As part of my mom’s mini kitchen reno last week, she ripped out her old back splash and installed these subway tiles from Home Depot (By herself! She’s amazing!).
We decided that a darker grout would both hold up better against staining and would also be a nice way to help the white of the cabinets work with the black of the counter tops.
I also love that it’s a tiny bit graphic and a little edgier than plain white grout.
Here are some of my favorite kitchens and baths featuring subway tile with dark grout:
Elle Decor
Elle Decor
Design*Sponge
Steven Gambrel
Anna Spiro
Viking ad
Elle Decor
Thanks for your comments guys! I really like the dark grout too. I love that it's a little bit vintage feeling and also pretty modern. I would totally rock this look in my own kitchen.
About the sponsored post yesterday – Thank you guys for your patience while I'm trying out this new way of advertising. Again, the idea is for the occasional sponsored post to look and feel like a commercial on tv. Clearly not a part of the regular show, but appears in prime time. Yeah?
Anon- I think HP is a great company with great products. They are welcome to advertise on my site whenever they want to come back! Thanks for your feedback though.
j
i love the way this looks! and i just forwarded it to MY mom. Happy friday :)
it looks amazing! & that's so great that she did it herself!
Really, what is more versatile than white subway tile? I just did a kitchen and we went for white grout, but I love the look you chose here. It definitely adds some "industrial" appeal, which just tends to always look on point!
Looks great! I can't believe your mom installed that herself!! I've been enjoying reading the updates on her kitchen.
It looks amazing! Kudos for a job well done!
I love what dark grout can do for white tile! I was really close to using subway tile in my kitchen until I ran across a great steal from Overstock… Here is a link to my kitchen backsplash!
http://abodelove.blogspot.com/2010/12/100th-post-kitchen-complete.html
good job mom! wow! i had dark grout in my last house and miss it! hmm, maybe i'm getting the itch!
ashley
Like mother, like daughter! I like the dark grout!
I prefer the dark grout. Not sure why.
-Trish
Love it! I just recently did my backsplash with the white subway tiles from HD too! Such a great impact for such a small amt of money. My whole kitchen was done for about $100! Can't beat that!
I love gray grout with white subway tile! I have this on my to-do list for a future bathroom renovation!
I really love the dark grout…we have dark grout for our 1" hexagon floor tiles (white) in our bathroom. I've never regretted that choice. It does make sense to use the dark grout in the kitchen! Looks great!
i wish i could do my entire apartment in that tile right now. your mom's kitchen turned out really well, thanks for sharing all of the photos!
i'm bookmarking this for the future… thanks for all of the inspo!
Your mom did a great job. Have you seen what Liz did, at It's great to Be Home, it's fantastic.
http://itsgreattobehome.net/2011/07/28/whats-going-on-at-the-flip/
Your mother did a great job. BUT I think this look is very dated – from the 1970s -80s. I would used this in a limited area.
I love love white subway tiles! Your mom did an amazing job :) Happy Weekend to you!
Wow, I love that kitchen with the pots and pans.
I meant to say pots and cookbooks!
Looks awesome! I don't think I would have liked the white tile and dark grout combo until I saw these pics. I love it! Really digging that pic of all the pans hung on the wall.
DIY talent really runs in your family, Jenny! The kitchen looks fantastic, and I've definitely been convinced of the transformative powers of dark grout!
Looks great!!
I love this post and used to love many of your others; however, recently, something has been lacking. I also feel that, if you're going to have sponsored posts, at least use the products in your daily life. You use Apple computers and are advertising for HP.
Jenny,
Since posts weren't allowed on your sponsored story I thought I'd post here. Feel free to get rid of it after you've read it.
I clicked on the link to follow the ad. One of the links was broken and I couldn't get through. I did get to the John Cleese ads which I thought were wonderful. So it was a fun choice for you your first sponsored "article"
One suggestion. The story stuck out like a sore thumb simply because it didn't contain one of your gorgeous pictures. Is there ever an option for you to supply an appropriate picture.
It's a bit jarring to see something so "not Jenny" and a picture might make it feel a bit less strange.
Keep up the amazing work.
Love, Heather
Thanks for your comments guys! I really like the dark grout too. I love that it's a little bit vintage feeling and also pretty modern. I would totally rock this look in my own kitchen.
