Today’s design aficionados are a bunch that bore easily – once it’s on Instagram, we tend to seek out the next new thing to get us hot under the collar. Having wholeheartedly embraced the transformative qualities of subway tiles for their broad applications in kitchens and bathrooms ranging from country style to industrial, subway tiles have also become ubiquitous with trendy cafes. So, we still love these tiles but how do we maintain an edge against suburbanites seeking hipster status? Now we can announce that 2016 is well and truly the year of coloured grout. Never has accessorising been so cheap and cheerful!
One of the easiest ways to make a style yours is to customise.
For too long now we have been living in a grout rut sticking with the status quo as default. Naturally, traditional neutrals have their place, but it’s time think outside the square and embrace coloured grout as part of the overall design with the finish of your tiles, especially for mosaics.
Imagine the striking effect of black porcelain mosaics with a red or turquoise grout. Or Calacatta hex mosaics with a pale green or blue? How unique would emerald green subway tiles with a smoky rose coloured grout look for your next project?
While of course rules were made to be broken, the use of coloured grout opens so many design options, it truly is exciting!
If you match the grout to your coloured tile, you get a stronger impact or softer effect than a stark contrast of a traditional white between the tiles. This is a far more contemporary finish.
Likewise it can really tie a room together if your grout complements your fixtures like cupboards – whether you use a duck egg blue or a rustic creamy brown.
Contrast on the other hand can also be fun, if you match your grout to a feature wall or lighting (and then add in soft furnishings like towels for a truly cohesive effect).
Who would have thought the one product could both sharpen or soften the contrast or add a zingy feature to a room? Naturally you will want to be careful about cleaning your new found friend – here are the care deets.
That is of course, only the beginning of the possibilities now available. We have even discovered that Mapei have a glitter grout (Mapeglitter).
Yep, you read that correctly - glitter grout!
US blog Apartment Therapy has a great article on the power of grout here:
For some spectacular examples locally, visit Houzz Australia:
The zing of a citrus grout and grey subway tile is sublime in its simplicity and modern feel.
That's it from us for this week, 'til next time our tile obsessed friends...
XOXO Byzantine Design
Changing the World one tile at a time.
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