Aargh!! I hate my tiles!!

[OrtsandNoughts]

AIBU to get my tiles removed mid way through fitting? And not seem like I’m completely crazy?
I’m having my en-suite renovated. I’ve chosen a feature wall of Portuguese tiles which I love but found it hard to match up a plain tile for the rest of the walls. I’ve bought plain off-white rustic tiles which looked a good match as a sample. But now they’re on the wall, they’ve got a dark edging which makes them look dirty. This wasn’t apparent when I just had one or two as samples.

The tiler is halfway through and I really don’t think I like them. The tiler is due back tomorrow to finish the job.So what do I do?

1. Stop the job, get him to rip them off and find a replacement tile? This would add extra time and expense to a job that’s already taken ages and been over budget. Plus I’d look stupid!
2. Wait to see how they look finished (it’s not grouted yet and the sanitary ware isn’t in)
3. Accept I have terrible taste and suck it up.

Any advice welcome. Please be kind. I’ve not done anything of this magnitude before. It’s been my dream to change my en-suite for so long and to have it as my little sanctuary. But it’s been a nightmare (the company doing it have not been great and I can’t wait for it to be finished) I don’t think it’s even going to be worth all the upheaval it if I hate the end result. 😩
The first photo is the sample , the second is the tile on the wall.
To add insult to injury, my son says it looks like a gents public toilet which was not the look I was going for!!

Yes, they look rustic, which isn't a bad thing.
I think the whole thing will look a lot better when the grout is in.

Aw I’m so sorry but they really do look bad 🙈 I really wanted to click and reassure you but i agree with your son.

If you don’t like them now, change them while you can.
If this was to be your sanctuary, and you love your Portuguese feature wall, then these will just detract from it, and annoy you every time you go in there.

Suck up the cost and sort it out at this point (while it’s relatively easy to) to get the en-suite of your dreams.

Edit - they look a sort of beige colour in the 2nd pic. I’m not keen. But how does that tie in with the feature tiles? Can you post a pic of them?

I'd take them off hey do look dirty

What colour grout are you going for? What do they look like in natural daylight? I like them and think a light grout will make a big difference to the overall look.

I’d take them off, they do look like a grubby public toilet, sorry

I think you're better sucking it up now and taking them off - can we see what they are to match? Have you looked at wet wall?

I have those tiles and navy blue painted parts.

The key is to use beige grout.

I'm afraid I think laying them portrait is part of the issue though, that's what makes it look more "industrial". I'll get a photo of mine.

When you have clean white grout in between the tiles, surely your brain will be logical and block the perception that the tiles are dirty, because grouting is the first thing to look gross if a shower is at all in need of a clean. But it'll take effort to keep the grout white.

I don't think they look bad together OP.

They look rustic. I don’t think they look bad. Will look better when grouted. That said, if you are not happy now is the time to take action.

It's cream grout I think.

It won't let me add one of just the tiled wall, says the picture is too big.

Can you get someone to do an AI pic of them with white grout to see the finished look? There’s groups on fb that do it

Of your three options, I’d go with 1.
Really frustrating that the sample wasn’t representative; I’ve had that happen too.

Your second picture looks fabulous I have to say. Can you do a pic more of the whole room?

Assuming you are going to use a white grout they will look absolutely fine. At the moment they look dirty as there is darkness between them. Don’t worry about it.

My long awaited bathroom has just been finished and it’s the wrong floor! It was my fault- I missed my chance to correct the floor covering selection/ order when it arrived and now I am having to make myself live with the wrong floor! Definitely stop the tiling now!! Don’t be me 😭

I wouldn't care about "looking stupid" though if it was me. If I could afford it and it would make a difference I'd go ahead and do what I wanted.

I once had a kitchen done, "designed" it myself with the guy who was going to fit it. Came home from work, he had put the last wall cupboard up, he said "what do you think?". I said, "it looks terrible, that cupboard needs to come down, and we need to move the window", so, that's what we did. I had no idea until I saw it that it would be an issue, but it definitely was!

I have had decorators repaint when I've not liked the paint I've chosen.

I'd remove them now before he has finished and started the grouting. Sorry, but I agree with your son that it looks like a filthy toilet block.

We've recently renovated and had multiple bathrooms/en-suites to do. I'd go with much larger, clean tiles without the odd colouring. Less grout will make the room look larger too. Do you have a pic of the Portuguese feature wall?

Sorry, they look horrible. I'd have them changed.

Yes, they look awful.

Ooh rip them off and do them again like Negroany’s!! They look lovely!!

And dont beat yourself up - these things happen. I had my kitchen cabinets repainted and the white-ish I chose, whilst lovely on the sample, was hideous when all the intricate repainting had been done 🤦‍♀️. Took ages to put right, but I couldn't live with the glaring optic white!!

They look awful at the moment but I think light grouting will make all the difference.

Thank you!

I was starting to worry then. Though I admit when they first went up I was a bit 🤔 about them. I just wanted an off-white against the dark blue. The tiler said "I always worry when I see beige tiles, but actually these look good". I was like (gritted teeth) "They're not beige, they're off-white".

I think tiling them brick, offset, style helps a lot, so the corners aren't together.

That corner looks terrible