White metro tiles, gloss white shaker kitchen units and solid beech worktops

[Ribeno]

Hi all, I would be grateful if you could share your experiences of having white metro tiles in a kitchen as a splash back and between upper cabinets/ worktop with white grouting.

I struggle to keep my bathroom grouting clean so am a bit wary of having white grouting in my new kitchen but think even light grey grouting might look too vintage.

Im not really into the country kitchen look but have shaker style gloss cabinets as I wanted contemporary styling.

Can anyone help me decide and share their experiences with white grouting?

My kitchen has:
pale moss green/spring green walls above and at end of cabinets.
White high gloss units.
Solid beech worktop.
Stainless steel ovens
Solid oak clear varnished kitchen door.

Id be delighted for any comments to be posted!

Thanks.

[Mandy21]

In our last house, we had a black gloss kitchen, white metro tiiles and a solid beech worktop. The splashback was tiled in the white metro tiles, gloss, they had slightly bevelled edges. The kitchen opened up into quite a large kitchen diner and the walls were painted cream.

When we put the tiles up, we didn't grout them straight away so you could see the plaster colour wall behind the tiles (i.e. there was a contrast between the tiles and the space where the grout would be). I actually really liked that, and it seemed to set the tiles off. It was like that for at least a couple of months. The tiles themselves were fine, showed marks quite easily but really liked the way they bounced the light around. We eventually go round to grouting in white and I didn't like it - you couldn't really see any definition in the splashback. it just looked like one bland area of white. I think this looked OK in the end as we had a black gloss kitchen, but I wouldn't have white tiles, white grout and white kitchen units. I think the detail will get lost and it'll just look like one big white area. Thats just my opinion though, you might want a big white area, but it would look better with a contrasting grout. Why don't you put them up and leave them without grout for a while, or perhaps grout a very small area in white to compare?

[Ribeno]

Thanks mandy. Black tiles you had sounded nice. We are having a professional in to do them so I thought that he might want to do it all on the day. Did you find white grout hard to clean?

[Ribeno]

sorry, black cabinets

[Mandy21]

Hi there again, we sold quite quickly - 6 months or so - after doing that so didn't really get chance to see how the white grout would fair over time. It lost its "pristine" cleanliness quite quickly though. We have white tiles and white grout in the bathroom of the house we're now in - put up as a very temporary job until we extened - and the grout there is horrid. Admittedly it comes into contact more frequently with water but in a matter of months the grout is peachy / orange and really difficult to clean (although having said that, I don't know whether coloured grout is also affected by hard / soft water!). Sorry, not much help!

[mathanxiety]

I had exactly this in my house, but I also had tiles and grouting behind the stovetop.

Don't do subway tiles with white grouting behind your stovetop It was a complete pita to keep the grouting there clean. It all got splattered with grease and steam that required a lot of elbow grease on a weekly basis to keep clean.

Elsewhere it was fab. It was lovely as a splashback and between the counter and the upper cabinets -- gave the kitchen an anchored, solid feel and a nice, clean look. I had white grouting. It all looked really clean and was easy to maintain. The lighting under the cabinets was magnified by the tiles. Cleaning the grouting involved a bit of scouring powder containing bleach and an old toothbrush every so often. The tiles themselves required only a good wipe with a sponge and scouring powder every now and then, and I used the kitchen every day to prepare dinner, lots of baking, etc.

The peachy orange stuff on grouting in bathrooms is a fungus. You can use bleach or Head and Shoulders shampoo to clean it off. It comes off almost instantly with a cloth soaked in bleach. Good ventilation and regular bleaching will keep it at bay.

All grout, no matter what colour, in a room that is frequently filled with steam and not ventilated well enough will grow mildew and other fungi. The secret to keeping it clean and looking good is proper ventilation plus bleach.