About the sponsored post yesterday – Thank you guys for your patience while I'm trying out this new way of advertising. Again, the idea is for the occasional sponsored post to look and feel like a commercial on tv. Clearly not a part of the regular show, but appears in prime time. Yeah?
Anon- I think HP is a great company with great products. They are welcome to advertise on my site whenever they want to come back! Thanks for your feedback though.
j
I think your mom's is my favorite of them all! Wow!
I really like this look with the white subway tile. I think it just makes sense to use a darker grout anyways especially in a kitchen or bath where grout tends to get dirty after a while of use. Your mom is awesome for taking on that project herself! So brave :)
http://www.ChristinaMarieInteriors.com
Love the dark grout! It makes it look like the real subway :)
The more I see this done, the more I love it. I think the dark gray with the white subway tiles is fabulous. Your mom is very talented – it looks great!
I've been kicking around the idea of subway tiles with dark grout, but didn't know if it should go in the bathroom or kitchen? Thank you for all the pictures with the post!
wow your mom is amazing!! I love the look she did in her kitchen! I'm a fan of subway tiles, but I think the dark grout definitely adds more interest – great post!!
I love your mom's kitchen!! She really is an amazing woman!
wow, i love it! we were at her house visiting john and sherawn for memorial day and she was working on the tv room (which i want to see!). she was also talking about painting the cabinets and redoing the backsplash. it turned out SO good! i just love your mom's house :)
Wow..this idea is genius! Especially the part about hiding grout stains…love it!
Love this post and love your blog! The commercials are A-OK with me. I'd hate to think a person can work as hard as you do, all to barely scrape by. You need to make a good living from your talent and your hard work.
Keep it up!
Oh, and I have one of those amazing moms, too. She is now 77 and she ripped out the subfloor in her bathroom when the installation crew from Home Depot refused to do it. The manager called the next day, apologized and sent the crew back to finish the job. She put them to shame! ha, she still has the spirit.
Subway tiles always look beautiful and have that timeless appeal. What's not to love?
By the way, I just host a giveaway so stop by and enter for a chance to win a piece of fabulous jewelry of your choice!
Jessie
http://www.mixandchic.com
looks great!!
it looks great and i'm impressed that your mom did it herself!
Yes, yes, and yes! I have the exact SAME counter… we are SO going to be doing this once we tackle our kitchen. Thanks for sharing your mom's awesome tile job!!
I wouldn't have gone for dark grout/light tile but it looks great :) Also, I have never been so in love with a claw foot tub! The lime green is amazing! I also like the girly/manly juxtaposition of the mirrors over the double sink. Great post :D
Love that dark grout + subway tile combo! That being said, your previous "sponsored post" was terrible! It wasn't written by you and had nothing to do whatsoever with what you blog about. I know you're navigating some unfamiliar territory here, but I think your readers would be more receptive to sponsored posts that are relevant to design/decorating. Other than that, keep the great blog posts coming!
Another good pic to post would have been Ross and jeffrey's gym bathroom redo from Million Dollar Decorator's.
I helped my mom re-do her bathroom and I chose a grey-graphite grout to go along with these same budget friendly Home Depot tiles. I chose it more for the parcticallity of it beacuse it broke my heart to think of my mom obsssesively trying to keep the white grout from turning an icky yellow.
lavitepetite.wordpress.com
Your mom's kitchen backsplash looks great! It really does tie in the counters and the cabinets. I love the contrast of the black and white.
i love subway tile and this looks so good with the dark grout!
I’ve just stumbled upon your lovely blog. I look forward to popping by again for some more inspiration! I'm just new into blogging this year & have put together a daily blog on design, fashion, food, travel and anything pretty.
http://scrapbook-melissah.blogspot.com/ and one on everything coastal
http://coastal-style.blogspot.com/
I had a lot of fun putting them together maybe you would like to check it out if you have a spare minute.
x
Melissah
Love the books arranged by color above the white subway tile…. so fun!
Thanks so much for this post. We have subway tile and dark grout in our master bath- not by choice- the tile layer said we HAD to do it. It wasn't what I envisioned when I planned the bathroom, so I was pretty disappointed. This post is giving me new perspective! Thanks.
Looks good, would like to try this with my bathroom, going to try this in my 3D design of the room using mydeco.com's 3D room planner to see if it looks good and then decide from there but in the pictures it does look good thanks for posting!