leaning toward dark. Glad to see that dark grout with white tiles CAN look good! :-)

Maybe it's because I am a born/bred New Yorker but all of those gross me out. With the black grout they remind me of the actual NYC subway tiles. Not something I'd want in my home.

I have some very strong opinions regarding grout. First, I like floor grout to be darker than wall grout. And it definitely has to be dark enough to withstand dirt! Nothing looks worse than "patches" of dirt-darkened grout. Yuck. As for wall grout, I like a dark-ER grout color, not a dark grout color. Some of the above pictured rooms would give me a headache. It should always be about the tiles, never about the grout. The darker grout is only there to help the tiles stand out. It should never be the other way around. As for white tiles/white grout? You might as well paint your walls white and call it a day. Not to mention the upkeep......

I love love love dark grout. That said, we bought a midtone grey for our white subway tiles in the kitchen, hoping it would be a little less in your face.

Earlier this year, I installed a custom-designed kitchen backsplash from Susan Jablon Mosaics, using 1x3 inch subway tiles in white, watermelon, orange, and slate gray (60% white, 40% colors). I picked a dark gray grout that's similar to the slate tiles, and it turned out great. The colors and the white tiles really pop against the dark grout.

People definitely have strong opinions on this matter! I really like all of the examples, though i agree less grout with more tightly spaced tiles is a good thing, and grey is better than black. The first photo is too harsh but i love all of the others! Even having lived in nyc!

And that's why I hate ceramic tile in general. Can't keep white grout clean enough, can't stand dark grout.

Haven't they come a long way with grout sealing products, though?

I've had dark grout before and hated the calcium deposits it showed. At least you can bleach white grouting.

I love dark grout with the exception of the first photo on this post b/c the grout lines are way too bold. White grout makes it all look so clinical plus it is so hard to keep clean. I'm also a native NYC'er!

I love it. We have done 3 different projects with white tile - used medium to dark gray grout each time and loved the results.

if it's a very thin line, I like it. Thick like the first picture? Notsomuch. Too cluttered visually.

Well I'm on the "ick!" side of the fence. Try as I might, dark grout just looks dirty to me.

White tile + white or beige grout + SEALANT for me please.

(Hey at least it isn't my current apartment's bathroom with white-pink tiles and yellowed grout that will never come clean because nobody ever sealed it)

Eeeuuuwww!!! NEVER! I ride the NYC subway everyday and don't want to be reminded of it when I get home.

I actually like the idea of it (and I ride the NYC subway, too).

I guess my only question is if the color is affected by using bleach on it.

Not a fan. It just looks filthy to me (I'm also an NYer who doesn't like this look in the actual subway either)--plus, it makes the tile look so busy.

I am definitely on the LOVE side of dark grout and subway white tile, probably mostly because my bathroom is tiled this way and I think it looks crisp and clean. It really makes the tile pop.

I just specified grout for two bathrooms I am working on. Did a slightly darker grey, but not dark by any means. Grout just seems to be a necessary evil, too light is hard to keep clean and too dark looks dirty. I try to go a few shades lighter or darker than the tile.

I'm looking at this issue for my kitchen backsplash right now - I just don't think I could go black with white tile.

But a medium taupe or grey? Certainly.

I'd vote for a medium tone with tight spaces... I also think the lines in the first kitchen are too bold... Your eye goes straight to the grout- something that should seem invisible, like caulking.

i agree with a lot of ppl here, i think the thick dark lines created with the grout in many of the pictures looks old in a bad way. i think that subway tile is tough to begin with, because of its geometric, machine made regularity, so adding thick dark grout only exacerbates the hard lines.

i think, generally, no to dark grout with subway tiles.

my brother and his wife just did this tile treatment in their rowhouse in Philly. It looks smashing. check it out here:http://rowhouserenovation.wordpress.com/

My vote would be to go with a grayish color grout...just enough for a contrast. The black grout is too harsh.

I've waited for a collection of white-tile/dark-grout images forever! Way to go, Annie!

I'm on the Dark Side<insert StarWars joke here>- I think darker grout looks awesome if you're going for more of an aged look. With that said, I agree that the darker the grout you have, the thinner the grout lines should be. Black grout may not be the answer for everyone, but medium-dark grey grout looks much better (than plain white) in my opinion. Besides the upkeep factor, it just blends in waaaay too much. Sarah@HungryBambino, thanks for the link!

Btw, who in the world would want beige grout with white tile?! Talk about ICK...

I think that it definitely is a matter of opinion, and both are fine. I rather like the grey grout, but prefer the white grout in a bathroom. I am currently putting in white subway tile with white grout in my bathroom. Pics are on my blog Happy Renovations
Let me know what you guys think!

I love gray grout with white subway tile! I have this on my to-do list for a future bathroom renovation!