A hot tip from reader Shawn led us to discover Classic Tile Inc. — an all-new source (to us) for mosaic tile flooring options perfect for a retro-vintage style bathroom. The New York based company offers two retro mosaic floor tile designs in 15 colorways, including some very hard-to-find-elsewhere pastels. And, the price is right: We talked to the sales staff — the price for these tiles is $3.50 – $4 per square foot.
8 random mosaic design colorways
If these tiles look familiar to you, it is because they appear to be nearly identical to the Merola University Pink tiles I installed in my retro pink bathroom remodel. The only difference I can tell — without having seen the tile in person — is that instead of having straight edges, each of these tiles has a wavy edge.
There is a price difference too — Merola’s University tile is $9.26 per square foot — with free shipping to your local Home Depot. Classic Tile’s mosaic flooring is $3.50 per square foot — although you will need to pay shipping based on distance and weight.
Like Merola’s University line, Classic Tile Inc. offers this random mosaic pattern in pink …
… Classic Tile Inc. also has a few more color combinations, such as the gold above…
8 one-inch mosaic colorways
In addition to their random mosaics, Classic Tile Inc. offers eight colorways of 1-1/8 inch, rounded square mosaics for $4 per square foot. We particularly love the colorways that have several variations of the main color plus white. It appears that the majority of the tiles on these square mosaic designs have a textured surface, with a few random gloss tiles sprinkled in here and there. I really like the pink and would have considered it had I known of its availability when I was constructing my pink bathroom.
This versatile little mosaic tile also is available in blue …
Classic Tile told us that they will mail samples for the cost of shipping.
And hey, Kate later found this same tile in pistachio and used it in her 1960s bathroom remodel. She found this Merola Chrystalline mosaic floor tile on Home Depot. What a lovely shade of green — it looks great!
Kudos to Shawn for this new discovery! Yay for some more apropriate options for tile flooring — yay for more options for us Retro Renovators!
Link Love:
- Shop Classic Tile Inc.’s selection of mosaic tile floors (tiles appear in their mosaic tile floor section)
- And note: Classic Tile has some 4″ x 4″ tiles … and other mosaic floor tiles of interest, too!
Nat says
I’m trying to source retro pink mosaic floor tiles but live in Australia. Contacted classic tile but they don’t deliver to Australia, contacted Mertola / Somer tiles but told that they dont have the information on the Indonesian manufacturer, attempted to contact The Home Depot via facebook messenger but not receiving any replies. Wondering if anyone can share the details of the manufacturer of the tile or give me the contact details of someone at the US based companies that sell the tile who might be able to identify / share the details of their supplier.
Academy Pink 11-3/4″x11-3/4″ Porcelain Mos TMR-413
Product Number: FKOTMR41 (or similar)
Advance thanks for any assistance.
Mari says
My house was built in 1972 and i still have the original tile in the bathroom. I removed the towel rack that was installed and now i have two holes in my tile where the rack was and i can’t find replacement tiles. I can patchwork it with some pieces i removed from behind the sink cabinet but i am still short a few 1″ x 1″ tiles. The 1″ x 1″ tiles from the Merola University Bone would work but I literally only need 1 12 x 12 piece, not a whole case. do you have any idea where i can get just one? i have to order an entire case from home depot and that’s way too many. PLEASE HELP?!!?!?!?
Pam Kueber says
order samples? see >> https://www.homedepot.com/p/questions/Merola-Tile-FKOUV480-University-Bone-11-3-4-in-x-11-3-4-in-x-5-mm-Porcelain-Mosaic-Tile-9-62-sq-ft-case/203482905/1
Kristianna says
Hello- we had a toilet that leaked in our “new” 1970’s home, so we have about a 2 x 3 ft section of floor that needs to be replaced. We popped up all loose (about 1 inch x 1 inch) pink tiles in that section. I’m trying to figure out whether to just pick a generic flooring and try to match it to the light pink/cream/beige wall tiles, try to reglue the current little old tiles one by one (I don’t have great faith in this turning out well), OR order a similar pink tile and redo the whole floor and hoping it will match the current wall scheme better than some modern version. The 1-1/8″ x 1-1/8″ Round Corner Glazed Mosaic Tile – #KKR-918 PINK appears to be almost exactly what we have except we have square corners rather than round. I love our pink bathroom and also don’t have a ton of money to blow on a full re-do. Any help would be fabulous! thank you!- Kristianna in MD.
Pam Kueber says
Hi Kristianna, I am not an expert on whether trying to relay the old tiles would work. I suggest you talk to to a local expert (tiling company, perhaps?) to see what they recommend / that is: do they have a product they say would do this for you? Note, tile is not “glued” per se – I’ve always seen the stuff used to lay it called “mastic”. Seems like if you can get this to work that would be the least expensive route… The other issue you should check is whether the subfloor is still okay given the leak – again, I’d point you to getting a pro to help answer this question as I am not an expert.
If the simple replacement does not work, really, the world is your oyster. Here is my round up of where to find mosaic floor tile in colors: https://retrorenovation.com/2017/11/13/five-places-find-colorful-mosaic-floor-tile-1960s-style/
Good luck.
Lauren Bauer says
I just ordered the pink. They arrived yesterday and perfectly match the salvaged American Standard pink sink I bought for my bathroom. They are even better in person. The shade variation of pinks are perfect.
Pam Kueber says
Great! Which style did you buy?
sara di salvo says
Hi the 1×1 inch gold are finished everywhere.. Anyone has an idea about the factory name for them?