With rectangular layout, you always split the difference. You want to maximize the size of edge pieces, *not* the number of full tiles.
Four full 12" tiles with about 7" wide pieces at both sides makes 62 inches. Not 5 full tiles and a 2" piece.
Think of the repeating grid, and how you could shift it to *maximize* the edge piece size, considering all the constraints of the room: walls and other projections.
12" tiles installed on a 45deg angle would look good in that space; it needs something to break it up. I did that in our kitchen that was just a tad too small for an island and it looks great. The 45deg layout is simple to do and looks as though you imported guys from Italy to put it in.
Just spend the time to shift the tiles until you have good size pieces at all of the doorways/steps. I had four transitions to deal with as well and it took a few tries but eventually I ended up with close to a half tile at every doorway. You don't have to worry about having small pieces (triangles) along the walls or in corners because they won't be noticed or walked on just worry about the doorways and steps. Only drawback is you will have to make a lot of cuts and may have a lot of waste depending on where the cuts land but it is worth it.
Buy a cheap wetsaw or rent one. Use concrete backerboard or similar. Use a dark grout and forget the non-working sealers Change that register or at least paint it white :-)
Maybe try this software:
I agree, a diagonal would look great.
Darrell
It looks like the only place it's too wide is on the left side doorway. It looks like that's sunken a bit though. If not, you could put a marble saddle in that doorway. It looks like the door jamb has been cut back too. You might want to build up the floor to that level (backer + tile) so the gap doesn't show. A white marble saddle could then be cut to the width of the jam, making the white accent straight around. In any case, you should start from the middle, making the edge tiles as large as possible.
Yes, diagonal would look good too. I've never been sure about how to start such a layout though. ;-/
You might also throw this into a CAD program to see how it lays out. I used A9CAD (freeware) for my bathroom. I put the outline on one level, floor joists on a level, subfloor on one, backer on the fourth, and tile on the fifth. I wanted to make sure the seams in the backer fell over the joists and not on the subfloor seams. The best tile layout fell out with just a little tweaking (bad layouts were obvious). It all worked just like the computer said it would. ;-)
Thanks all, I will model it on the A9CAD. Don't like all those angle cuts though!
How do you create the diagonal tiles and move them as a unit in A9CAD?
It sounds like a lot of work. I would just do lay the tiles parallel to the walls and have visitors stand at an angle before they walk in.
I didn't, mine are straight (can't figure out how to start a diagonal layout). Anyway, you make one tile using line segments then copy/paste that, with gravity and snap on. I'm pretty new (very) to A9CAD so I didn't figure out how to trim the tiles outside the walls. No biggie.
Thanks, here are some tips re: diagonal layout:
Site bookmarked, but I just laid the last tile floor for this house. ;-) The thing I don' tget is the chalk lines. How does one see them on a floor covered in thinset? BTW, I've never used the "quarter" system. The floors I've done are small enough that it wouldn't make sense. I simply start from the side with a tile cut to about the right size to make the layout work. I can then use spacers and the wall/tub/whatever to make sure the starter row is straight. I generally only do about 13-30 sq.ft. a day and then use the previous day's tile guide the rest (sorta like the quarter system described). I'm not quite sure how to do this with a diagonal though. Perhaps screwing a board down at an angle to guide the first row?
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.