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All the Tile We’re Using In the Two Flat!

This post is sponsored by The Tile Shop. We’re sharing every last tile choice we’ve chosen for our Two Flat renovation, ranging from bathrooms to kitchens to laundry rooms (no small feat!).

Featured: Laura Ashley Wicker Dove Grey

Hands down, our most time consuming design decision to date has been choosing tile for each and every bathroom, kitchen and laundry room in the Two Flat. (That’s 3 bathrooms, 2 kitchens and 2 laundry rooms, if you’re counting!) Needless to say, renovating a house from top to bottom is very different than renovating one room at a time. Being that we have always been planted firmly in the latter camp, we’ve had to stretch and flex our creative muscles harder than ever before! And when the time came to dive deep into the world of All the Tile, we had a choice to make:

Will the tile be the feature in the room? Or will it play a supporting role?

We couldn’t be more excited to partner with The Tile Shop to cover every angle – from shower surrounds to kitchen backsplashes to laundry room floors – and luckily, The Tile Shop has a solution for any design dilemma that may come your way. Marble or porcelain? Yes. Shower curbs? They’ve got those. Bullnose and pencil and skirting? They have that, too! In fact, the options are so wonderfully plentiful, that the hardest part will be narrowing down which direction you want to go. But with over 100 retail locations, a full online shopping experience and samples of any piece your heart desires, they’ve got you covered.

But back to the question at large: To be (a showstopper) or not to be (a showstopper)? Scott and I are both in agreement that less is more when it comes to design, but that’s not to say that you can’t have an element that makes you stop in your tracks. Whether that’s tile or wallpaper or a bold paint color, we think every room needs a touch of quirk! Above, you can see several samples we collected and tested in the Two Flat. We considered everything from deep greens to honed marble to geometric pattern, and over the course of many, many days (weeks?), we narrowed it down to the perfect mix of classic and quirk, we think.

Without Further Ado, Our Final Tile Selections!

A flat lay of all the tile we'll be using in our Two Flat renovation | via Yellow Brick Home

I’ll break down each tile choice by room below, but I first want to mention that our main goal was to create a palette for the entire home. We stuck closely to a black and white palette, but we were sure to inject polished marble, blush and pattern!

Unit 1 | First Floor Bathroom

Classic black and white tile with basketweave floor tile that we'll be using in our Two Flat renovation | via Yellow Brick Home

Unit 1’s first floor bathroom is the very definition of classic. Polished white subway tile on the walls will meet a marble basketweave floor, and we’ll be threading a black marble pencil throughout. Instead of the same millwork we’ve used in the rest of the home, we couldn’t resist a black marble skirting, which kicks everything up (at least) ten notches!

Oh, and did I mention this is the bathroom where we’ve salvaged the original pink tub and sink? Yup, we’ve decided that the tile will play a supporting role in this room, allowing our pink fixtures to really shine. Even still, I can’t resist a black pencil detail, so who wants to take bets that this will end up being my favorite room in the whole house?

Classic black and white tile with basketweave floor tile that we'll be using in our Two Flat renovation | via Yellow Brick Home

Unit 1 first floor bath selections: Hampton Niles marble mosaic 12″ x 12″ | Imperial Bianco gloss subway 3″ x 6″ | Black Marquina polished marble skirting | Black Marquina pencil tile | Imperial Bianco Barnes (cap) | charcoal grout

Unit 1 | Den Bathroom

Blush gloss mosaic tile for our shower surround | via Yellow Brick Home

The den will have a full shower, and we couldn’t think of a better way to tie together the two bathrooms than with this pretty blush tile! Remember this inspiration? The floor, walls, ceiling and niche will all be bathed (see what I did there?) in this glossy blush 1″ x 1″ mosaic tile. The subway tile you see will be used for trim and niches.

Unit 2 den bath selections: Imperial Blush gloss 12″ x 12″ | Imperial Blush gloss wall tile | Hampton Carrara shower curb

Unit 1 | Laundry + Kitchen

The laundry room is located in the den, which recently received fully polished concrete floors, and we’ve decided to leave the laundry floor alone. And the kitchen? We have plans for vertical planking (we think), so we opted to nix a tile backsplash in favor of something new-to-us.

Unit 2 | Bathroom + Laundry

Cassettone Mosaic tile being used in the Yellow Brick Home Two Flat renovation

As soon as we spotted this mosaic floor tile, we knew it was The One. We’ll be using this on the floors for both the bath and laundry rooms, but are you ready for the kicker? It’s not marble! Rather, it’s a durable porcelain tile that mimics the look of aged marblet, and even up close, we can. not. tell. Minds have been blown.

Cassettone Mosaic tile being used in the Yellow Brick Home Two Flat renovation

The walls will receive a similar treatment to Unit 1’s bathroom, but in marble form and on a larger scale! 4″ x 12″ marble tile will be accented with black pencil and matching polished marble skirting. We’re thinking of choosing a dark and moody color for the bathroom vanity, and allowing any greenery or artwork on the walls to be a little ‘punch’ in the room.

Now to answer the question: Should we lay the tile in a diamond or square pattern? (Help!)

