If you’re laying tile, there’s a very high chance that you will also be using grout. Grouting is one of the most disliked parts of DIY for many individuals, and although it’s usually necessary when you’re setting tiles in place, it’s also important to think about the ways in which you can make it appear as unobtrusive as possible.
One of the things you should think about is what color the grout is going to be. Do you need dark grout or light grout? It will make a surprising difference to how the floor appears, even if you are only applying a very thin layer in between each tile, so let’s find out what color grout you should use.
What color grout should you use with white tile? You have quite a few options in terms of what color grout to put with white tiles. White grout will be the least obtrusive, but black grout can be very striking, and gray grout offers a soft, clean look. In some cases, you might even want to use a colorful grout, but this will depend on the color of your room.
How Should You Choose a Grout Color?
Grout might only make up a small percentage of your floor, but its color makes a surprising difference to the overall appearance of the floor. You need to select a color consciously, rather than just grabbing the first one you find. Think about the other areas of your room, consider what atmosphere you are going for, and make a conscious decision.
If you lay your tile well, you’re likely to have it for several decades at least, and that means it’s really critical to think about what color you are going to use. You should choose your grout according to key features in your home, such as the wall colors, the floor colors, and any big, fixed pieces of furniture.
White tiles look amazing, and have a beautifully clean appearance that attracts many people – but you do need to choose the right color grout to set your tiles off to the best advantage. Some common color options include white, black, and gray, but you might want to try blue, orange, red, or even yellow.
White Grout
White grout is the ideal option if you want to make your grout nearly invisible between the tiles. It will blend perfectly, giving you a clean, white sheet, with barely noticeable lines framing the tiles.
If you’re going for a minimalist appearance or if you’ve got other bright colors elsewhere and you want the grout to blend in, white is definitely the best option. It’s perfect for people who don’t like the appearance of grout, and want to hide it as much as possible.
White is often the best option if you’ve got small white tiles, because it won’t create a cluttered appearance, which other colors are likely to do.
Black Grout
On the opposite end of the scale, black grout is a statement. It’s perfect if you want to create a striking pattern, such as herringbone, and it is a bold way to frame your tiles and make them stand out.
Black grout may look too busy if you’ve got small tiles, but it can work well in open spaces, especially with large tiles. It will outline your tiles and make them stand out, so it works really well when the tiles are a feature of the room.
Gray Grout
If you want something in between white and black, gray is the obvious choice. It stands out a lot better than white, but it’s a softer, gentler approach than black. It looks fresh and clean, and again, it’s best when paired with large white tiles.
For small white tiles, opt for a pale gray or white, because a lot of dark gray squares can look cluttered. Many people use gray on their kitchen splashbacks because it’s subtler than black, but more interesting than white.
Blue Grout
Blue can be a fantastic option, especially if you’re already using this hue in your home. If you’ve got other touches of this color, wrapping it around your white tiles will look fantastic. You can choose a soft blue, a deep blue, or a sky blue, depending on your room’s aesthetic.
Orange Grout
Orange is a bold color choice, and it’s a great idea if you’re trying to make your tiles into a statement. Again, it tends to work best if other parts of your room include orange, so the colors can pull together to create a coordinated look. Orange is bright and cheerful, but it’s definitely got to be paired with other colors to show that it is deliberate.
Red Grout
A deep red can also look amazing. It’s nice with coppery hues, and it will frame the white in a striking manner. If you’ve got other red tones in the room, it will pick these up and create a great overall appearance. It often works well with blacks, too, creating a very stylish aesthetic.
Sometimes, red grout can work well even around small tiles, but make sure your room’s focus is on the tiles, or you risk it feeling too much.
Yellow Grout
Yellow grout is a beautiful way to make your white tiles stand out. The bright lines will contrast wonderfully with the plain white, creating a royal appearance, like white marble and gold leaf. Yellow is bright and cheerful, and because it’s a paler color, it won’t be quite as “in your face” as some of the other options.
Choosing a warm shade of yellow and keeping the lines thin will ensure that you get a subtle but attractive look, and this is so much more interesting than applying plain white grout between the tiles.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the grout color you choose depends quite heavily on the other colors in your home. Because white tiles are plain, they are extremely versatile and can be paired with almost anything, so get creative and think about what accent shades you want to use, and whether your grout should match.
