Basement Bathrooms Laundry Room

Tile for the Basement Laundry Room and Half-Bath

We’re going with Octagon & Dot in white, and charcoal gray for the grout.

It was just over $5/sq. ft., and we’ll be using it for the 8×10 laundry room and the 4.5×5.5 half-bath. Our total came to $650 with the grout, which to be honest was a little more than we had hoped to spend. It was the least expensive tile in that style though (vintagey, small scale, ceramic, and either round, hexagon, or octagon).

We looked at vinyl tiles as a more affordable solution, but I just didn’t love anything enough. Sure, we could have saved a few hundred dollars, but the look would have been totally different. In the end, I decided it was worth it to spend a little more to get what I really wanted, especially since it will be in our home for decades.

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  • Holly
    November 18, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    Don’t worry about it, it’s your house and you should get to enjoy it while you’re living in it! Nothing confuses me more then when someone remodels with the intent of selling the house immediately. Why didn’t they remodel and then enjoy it for a bit??? Plus, why not do it right the first time?

  • Alyssa
    November 18, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    I love it. It looks modern and vintage.

  • Leanne
    November 18, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    we used this too…we were so happy with how it turned out.

  • Kristi
    November 18, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    I just did the whits and white with grey grout in our guest bath. I LOVE it!!!! It looks great and you will love it too!

  • Jessie
    November 18, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    I hope it works out well for you. We have a similar tile in our bathroom only with blue tiles mixed in as well. I have to say.. I hate… hate white tile and will never live in a house that has white tile again. We have 3 black animals and all have dark hair. I’m lucky if a day goes by where I don’t have to sweep up the bathroom and even then, I see hair (and everything else) on the bathroom (and kitchen) floors… uggggh. BUT I hope it works well for you.. it looks pretty when it’s clean.

    • MS
      November 19, 2010 at 7:22 am

      We did big white tiles with platinum grout in our kitchen and 2 baths at our old house. I loved how it looked……when it was clean. I’m with Jessie on this one as it needed to be mopped every other hour. Drove me crazy. But it will look beautiful!

      • Orlee
        November 19, 2010 at 8:09 am

        I had this as well but in black and white in my kitchen — it was stunningly gorgeous but I had to mop it every day (twice when it rained!). I’ll never have white floors next to an outside door again, that’s for sure! But I’m sure the laundry will be fine as the traffic won’t be nearly so high.

    • Making it Lovely
      November 19, 2010 at 11:15 am

      Our laundry room and downstairs bathroom will be pretty low-traffic, so I think we’ll be all right with white tile. We have very dark floors in the bedrooms upstairs, and I feel like those show dust and pet hair much more than white does!

  • Breeanna
    November 18, 2010 at 5:23 pm

    These are great!!!! Have fun redoing parts of your home.

  • Brigitte
    November 18, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    It may be way too late for this…but did you go to Chicago Tile Outlet on Fullerton? The prices and variety at that place are bananas.

  • Emily S
    November 18, 2010 at 6:13 pm

    This is lovely. At least it’s not a ginormous room, so it doesn’t totally kill you to splurge a little. We’re looking for some flooring for our largest room in the basement that we’re turning into a family/play area for our 15 month old. We’re putting down carpet to make it a warmer, cushy place to play, but with a dimension of 18×32 – even the cheapest of cheap materials costs more than we want to spend!

  • Jakki
    November 18, 2010 at 6:37 pm

    I agree… its your HOME and your haven so its always best to make it as you would want it…

  • elizabeth
    November 18, 2010 at 6:51 pm

    we have this in our bathroom with the gray grout. i love it!

  • Cecily
    November 18, 2010 at 7:10 pm

    I love the tile, I think it was a great choice. I’ve been checking your site like a madwoman every day just to see how the dining room trim turned out. When will you be revealing it?? Can’t wait!

    • Making it Lovely
      November 19, 2010 at 11:16 am

      Next week! I think. It’s been too gray out to take decent photos lately.

  • valerie ryan
    November 18, 2010 at 7:19 pm

    have the same in children’s bath and love it!

