Help me choose fireplace tiles

[housemadd]

I'm going a bit mad trying to find suitable tiles for our fireplace. We've been living with a hole in the wall for six months, so something needs to be done. We ripped out a hideous beige-floral-tiled-1980s wonder. It's a 1931 house, so something tiled seems appropriate.The room has purpley-blue under the dado rail and grey accents. Something greyish seems neutral and in line with our taste. I really like the look of some of the bolder patterned tiles, so after a bit of persuasion, I managed to talk DH around to a pale grey encaustic (I've attached a mockup). In the sample, it's beautiful.

All good, until we saw a group of tiles together. It's ... um ... loud. Weirdly, I tried mocking up a very-loud zigzag and I actually find it more visually restful, because the pattern is simpler. But it's pretty loud too.

I've retreated to safety and am considering grey imitation zellige. (Equipe Artisan in Alabaster.) But I don't like the mockup but I don't know why. Do the grey tiles clash with the reddish mantel?

I love the patterned tiles in the second pic, very stylish and works well with the blue. Don’t like the plain grey ones in different shades at all, they look to me like the kind of thing people would rip out. And I don’t think the zig zag is as pretty as the more complicated pattern.

The fire surround isn’t really a 1930s design . Ia if veneered or solid wood? Art Deco tiles were often highly glazed and plain.

I have two fireplaces. One has black marble where your tiles would go but the fire surround is pale marble. My other fire surround is Edwardian and painted white. It’s got bricks inside the fire area and we just paint the minimal bit below and either side of the fire grate area. I think if it’s not a wood that would have been used in the 1930s I might be inclined to paint it and have plain tiles. The fire surround looks tall. Art Deco ones were wider.

I like the tiles in the second picture. Looks very elegant.

Number 2 is my favourite

Number two

I really like the ones in the second picture. The others, not so much.

Number 2 is gorgeous

The second op looks lovely. Number 3 makes my eyes go a bit funny xx

The star patterned ones are the nicest - but your decor doesn’t match with the wooden fire surround. Personally I would paint the brown wood out - probably black - then use the star tiles.

Number 2

Number 2. I agree the brown mantle feels out of kilter.

I would paint the fire surround as the tone of brown wood clashes with the grey wall paint and is too dominating. I think this is why you can't see what tiles would look good.
Try painting it black or white and the star tiles. That would look striking

@TizerorFizz, the fire surround isn't original to the house (the original was long gone), but it's reclaimed from another 1930s house. It's solid oak with some quarter sawn parts. I agree it's a slightly old-fashioned style for a 1930s house. It was originally a bedroom fireplace, which were often less contemporary than the ones chosen for the reception rooms. Although it's a bedroom fireplace it seems to be the right size for the chimney breast, and it blends in stylistically (imo). My house overall seems to have been conservatively designed - it's a late arts and crafts style, with half-timbering and lots of oak.

Thanks everyone, this is so useful! It sounds like a resounding vote that I should stick with the starry one that I'd originally chosen. I was a bit afraid I'd looked at too many heavily-styled pictures online and chosen something ridiculous, so it's really good to have the reassurance the other people like it too.
I think the solid grey tiles would be nicer in person than they are in the mockup, but why take the chance when the star encaustic is so nice?

@housemadd
Ah! I did think it was quite petite. Oak is good so keep that.

Would a grey veined marble work? Something hexagonal maybe to bring in pattern. Something like this from Mandarin Stone

Ooh, that's beautiful, @SollaSollew. And you're right, it's subtle but has some interest going on. Sadly, DH isn't keen on mosaics, so I think he'd nix it.