Colour Co-Ordinated Grout & Silicone

Why opt for run of the mill white grout & silicone when there are so many other options that can help transform your bathroom from good to great.

By using colour co-ordinated grout & silicone to finish off your bathroom tiling you can add a high end finish for very little extra money.

Personal choice is the main factor to consider when choosing the colour of your grout, silicone & tile trims.

You can choose one of the following options:

This is the cheapest option as white grout & silicone is slightly cheaper than coloured variants.

It gives a plain, clean look though white grout can discolour more quickly than coloured variants (or show up the dirt more to put it another way).

Be sure to use a mould resistant sanitary silicone sealant to avoid this potential problem.

The impact of white grout & silicone depends largely on the tiling that it will be used with:

Using white grout & silicone with white tiles will invariably lessen the impact of the tile pattern as the grout lines fade into the background.

An alternative approach is to use white grout & silicone to contrast with the colour of the tiles, thus highlighting the brick pattern layout.

White grout & silicone with beige tiles can look a bit stark and it is often best to use ivory or jasmine coloured versions instead (see examples further below). Tile trims also come in these colours.

White grout & silicone can be used in conjunction with bright tiles to act as a strong contrast as above and below.

Here brightly coloured (colour matched) silicone & grout from the Mapei range have been used to compliment the existing colour scheme of the bathroom.

Chrome tile trims can be used to stand out against the tiles rather than blend in with them.

Light grey grout has been used in the example above to highlight the brick patterns of the large format ceramic tiles, and to tie in with the floor covering (grey vinyl).

Whether you want your tile pattern to blend in or stand out is completely down to personal preference – look at the example below (before & after grouting).

The white grout all but hides the radically different pattern of these tiles but leaves a nice subtle finish.

Ivory grout & silicone has been used above to tie in the colour of the tiles with the coloured tile trims that border the window reveal. They provide some contrast to the colour of the tiles whilst still fitting in with the overall colour scheme (white may be a bit stark here).

Ivory, beige and jasmine are the 3 most common stone coloured silicone / grout varieties most likely to be held in stock by tile retailers and local outlets.

Tile trims are generally available in white, black, ivory / beige or chrome and have a much more limited range than silicones & grouts, though there may be more options available online.

Here dark grey grout & silicone has been colour matched to the tiles at the customers request.

In the example above, white grout has been used for the white wall tiles, whereas beige grout has been used for the floor tiles (which themselves tie in with the border tiles on the wall). White silicone has been used throughout.

In order to get the best results from grouting & silicone sealing I would recommend the following:

• • Wonderwipes

These are essential for siliconing or caulking – save yourself loads of toilet roll, messy hands and ruined trousers and just get some – they’re great for removing oil etc as well (without a water source) so you can just leave them in the garage or car for future use when you’re done with them.

• • Fugenboy silicone tool

These are essential for getting neat silicone results every time, without the faff of taping everything off. I swear by them and these ones from Screwfix (see link above) are great because the rectangular shape means they can be used on their short edge as well as their long edge so it makes it easier to get in behind basin taps etc.

• • Mould resistant sanitary silicone

The Mapei range of silicone is excellent (though not the cheapest) but it has the added benefit of co-ordinating with a large variety of Mapei coloured grouts.

If you do not need to match the grout, the No nonsense range (Screwfix’s own brand) is good too.

• Grout
• Silicone gun