  • amy goodhouse
    November 18, 2010 at 7:31 pm

    You wouldn’t be saving a few hundred dollars, because in a few years (or 10 or 20 years) you would have gone back and redone it because you never liked it to begin with. It’s much much better to splurge a little on these things. It’s going to look great!

  • Dori
    November 18, 2010 at 8:03 pm

    I am also looking to put that in my kids bathroom. Home depot carries it for about $2.00 sqft. I don’t know if it is the same quality but it looks like it. Good look to you. You have a great blog!

    • Making it Lovely
      November 19, 2010 at 11:17 am

      I wish I had known!

      • Tatyana
        November 19, 2010 at 1:55 pm

        I just saw this comment after I posted my. You might be able to renegotiate the price with the vendor you purchased your tile from. If you bought Daltile through them, it’s the same stuff Home Depot carries. The worst thing they can say is ‘no’.

  • katherine
    November 18, 2010 at 8:42 pm

    Good choice, this is exactly what we did in our laundry room ;) At first I was nervous about having a WHITE floor because I thought any speck of dirt would show, but I loved how this tile looked with dark gray grout. It has been great and I am very pleased with how it turned out. Can’t wait to see your basement finished, I know it will be amazing!

  • Jenne
    November 18, 2010 at 11:07 pm

    They actually have pretty awesome hex tile at overstock.com sometimes. And free or $1 shipping for 1st time orders. I wish I had known before I did my bath. I reaaaaly wanted old school hex but couldn’t afford any that I could find online or locally at the time. Totally would’ve done one of these instead :/

    http://www.overstock.com/search?taxonomy=&keywords=Hex+tile&SearchType=Header

    Oh well….maybe for the next bath I remodel?:)

    • Making it Lovely
      November 19, 2010 at 11:18 am

      Those are actually slightly more expensive, but great prices for hex tile.

  • AK
    November 18, 2010 at 11:27 pm

    Very pretty. White-white, too boring. White-black, too stark. White-grey, just right. Good choice for the grey grout. A friend has white tile and white grout on a high traffic bathroom floor. The grout is REALLY hard to keep clean.

  • nikki
    November 19, 2010 at 12:01 am

    I don’t think you’ll regret your choice. We installed 1″ white octagon ceramic tile in our bathroom four years ago (with dark grey grout) and it looks amazing with our black claw foot tub. Definitely my favorite room in the house.

  • nikki
    November 19, 2010 at 12:02 am

    oops, I meant hexagon…six sides, not eight sheesh.

  • MB
    November 19, 2010 at 3:14 am

    I love the tiles you featured in your post. We tiled a tiny guest bathroom in white hexa. tiles with charcoal grout and were pleased with the results. My only warning…beware of the grout lines. White tiles with a dark grout will show even the slightest mistake or flaw. I know how you’re a ‘details’ kinda girl:) Your blog is always a wonderful read! Have a happy weekend.

  • luuve
    November 19, 2010 at 8:08 am

    i agree with everyone..do it right the first time..and you wont regret it…its really cute…and modern…good luck…can’t wait to see pics!

  • Elliott
    November 19, 2010 at 8:54 am

    Just bought this tile at Home Depot for $2 something a sheet. Might save you some money…

    • Making it Lovely
      November 19, 2010 at 11:19 am

      It would have, had I known. Oh well.

  • Nathalie
    November 19, 2010 at 9:00 am

    love them! very art deco-ey.

  • Cait @ Hernando House
    November 19, 2010 at 9:50 am

    I love that tile! I really, really want to use it when we redo our bathrooms.

  • April
    November 19, 2010 at 9:58 am

    Love the tile!!

  • Megan
    November 19, 2010 at 10:02 am

    Those are beautiful and classic – I’ve been dreaming about the exact same ones for our powder room.

    Thank goodness you decided to steer clear from the vinyl tiles. We have some in our home (a previous owner’s renovations) and they are very poor quality (not to mention ugly). The only good thing about those tiles is that they are easy to remove and replace.

  • Adrienne B
    November 19, 2010 at 11:02 am

    Yup- the Home Depot tile is exactly the same, and it’s quite inexpensive. You’ll pay a lot more for this tile elsewhere. We’re using the white-on-white for our bathroom with a blue-ish grey grout.

