So much depends on this answer and you wouldn’t think that a little thing like grout color would be so important. Well this color choice can make or break the look and feel of your design plan. Let’s talk about the options.

I received an email today from someone asking what color they should choose for their grout color. You would think this would be a simple answer but so much depends on that color.

• do you want a dramatic look?

• do you want a subtle, soft look?

• do you want a high contrast?

• does your home have a contemporary feel?

• do you want to stay traditional?

• do you want your tile and grout to be the focal point of your kitchen?

• what are the rest of the colors in your surrounding rooms?

• what does your flooring look like?

So you see, there are many things to consider when choosing a grout color. Here is the clients kitchen so you can see his tile. It’s really quite pretty.

What’s great about this kitchen, and I’m not sure he’s aware of it, is that he has a nice balance here.

His cabinets are white and his granite is black. The black granite really anchors in this design.

If he chose a lighter granite, his tile backslash would be the first thing you’d notice and would appear to be floating in the room. Now, the overall design, your eye goes from tile, to backsplash to appliances. Your eye goes around the room instead of just focusing on one bold element in the room.

So back to grout color.

Since there was enough dark hues in this kitchen I would stay away from the darker grouts.

Since there is enough white hues, I’d stay away from white grout.

What’s the happy medium? Gray. The grout color is not or should not be the focal point of this kitchen and yes, sometimes it is. I had large 18×18 floor tiles in my kitchen once and chose a dark brown grout for high contrast and boy did it look cool!

Anyway, my color suggestion for this kitchen is Rolling Fog. Subtle color, light yet goes undetected.