<p>H and I have decided to tile the laundry/mud room walls up to about 3 feet with white subway tile, middle of the line stuff. We’re down to deciding between gloss white and matte white. Any reason to choose one over the other? The room sees a lot of dirt from having to clean the dog feet and we are putting porcelain tiles on the floor. I just want it to be easy to clean and bright and cheerful!</p>
<p>I’d be more worried about the color of the grout. The tiles will clean up, gloss or matte. The grout will get dirty and stay that way.</p>
<p>My home is full of Earth tones, so using a grout the color of dirt is the direction I always take. Come to think of it… my car is the color of dirt too. ;-)</p>
<p>If I were going with white tiles, I’d probably pick a gray grout. It would be most appropriate with “subway” tiles in particular, as the grout in the Subway is gray. (I wonder if it started out gray?)</p>
<p>…and make sure they use a good portion of that silicone fluid in the grout mix, so the grout doesn’t act like a sponge. It doesn’t stop the grout from staining, but it keeps the stain from penetrating all the way. If you have a “whoops!” you can still scrub out the stain (at the cost of the top layer of grout).</p>
<p>You don’t want anything that will be slick when wet. Our bathroom tiles are shiny and we have to keep a rug down all the time. </p>
<p>I second the dark grout.</p>
<p>While not familiar with the tile you are looking at, my first thought would be that the gloss would be slippery when wet. When my two dogs come in with wet feet we have to dry them off, then they decide to shake all the rain off their body; makes for a very wet floor! I just associate gloss with being slippery, but that might not be the case with the tile you are looking at.</p>
<p>I think Xania is talking about the walls. I agree…the tiles will clean up regardless of matte or gloss. The grout should be a darker color. BUT do seal it…or it will change color too over the years.</p>
<p>Thanks thumper1, shows how well I read In that case, I have no opinion!!</p>
<p>It’s not a matter of “fancy”. It’s a matter of bright and functional. I don’t know which tile would be better, but it sounds great! I think a laundry room is an important part of a house- especially if it involves wiping down a dog! :)</p>
<p>thumper is right, the subway tile (3 by 6 in a brickwork pattern) is only going on the walls. The floor tile is a multi-toned textured porcelain that I hope will be neither slippery nor dirt revealing :). </p>
<p>And MoWC is right, it’s not about fanciness - we’ve been fighting the mud from the dogs constantly since October with the wet, mild winter. Dog 2 digs and the yard is a mess. They can come in and fling mud from h to breakfast in the mudroom, including the walls, which are hard to clean despite the washable paint. One day I got the idea that maybe tile would at least be easier to wipe down.</p>
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<p>I think rooms should be appealing for those who USE the room…not just “guests”. I do laundry at least a couple of times a week. Having that space nice for ME is as important as having a nice TV…actually…for me it’s more important.</p>
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Lol, I’m guessing you don’t have a husband, kids, and dogs. :)</p>
<p>Even better would be a nice TV IN the laundry room.
My laundry room baseboards are tile (same tile as the floor) and it greatly simplifies mopping/water clean up.
Agree with previous posters about the grout. It’s all about the grout…</p>
<p>I’d do the walls in gloss, because I like it better. Some people like dark lines with subway tiles, but I really don’t. With muddy dogs though I might be tempted. Here’s what it looks like: <a href=“http://img.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/v322/Bill_Vincent/niceshower.jpg[/url]”>http://img.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/v322/Bill_Vincent/niceshower.jpg</a> Actually, for a laundry room I think it could be fun. I’d definitely use a dark grout in the floor.</p>
<p>Ha. Totally missed the word walls. Never mind.</p>
<p>Matte or gloss, either would be fine.
Epoxy grout.
It’s impermeable so it doesn’t need sealing and doesn’t stain.</p>
<p>I say matte but mainly because I don’t care for glossy subway. If you like them, then doesn’t matter. </p>
<p>Definitely do epoxy grout. We like and use the Laticrete brand best. We do a lot of tile (bathrooms and kitchens in rentals and on bathroom #4 in the houses we have lived in).</p>
<p>Quick question, do you have natural light in the laundry room, such as a window, exterior door, skylight?</p>
<p>I ask that because if you don’t the matte will make the room look dull, whereas the glossy will reflect light and brighten the room up.</p>
<p>This is especially important if the room is small. I consider my laundry room small, 10 X10 and due to the fact it has no natural light we have done a gloss to reflect light. Our floor tile is tumbled tile, and we have no slick floor issues. I think the main reason why is because tumbled has natural dents in it so it doesn’t spread like a traditional tile would, instead it pools in that one specific area and you also can see it immediately. </p>
<p>One other thing you may want to think about is not placing tile on the floor at all, but laminate. The reason why is washers tend to walk. My friend had a front load, and it walked on her, cracking a tile. She had gloss floor tiles, so because that tile is smoother, the lack of friction made it go across 4 tiles. She immediately purchased a top load, and yanked out the tile for laminate. Laminates now come in a tile look.</p>
<p>Glossy will likely be slippery when wet. :(</p>
<p>I know you didn’t ask for input for your floor tiles and you’ve already picked out something you like. But, I’ll just suggest that you test a sample of the floor tiles to see if they will be slippery when they are wet. When we built our house, I chose a tile that I thought would be perfect for the laundry room. Light tan that wouldn’t show the dirt, matching grout, and a textured surface that wouldn’t be slippery when wet. I didn’t actually wet a piece of the tile and stand on it. Ugh! I hate the tile I chose. First, when it’s wet, even though it has an almost gritty texture, it is as slippery as ice. Second, I chose a floor the color of “dirt” so that it wouldn’t show the dirt. Instead, it always looks dirty. I wish I could replace it, but it’s not in the budget right now. So, even though you didn’t ask about floor tiles, I’d just suggest that you wet the samples and try them out if you haven’t already. I would have picked something different if I’d thought to try this.</p>
<p>I second the Laticrete epoxy grout… Get a light gray and you will never have problems. glossy tiles will bounce light around the room more, for a brighter look. I went with a flat wood like laminate for my upstairs, and while I love the driftwood color, I now wish I had chosen a more glossy product. At night, the floor does not bounce back any of the light, and the floor and room ends up looking dull. That would not have happened with a shinier surface.</p>
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<p>What difference would that make for the WALLS? The OP is looking for suggestions Matte vs Gloss for the WALLS, not the floor.</p>
<p>A 10 by 10 laundry room sounds very nice to me…very nice. In my next house (ha ha), my laundry room will be a “go to” room. I probably won’t use tile on the walls (but then I don’t have a dog to wash down)…I’d use a wainscoting. I’d put in a chair and maybe a small flatscreen. I’d also want a large folding and storage surface…and a window.</p>