  • Arin
    November 19, 2010 at 11:10 am

    As others have stated, this exact tile-mfg. by Daltile-is available at Home Depot for about $2-3/sq. foot. You can also special order the Daltile hex tile at Lowe’s for about $3-4/sq. ft.

  • Making it Lovely
    November 19, 2010 at 11:20 am

    Boo to me for not checking around for prices, but at least maybe someone else will be able to get a great deal.

  • P.
    November 19, 2010 at 12:10 pm

    i also planing on using the same tile on my 1920s house, but want to use white grout, i am scare that too dark of a grout will make it look dirty. Let us know how you like the darker grout.

  • Lila Ferraro
    November 19, 2010 at 12:58 pm

    I love the all white pattern you chose. That will look amazing! Good luck and hopefully, there won’t be too much stress over this project!
    xoxo
    Lila ferraro

  • Janelle
    November 19, 2010 at 1:03 pm

    My husband and I follow the same rule. Save up for what you want in your house, because you have to live with it. You might as well get what you love!

  • Erin H.
    November 19, 2010 at 1:20 pm

    Love this tile! I actually used it as my kitchen backsplash. I was worried that it would scream bathroom floor, but I’m so happy with how it turned out.

  • sarah
    November 19, 2010 at 7:31 pm

    Hi Nicole,
    Like some others that commented here I found the same tile at Lowe’s for a little over $2 sq ft. Just used it in a rental remodel and love the vintage look for the price. It is American Olean. I usually buy from a local tile supplier and I told them about the Lowe’s price and they offered to compete. Lowe’s has got a good marble subway tile right now too as does Home Depot and Lowe’s carries some great tile basics. I also have purchased tile from Overstock and have been very satisfied (white penny rounds).
    I also used IKEA’s wooden countertop cut to size in a laundry room for a counter surface and was really pleased with the final look. Might look great paired with a floral curtain obscuring the laundry machines.

  • Natalie
    November 19, 2010 at 7:42 pm

    oooh excellent choice! love the white and gray look. can’t wait to see it all come together :)

  • Nicole
    November 19, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    That’s exactly what we put in our master bath recently and I LOVE it. The gray grout makes it easy to keep clean (or at least looking clean).

  • Lisa
    November 20, 2010 at 10:14 am

    You were right to get exactly what you want in tile! It’s something you will have forever – not easily replaced – like say a sink fabric skirt! Can’t wait to see you pull this all together.

  • Angie
    November 22, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    Been so busy lately. Spending some naptime catching up on my fav blogs. I saw the picture of the beautiful tiles and white grout and felt horrified. Then saw you were doing charcoal grout- whew!! We have a century old home and decided five years ago and two less kids…that we would install gorgeous white hexi tiles with white grout. Silly us for not thinking that now with 3 kids, two which are boys that no matter how much cleaning and sealing on my part, they WILL NEVER be white again, the grout that is. I so wish we would have had the forethought to use gray, charcoal or black grout. I am sure it will be pretty, can’t wait to see your photos.

  • Carrie
    November 22, 2010 at 5:23 pm

    I did my bathroom in this (tiny itty bitty space) and paid a little less than that at Home Depot. I did delorian gray grout and it looks beautiful!

  • disorganized creativity
    November 23, 2010 at 1:00 pm

    love it!!
    the design reminds me the blog’s pattern. isn’t it?

  • Holly
    November 29, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    I LOVE it! We have been looking at the same tile for our master bath renovation!

  • orangesugar
    December 28, 2010 at 11:11 am

    Love this tile, wish we had used it for our bathroom floor. My only concern would be what color grout to use. I think it would look best with white grout, but keeping that clean is probably next to impossible.

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    January 19, 2011 at 1:19 pm

    White is the right way to go in the basement, I think. We get some creepy crawlies in our basement, and with a white floor, you can see them coming. I would hate to have a mid-tone or dark floor down there. I hope you don’t have bugs, but with your white floors near the water lines, you’ll know if you do!

  • saskia
    January 19, 2011 at 5:44 pm

    I did this tile with light gray grout in my bathroom. It is the only one in the house and is very high traffic. Stays clean and shiny, I love it!

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