apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The tiles look great, but, unless my monitor is playing tricks on me, the walls in your kitchen look like a pale violet which I don't think will match. I'd repaint them paint or maybe pick up a color from the tile.

Oops... "repaint them white".

Thanks, Sasha. Maybe it would make sense to paint the walls second, after i see how the tiles look in the space. a muted version of one of the tile colors might look good. what do you think?

those tiles are great. go for it and then paint some swatches on the wall and see what works best.

I like the tiles a lot - very fun & cheerful. I think painting the walls a more muted version of one of the tile colors would be the best idea - if you paint the walls in too bold a shade, I'd be afraid that the tiles wouldn't stand out as much.

I love those tiles. They will definitely go with you wood cabinets. As everyone else mentioned, just repaint your walls to compliment the tiles-you'll be able to go in so many directions it may be hard to choose which color!

Where did you find those tiles?

As far as the price goes for laying the tile--expect to 25-40 dollars per hour. That should be a one day job. How many square feet is the kitchen? Keep in mind that a sheet of plywood (which is what your subfloor is) is 4' x 8'. Think of your kitchen in terms of how many sheets of plywood and then it becomes easier to estimate how long it would take to nail down a couple sheets. Also, your tiles are square, easy to cut, easy to lay, easy to grout. No problem!

Save yourself some cash and tear the old floor out yourself.

The trickiest part, I believe, will be finding someone to do it! Good help, for small jobs, is always hard to find. There is a great tile forum, www.johnbridge.com that is extraordinarily helpful with everything tile. Maybe you could do a search for tile installers in your area.

Be sure to post pictures when you are finished, I would love to see them.

thanks art! i definitely have no problem doing a lot of the work myself, but i'm worried it will get complicated because the original tile goes all the way under the cabinets to the wall. any ideas on how to manage that?

well Jessie,

of course if you really want to do it right you should tile under the cabinets, at least underneath the front of the cabinets.

I don't want to give you too much advice because I'm not a professional, but, if you've got enough help and you can figure out how your cabinets are attached to the wall, you could disconnect everything and move them off the floor. It would be very cumbersome to move those cabinets as one unit but it could be done. The stove would be a cinch to move and then you'd have the whole floor open for an easy job.

Is that a granite countertop? If so, you may not want to take up the cabinet yourself. you do want a pro to level the subfloor. I presume it's concrete? but since you'll probably have wide grout joints, you can diy the tile part.

I think the tiles are lovely. I would definitely paint the walls a different color, though. I think the cream color in the tile would look fantastic and really bring out the warmth of the wood, while keeping the space bright.

Good luck!

I think they would be better with a more rough-hewn type wooden cabinet door or something.

I would advise against using those tiles on a floor. They are very fragile and prone to scratching and cracking and generally should be used only on walls or lightly-used countertops. If you do decide to use them on your floor, definitely hire a pro to do the work. If your subfloor is not perfect, they will crack and crumble almost immediately. I also suggest sealing them.

I think the black in the tile ties in nicely with the black countertop. I agree on painting the walls cream as well. The room might also look nice with some black mosaic tiles as a backsplash. Add some nice undercabinet lighting to make the backsplash shimmer and I think you will have a very special kitchen.

I like the tiles but I vote against using them in this kitchen. Sorry for being different:) Save the tiles for future.

The overall style of the kitchen appears to be simple and modern-you've got your stainless steel, great maple cabinets and dark countertops. Everything is was well chosen and works well together.

Again, the tiles are great however I do not think they will compliment or enhance the style of the kitchen.

My suggestion is simply change the paint color of the walls-something neutral that pops. I suggest Restoration Hardware paints. They have an assortment of colors in the cream family that I think will work with your space.

I also suggest getting a glass tile for the backsplash and chosing a different tile for the floor-dark and simple (no design)...something that plays off of the countertops but does not take all the attention in the kitchen. You want to avoid having a visitor's eye drop to the floor when they walk into your kitchen.

Again, great kitchen and I wish you success in your tile choice.

Oh, I LOVE Talavera tiles! But like WendyInIndy, I'm not sure they're floor-rated. And even down here closer to the border, Talavera tiles are not cheap. I would love to have a Talavera floor, but a Saltillo tile floor is more traditional, most likely because the Talavera tiles are more delicate and expensive. I would hate for you to go to all the trouble, and then they crumble under your feet.

Would you consider a backsplash? It looks like you've got enough room to show the full 4-part pattern.

If you don't want a backsplash, I would make a wall hanging out of 4 tiles, or for something more unusual, maybe use 8 tiles so you have the pattern twice, then hang it either horizontal or vertical as your space allows. Then pull out one of the tile colors for paint. I would match the muted teal. Your cabinets have just enough orange in them to represent the coral color, and you could use textiles to bring in the lighter turquoise and navy blue. I would add cream, too, for lightness. If you did the tile hanging, it would look really nice to paint a cream rectangle behind the hanging to frame it out.

Check out this post for a discussion of painting the walls peacock/turquoise/teal.

Unfortunately, I think it's almost certain that you'll need new subflooring. This will definitely jack up the cost. I once laid a subfloor myself in an old bathroom, and it was a b****. --Then the tiles, requiring the table saw with the water tray to keep the blade cool, and the cutting-out-sections in the tiles to fit around pipes, etc. Hmmm, I might do it again as I felt so macho and accomplished, but just know what you're getting into--cost-wise to have it done; exacting and awfully pricey in terms of labor equity.