Unit 2 bath + laundry selections: Cassettone grey mosaic | Firenze Carrara 4″ x 12″ | Firenze Carrara skirting | Firenze Carrara capital | Black Marquina pencil tile | natural grout (floors) | standard white grout (walls)

Unit 2 | Kitchen

Stitch Indigo tile from The Tile Shop to be used in Yellow Brick Home's Two Flat renovation

Because Unit 2’s kitchen has a pitched ceiling, we aren’t able to utilize upper cabinets in the space. And because the room will be visually lighter as a result of this, we knew we could take a little risk with some pattern! We surprised ourselves by falling for these 5″ x 5″ patterned squares. Aren’t they adorable? They have a handmade look and quality, and we think that a standard white grout and soft greige pencil (for the edges) will tie it all together.

Unit 2 kitchen selections: Stitch Indigo 5″ x 5″ | Grey High pencil liner | standard white grout

A flat lay of all the tile to be used in Yellow Brick Home's Two Flat renovation, Kim's work boots

Tile installation starts this week. Who’s excited?! (I don’t have enough limbs to raise!)

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  • Hannah Forman5.26.20 - 6:36 AM

    I suspect the dining room with the built-in hutch will still be your fave! Or maybe the cute bedroom with the slanted ceiling! Or maybe I’m just projecting my favorites onto you!ReplyCancel

    • Kim5.26.20 - 7:54 AM

      Hahah, maybe I should just start saying ‘my top 3’?ReplyCancel

  • Jame5.26.20 - 8:44 AM

    Love how cohesive it all is! You can definitely already see the benefit of making all the design choices together, even if that seems crazy daunting (to me). It’s going to look amazing. I can’t wait to see.
    I’d vote for diamond pattern, I think. It almost always seems to promote flow in a space/carry you forward. Makes a room feel more spacious b/c of that visual movement. (Though maybe I’m putting a lot of pressure on the poor tile!!)ReplyCancel

    • Kim5.26.20 - 9:12 AM

      That’s a good argument for diamond! I’m leaning square… but we keep going back and forth. Argh!ReplyCancel

      • Jame5.26.20 - 10:42 PM

        I just saw the square mosaic insp photo you shared on your IG story, and seeing that, I now totally love *love* the square. I really think you can’t go wrong tbh!!ReplyCancel

        • Kim5.26.20 - 10:54 PM

          It’s the photo that had me making up my mind too!????ReplyCancel

  • Susan5.26.20 - 8:54 AM

    I love every single choice except the blush color. On my screen it reminds me of flesh colored band aides from my childhood and I’ve never liked it. I’m sure once its done it will look lovely. There is a classic cohesiveness to your the choices that to me will stand the test of time. I’m most excited to see your pink tub room. Glad you saved that. Someone will be delighted by it. Excited to see how it comes out. Also, my partner and I are jealous of your polished concrete floors. We have always loved terrazzo floors and this reminds me of that. ReplyCancel

    • Kirsten5.28.20 - 6:18 PM

      Agreed, Susan. The blush is such a trendy color right now and will lose it’s appeal very soon & look dated….don’t do it!  Stay with fresh classics just as the two-flat is!ReplyCancel

      • Kim5.28.20 - 7:08 PM

        I’d have to argue that pink (or blush) IS classic, in that bathrooms were once outfitted in it from head to toe! It’s a subtle nod to the pink fixtures we’re salvaging from the first floor bathroom. Of course we know it won’t be for everyone, and that’s okay!ReplyCancel

  • gigi5.26.20 - 11:20 AM

    I know blush is very popular right now, but online it looks like a dirty white. The rest of the choices WOW!ReplyCancel

    • Kim5.26.20 - 11:52 AM

      The online color doesn’t depict how beautiful it is. Hoping my photography will do it justice!ReplyCancel

  • Caitlin5.26.20 - 12:25 PM

    Blair Eadie is a fashion blogger who really embraces color in a fun way. She recently shared her home tour and did a very similar blush square tile in one bathroom. I’m personally not the biggest blush fan so I was surprised how much I loved the outcome. Scroll to the “pink bathroom” section of her home tour post for some heart eyes: https://www.the-atlantic-pacific.com/2020/04/11/my-home-tour-continued/
    I can’t wait to see all this tile installed! Great choices ReplyCancel

    • Kim5.26.20 - 1:19 PM

      Oh, wow! I love everything about her home. Thank you for sharing!ReplyCancel

  • Julia5.26.20 - 2:34 PM

    Diamond! Diamond!!!!ReplyCancel

    • Scott5.26.20 - 8:36 PM

      We just decided on square today! We think it’s a can’t lose situation?ReplyCancel

  • Kristin5.26.20 - 3:12 PM

    Diamond!!ReplyCancel

  • Caitlin Rose Low5.26.20 - 4:49 PM

    There’s something about your color ability that astounds me.  Especially in your ability to layer creams and whites.  It’s going to be so good!!ReplyCancel

  • Amanda5.27.20 - 6:20 AM

    I love this post. Tile gets me every time and you both are so so good at choosing the best tile. I love the basket weave pattern that I want to use in our teeny tiny entry way (split house problems). It’ll shine. My vote is squared with bathroom & laundry tile. It looks so good (yes, I turned my phone so I could see it lay from both angles) and pleasing to the eye squared (IMO). I can’t wait to see where you end up! ReplyCancel

  • Connor5.31.20 - 6:37 PM

    I am so glad that we don’t have time this summer to do a full bathroom renovation in our new/old house before moving in so we can see how the unit 2 bathroom and laundry turns out. That tile is my soul mate ????ReplyCancel

  • Joseph6.8.20 - 8:49 AM

    Choosing tiles is never easy. I am encouraged by how elaborative you areReplyCancel

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We’re Kim + Scott, Chicago based content creators behind the Home + Lifestyle brand Yellow Brick Home.

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