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Herringbone Floor Tile in My Kitchen

by | Nov 15, 2017 | Decorating Inspiration, Kitchen Renovation Project, Kitchens

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Herringbone Floor Tile in My Kitchen

Are you remodeling this time of year? This will be my first Thanksgiving and Christmas in my new kitchen. Last year we had a contractor literally in our kitchen ON CHRISTMAS EVE hanging our Dutch door. I was so happy he was willing to do that, but I’m pretty excited to have the kitchen finished and to myself this year. I can’t wait to set up my Christmas kitchen!

But before I get going on all that festive stuff (soon, though, YAY!), I’ve had quite a few questions about my kitchen flooring. I somehow neglected to do a post specifically on the herringbone floor tile. I know some of you have also asked about a post on our cabinets and lighting, too. Great ideas! I will for sure get to those topics, but it may be January before that happens :).

We debated for months about what to choose for our kitchen flooring. There were so many options! Each one had its own benefits. As is the case with many remodels, there were many additional factors to consider such as cost, coordinating with connecting rooms and an exterior door. It was so hard to decide.

Herringbone Floor Tile in My Kitchen
But to make a long story short, we decided on a fairly neutral porcelain tile. I wanted to be able to update my look in here throughout the seasons. That meant I needed to have a flooring that could look amazing on its own (especially for those summer months when we don’t even need a rug!) but that also set the a perfect backdrop for rugs and runners in a variety of textures, patterns and colors.

This particular tile is a great neutral with beautiful coloring and texture on its own. Because our kitchen is a galley layout, we thought it would also be nice to have flooring that gave a sense of movement in the space. Laying the tile in a diagonal pattern helps your eye to keep moving, which can make the narrow space appear wider and at least a little larger than it actually is. We decided to have our tile laid in a herringbone pattern.

You don’t have to buy a specific “herringbone” tile to accomplish this look. We didn’t! Our tiles are individual, large and rectangularly shaped (12x 24). At first we were thinking to use small tiles but we are so happy we went large which makes the pattern bold but simple and easy on the eye.

Herringbone Floor Tile in My Kitchen

The tile installer laid the individual tiles in the herringbone pattern. Our tiles actually start under our cabinets, but you can also often lay tile after cabinets are installed (just make sure you will be able to pull appliances out once the tile is laid, if you decide to go that route.).

You’ll find the tile we used linked below. We had a choice between polished and unpolished tile. Our original thought was we didn’t want a shiny or slippery tile, but our contractor suggested polished. It is such a matte finish it doesn’t look shiny at all. We’ve been super happy with it! It really is so easy to clean but it hides all the dust and dirt really well until we’re able to clean it. That’s a perfect kitchen floor in my opinion! :)

Are you remodeling a kitchen right now or planning one in the near future?

You can find my kitchen remodel posts linked below if you need any tips or inspiration.

If you missed the kitchen reveal, you can find it here!

HERRINGBONE TILE FLOORING:

Daltile Imagica ig97 Haze ColorBody Porcelain (polished)

RUGS:

Jute Runner Rug

Black and White Dash & Albert Rug

FULL KITCHEN SOURCE LIST:

Our galley kitchen remodel sources

KITCHEN REMODELING TIPS AND POSTS:

Shiplap Walls Behind Stove & Sink

Carrara Quartz Counters

Where we got the Dutch Doors

Kitchen Remodel: Four Design Tips

How we chose our kitchen appliances

How we mixed and matched our kitchen hardware

17 Comments

  1. Vickie White

    Your floors (& kitchen) are beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!!

      • Megan

        I am wanting to do floors just like this to update my farmhouse kitchen. What size rectangle tile did you use?

  2. Diane @ An Extraordinary Day

    Melissa, everything about your kitchen is perfect. All your thoughtful attention to planning and detail paid off handsomely. I don’t think I would ever have thought about laying the tile in that pattern to give the floor a more spacious appearance. That was so clever of you. It definitely does provide more visual and textural interest that way. You sure have the touch!

    Looking forward to hearing more about the projects you’ve got up your sleeve.
    xoxo

  3. Jo Jo

    I absolutely love seeing your new kitchen whenever you post pics! Your choice of material, color and pattern lay for your floor is beautiful! It’s just perfect! Proof that when making decisions about items or projects in our homes, it is WORTH the time & effort to educate ourselves on what we really like, how we can get it it within our budget and to think a little outside the box( ie placing your tiles in that herring bone pattern) to trick the eye that the space is larger and wider. Just LOVE it! ?

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Thank you, Jo Jo! I’m always so happy when I log on to find a comment from you. You’re always so thoughtful and encouraging. :) It is true, it is worth the time to think about and explore your design options. It can definitely feel like it’s taking FOREVER to make progress, but in the end you just feel better knowing you explored each option and weighed all the possibilities. Then it’s easier to move forward in confidence that you came up with the best possible mix for your budget and circumstances. Have a wonderful evening!

  4. Stephanie

    Hi Melissa, I LOVE YOUR KITCHEN! I desperately need new kitchen flooring and I fell in love with yours! Do you happen to know the grout brand/color you used? I have a pic of your kitchen saved on my phone for when we are able to redo our floors and I would love to know that detail to save us from having to make that decision. Thank you!

  5. Tracey

    Hi, Melissa. I would also love to know which grout you chose for the floor. It looks white or light grey here, but it is hard to tell. Beautiful choices!

  6. Chris

    Melissa, your kitchen is beautiful! I also would love to know what grout color you chose. If it is white, how do you keep it clean? I have two basset hounds that track dirt in from the backyard.

  7. Rachel

    I was wondering if you tile is truer to a dark gray or taupe? The daltile website shows the imagica haze as a taupe, but some of your pictures it looks a bit darker. I love your floors, and am going for a similar look with my kitchen.

  8. Tylene

    I really love the herringbone tile! I would also love to know what grout color you used. Thanks!

  9. Alyssa

    Hi there- can you please share the grout color and also the size of the tile? Thank you

  10. Alana Carver

    Hello,
    I am also wondering where you purchased your tile/brand/color name and grout color. Thank you!!

  11. Trish

    Love the floor. What is the color name of this tile from Datile?

  12. Su

    Love your blog!
    A while back I noticed what looked like a silver container on a raised tray on the counter to the right of your kitchen sink.
    What is that used for? It seemed to have a spigot on it.
    How is your daughter’s studio apartment coming along?

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Hi Su! Thank you so much for your comment! That silver container is our Berkey water filter we use for our drinking water!

      My daughter Courtney has been living in our lower level for almost a year now! All the unexpected factors from COVID this year adjusted the apartment design plans a bit–but she’s made a very cozy space down there! We’ll be doing an update post soon here with more on that. Thank you again for your comment–I hope you had a nice holiday!

 

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