Practical tips
Choosing the perfect grout colour
Choosing tiles is a wonderfully exciting part of designing your room. It's where you can get really creative with colour and texture, selecting from an array of beautiful glazes and shapes. But how many of us consider grout colour at the design stage?
Though it perhaps doesn't sound like the most creative of decorating decisions, grout can be used to striking visual effect, and the colour you choose has a real impact on the impression a wall of tiles makes.
Perhaps you'll let opposites attract and select a grout that contrasts with your tile colour to accentuate the geometry of your tile layout. Alternatively, you could choose to closely match the colour of your grout with your tile to create a minimal look, where the grout lines all but disappear.
Below, for example, are photos of the same tile - Manton Hollow from our Savernake collection - using two different grout colours. On the left, the darker, medium grey grout provides a blended look across the tiles, whilst on the right the lighter, silver grey grout accentuates the tile shapes for interest and definition.
L-R: Savernake Manton Hollow with medium grey grout and on the right with silver grey grout.
At Marlborough we have a small but considered offering of different grout colours, shown below from left to right: white, jasmine, silver grey, beige and medium grey.
Let's look at each of these grout options a little more closely, and consider some of the different ways you could use them...
White Grout
White grout is always a popular choice and creates a fresh look when used with any tile colour.
As you can see below, used alongside darker tiles the white grout accentuates the grid pattern of the tiles.
On the other hand, used with a paler coloured, off-white or white tile, white grout creates a wonderfully crisp, clean feel where tiles and grout blend seamlessly.
Use white grout with any tile colour - with dark colours or patterns to accentuate the look, or with light colours to create a blended, harmonious effect.
Jasmine Grout
Our jasmine grout is a soft, pale yellow with pink undertones and a wonderful choice to bring through the warmth of a tile. As you can see below, it adds a cosiness to pink-toned bricks, and accentuates the golden tones of our yellow and brown glazed tiles.
Jasmine grout works beautifully with green, yellow, orange, pink, terracotta and purple tiles, bringing out their depth.
For floor tiles, pair with terracotta for a warm, natural look.
Medium Grey Grout
Medium grey grout is also a very classic choice, and whilst it is our darkest grout colour, it is a softer, subtle alternative to black.
Below, Medium Grey grout is used to create a variety of different effects. Paired with light coloured or white tiles the grout creates definition, and the eye is drawn to the geometric patterns created by the contrasting coloured grout lines.
Alternatively, pair this dark grey grout colour with grey or grey-blue tiles to create a more blended feel.
Use it alongside our Aged Crackle wall tiles for a traditional, Victorian look.
Finally, Medium Grey grout can be used with dark, bold coloured tiles to accentuate their pattern and colour.
Use medium grey grout alongside white and off-white tiles for a traditional look, or pair it with greys and light blues to blend tile and grout perfectly.
Alternatively, use it with dark tiles, especially blues and greens, to accentuate their form and colour.
Silver Grey Grout
Our silver grey grout is a soft pale grey, which beautifully complements tiles in blues and greys. It creates a wonderfully calming effect used with gentle, pale blues and greys, helping the tiles to blend seamlessly for a restful space.
Silver grey grout can also be used to complement darker blue tones, enhancing the blue colour and drawing attention to the tiles for more impact in your space.
Silver Grey pairs perfectly with all shades of blue and grey tile.
Beige Grout
As you'd expect, our beige grout is a warm stone colour. Beige coloured grout adds earthiness and warmth, enhancing the lines of the tiles, and creating a look that's very much at one with nature.
Beige is also a great companion to floor tiles, bringing warmth without being too dark, and still adding enough colour to avoid looking grubby as the floor gets used.
Beige grout is perfect when used with off-white and white tiles for a rustic, traditional look. It also pairs beautifully with brown, red, yellow, orange, taupe and beige tiles.
Beige is perfect for use on the floor too, a great companion to stone effect and wood effect tiles.
As you can see, grout colour choice can make such a significant difference to the final appearance of tiles that we think of it as being a key decision, and not one to take lightly. The right shade for you will depend very much on the look and feel you wish to achieve in the room.
Each of our tiles show the ideal tile and grout colour pairing on the product page so you can choose the perfect grout colour with confidence.
Our design team has a great deal of experience in such matters, and we would be very pleased to help you make a decision. Simply get in touch.
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