We have the same floor tiles in that same pattern and I agree, it's not so wonderful. Your walls look great though. I don't know about the large tiles. It's a personal preference but I think small tiles (penny rounds, hexagonal tiles in B&W, etc.) look best in small NYC bathrooms.

I actually like the tiles :) If you do change them, I think the space is too small for big square tiles.

These old tiled bathrooms are nearly impossible to rip out as they were installed on mortar beds over metal lathe. Plus, you'd have to tear out the wainscot tile as they were installed over the edges of the floor tiles - you would be in for a much larger job than you think!

Since there's nothing wrong with the existing floor tile at all - Why not just grind out the old grout and replace with new sanded grout in a grey color?

I actually like the tiles. I think that a larger pattern would not work so well with the small space (you would be doing a lot of cutting to make the large tiles fit). Why not just clean the grout and apply a sealant? You could also put down a nice bath rug in that lovely soft yellow color you used for the walls.

Sounds like a great idea to me. I renovated my NYC bathroom entirely with 12x12 tiles on the floor and walls up to the ceiling and love it. It actually makes the space look bigger.

I went with a classic grid pattern with the smallest grout lines possible.

Looking at your bathroom, would you consider a stone tile? The one benefit we have with small bathrooms is a smaller amount of tile! A granite or marble would make a special accent in your bathroom and will make the white stand out nicely.

Good Luck!

Considering the narrow width, you might want to go down to a 12" square tile. I think it might be a little awkward to have just 2 tiles wide through part of the pattern. Or maybe a rectangular tile, parallel to the tub? That way you would still have a sense of largeness in one direction.

I think you're on the right track in that, regardless of size, you don't want a regular grid pattern. Running bond I think would work well. Another option is to lay the tiles 45 degrees to the wall, which I've seen work really well in smaller spaces.

Perhaps a poured floor is in order rather than tile, epoxy or rubber? No grout at all.

I agree with bepsf. The tiles you have are quite timeless. You should consider addressing the stained grout instead of re-doing the whole bathroom unless of course you just really want the work. Get yourself one of those oscillating dremel tools and the grout attachment and go to town the easy way ; ) good luck.

Why not just stain the grout a darker color? It would hide the current stains and future ones as well. Yes, it would be painstaking work, but IMO much less of a pain than ripping out the whole floor, and probably a bit less effort than grinding out and replacing the grout, which was suggested above.

I love those tiles! Though I would get frustrated with stained grout as well. I think you may refall in love with them if you got them regrouted. All I know is, using larger tiles, you would maybe only be able to fit on solid row down the middle and then have to have halves cut down the sides which may seem more like a pathway leading to the toilet? But I'm no expert!

Just my thoughts, I'm sure whatever you do will be okay.

if you do decide to change the size of the tile, I would stick with something in the 4-6" range, and lay them on a 45 degree angle with a border that parallels the walls. It makes the room appear larger. I would do the grout in a grey, also, that's just slightly different from the tile color, either lighter or darker, for a bit of variation.

Hopefully, your retiling won't tear up the walls too much, since as others pointed out, the tiled wall rests on top of the tile floor, most likely.

I've also seen tile exactly like yours regrouted with black grout, and it does look really amazing.

perhaps add narrow bands of tile in a similar or contrasting color crosswise to break up the "pathway" effect. Heath tile has nice long, thin tiles
www.heathceramics.com/go/health

I just want to say thank you for this post, because I am considering renovating my bathroom to look just like yours but am stuck on whether to get mosaic tile on the floor or bigger gray porcelain tiles, for easier cleaning. I still am not sure of what I'll do, but sounds like mosaic tile with a dark grout might be a good compromise?

You don't need to remove them to make them easier to clean. You can have them regrouted but instead of mixing grout with water have it mixed with a 50/50 solution of water and grout sealant solution. This makes water just bead right off it and dirt doesn't stay. Then you can cover it with sealant again after it dries to get the tiles too (if they are pourous). We had 1x1 tiles in a bathroom and it was a huge chore to keep clean. Sealant made a huge difference.

I love the floors I agree re grout in grey. This is an ideal bathroom to paint the upper walls black (eggshell) paint.

Then get a clear dot shower curtain.

Couple of thoughts:
1) You could clean the grout and then reseal it. It may not have been sealed originally. However you have a lot of grout there so it might drive you crazy.
2) I am currently working on a similar project. Slightly larger bath (not much) - I have 30-33" between the wall and the bath but I have a window throwing in light. 1950s house.
3) Those tiles are available at Home Depot so no big thrills there. Although they are cheap!
4) We went to the HD and bought a variety of the individual tiles (4-6 of each, including the one you have), lugged them home and put them on the floor to see how it all worked. In my head I had a 12" off white/cream matte tile laid diagonally. I've heard that larger tiles make smaller spaces look bigger and the diagonal was to stop everything looking so square and straight. Seeing the tile on the floor helps trememdously. Although I wanted to go large, we settled on a 1" off white (vintage) porcelain hexagon by Merola Tile, special order from HD at ~4.95/sq ft. First order came in and many of the hexagons were cracked so waiting on a re-order. If that order comes in cracked I'll be going back to my original desire for off white/cream 12" tile laid diagonally. Toilet and vanity are up, cement board is down, just waiting for the tile!5) If your current tile floor is flat and level you may be able to lay new mortared tile directly on top.
6) Using a clear shower curtain or keeping it tied back when dry will help make the room seem bigger/airier.

Hope this helps.

I defintely wouldn't recommend the 18" tiles- way too big for your space. If you want to less grout lines- go with a simple, contemporary porcelain tile with rectified- this way, you can get the smallest grout line possible. If you go 1/16" or smaller on the size of the grout line, be sure to use an unsanded grout.

I personally like the floor tile you have- very retro! You could always re-grout. If you do that, be sure to use a stain resistant grout. This grout is more expensive, but well worth the additional cost- cleaning is SO much easier!

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I meant to say, with rectified EDGES.

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Also, if you are re-grouting, there are many great epoxy grout type of products. It may cost more, but it will stain less.

Thanks, everyone for your comments! The tile is not original, and is the home depot special installed by the developer. If it were original, we would be keeping it, but since it is not I have no qualms about getting rid of it. Many of you suggested re-grouting, but that still requires the same level of cleaning. We have to go bigger - we're not keeping the tile. We have also thought about 12" x 24" tiles running parallel with the tub. If any of you have any further thoughts, I appreciate your comments very much. Thanks!

I was thinking the same thing. 12" x 24" parallel to the tub. Although this would make the room seem longer. 12" x 12", or 13" x 13" laid out staggered might work also. One other option could be to use small 1" or 2" tiles with a busy pattern in them. Maybe something like a marble or granite. Use a medium color grout and when it gets dirty, it won't be very noticeable because it would blend in with the tiles.