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!!

If it makes you feel any better OP I made the mistake of using a pale pink grout for my bathroom which ended up just looking like I never clean it (same shade as pink mold...oops!)

Yes they looks really bad and I agree with another that laying them portrait style makes them look worse.

Before you tip them out, I'd look into painting them. I don't know what it looks like in real life or what kind of paint you'd need, but I've seen pretty examples online of people who've done that.

They look like they're edged in mould. 🤣

I normally look at this sort of thing and think that it isn't too bad and you won't notice after a month, but that's not good at all. Change them!

I’d go for option 1 and change them now if you can afford to. Might as well get it right at the start rather than living with them for a year and deciding to

Definitely change them otherwise you’ll end up like me.

I had to make a quick decision when choosing the tiles in my en suite and I absolutely hate them. They’re on the wall with matching larger tiles on the floor. I think I liked them for about a week then realised they looked awful. 😩

They’ve been there almost 10 years now so I’m hoping DH won’t complain too much when I say it’s time for them to go. 😳

Honestly wait until they’re grouted, every time I’ve put tiles in I’ve had a major wobble once they’re put in, then the grout really completes it and brings everything together.

I would ask him to do no more now but to grout a representative section. Then leave a few days to dry down and see what they look like then. Then decide.

They do look nice as an individual tile, but together they do look dirty and I would not be happy either.

Can you afford to redo? Would the tiler have time?

These tiles look lovely in this pic

Change them now while you can. They do look dirty. This exact thing happened to me when we built our en suite five years ago. Luckily DH was doing the tiling so there was more time to consider and rectify it.

These are what I ended up with, I had to let go of the idea of rustic. I also agree that laying them portrait would make them look less institutional.

This is nice @Negroany

I agree. Your Portuguese tiles are gorgeous. And I do think the other tiles will annoy you if you really hate them now.

Do you have a local tile shop? Not a chain? I often find that they have the time and experience go to the trouble of helping select the right tile, something more akin to the portuguese..

Have you asked your tiler? . if they put in lots of tiles they might remember a similar job and what worked

Maybe Pinterest might have egs of your type of Portuguese tile and alternate tiles that go with them? Might give you a better idea of what goes.

Can you use your original tiles for something else... or sell them on ebay?.. they might be perfect for someone else's job and you might get some money back to offset the new purchase.

Hope you find something you like better.

Ha. Just seen that you have. You'll soon have it sorted.

That looks really nice.

Right. Good to know.

I had a similar change of heart when I picked flooring with different tones from a sample, but when it was laid the tones weren’t like the sample. I had to tell the fitter I didn’t like it. I’d spent so much on having new flooring I would’ve been really annoyed with myself to settle with something I didn’t like!
I can definitely see why you don’t want to keep those tiles up, I wouldn’t be happy with them at all. Definitely the right choice to have them redone before they are all fitted. It’ll be more expensive but you made an honest mistake and in the end you’ll get something you love

What’s strange about the username? Surely it’s just a play on negroni?

Your Portuguese tiles are lovely! But the others do look grubby round the edges. I’d take them off and choose something you like better, otherwise every time you go in you will look at them and hate them. Good luck!

I’d go sth like. Either white or the dark blue would be lovely too. They need to be square and the same size as the Portuguese tiles and not too modern.

https://www.porcelainsuperstore.co.uk/products/fez-chalk?_pos=2&_fid=a3abdd94b&_ss=c&_gl=1emp1cx_upMQ.._gs*MQ..&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhNne0IC1jwMVqphQBh3ipxcdEAQYCCABEgLTAvD_BwE&gbraid=0AAAAApAVCZkRrg8zXEyTdUZWAGYre4vQQ

Wait until you’ve grouted. Then decide.

I'm afraid you're right. They do look grubby. I'm such a lazy DIYer my default is to say 'nah it'll be fine' but honestly, even I would stop and say no this really isn't the look I'm going for.

Yeah, I read it wrong. I deleted what I said as soon as I wrote it.

I think they'll look completely different when they've got a light coloured grouting. Could you ask the tiler to quickly grout a small section so you can see what it will look like before he carries on? Or maybe you could lay some white wool or string in a few gaps to give the impression of light grouting?

Sorry, but they are truly awful!

I don't think they are too bad. I wouldn't have gone with small tiles as I don't like grout. It's a pain to keep clean. I think the Portuguese tiles will get dirty grout as well. Plain white tiles will need white grout and you will spend your life bleaching it. Can you use a white wall panel instead as that will stay clean?

I'd probably have used the Portuguese tiles in the shower and behind the sink as a splashback, possibly also the floor. Or the floor do in a plain matching blue or maybe wood effect laminate or tile. The walls I'd plaster and paint light toning neutral, or white...

I do hate the corner. I'd say the tiler got that wrong.

They look grubby to me too. It would be a pain to change now, but much worse to have to live with them for years and be irritated every time you see them. The photo of the tiles laid the other way around does look better, don’t know whether it would be enough of an improvement for you to like them.