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 …
… blue …
… grey …
… bone …
… white …
and beige … BUT …
… Classic Tile Inc. also has a few more color combinations, such as the gold above…
… and black and white.
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 …
… in gold …
… in beige …
… in white …
… in bone …
… and in black and white.
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!
Alan says
My upstairs bathroom is still original. It was put in in 1960. When cleaning the floor use a good cleaner and a wet/dry vacuum to suck up the water and cleaner. Use a hand held stiff brush to scrub the floor down and do this a few times. Don’t just wipe the floor with a cloth or mop. Use the wet/dry vac to lift the dirt up off the floor. You’ll see how nice the grout looks. Just a thought, maybe put some bleach in the cleaner although I never tried that.
Jamie@PaperedHouse says
What a bunch of great options! Our bathroom tile looks very similar to the gray random mosaic pattern shown above, except that ours is smooth rather than textured. We’re guessing that the bathroom tile was installed in the 1950s and it’s held up surprisingly well through the years. We’re not in any rush to change it — the color and pattern are charming!
Tanna says
I bought some of the tile on the top row for my bathroom in a different color way. It looks great, and it wasn’t very expensive. Now if only I could get my husband to help install it!
Cyd says
Just cleaned my mom’s yesterday and still love it. We both laughed as I read this because you recently highlighted her kitchen flooring, too. It’s wearing out, but the tile still looks great. These are from a 70’s remodel in our home built in 1900.
ineffablespace says
Boy did I make a lot of grammar typos in that last post.
ineffablespace says
I grew up in a house with white and pepper white random block or text pattern bathroom floors with grey grout and for about 10 years when my mother was getting more frail, the cleaning lady essentially was giving the hall bath a quick damp mop instead of really cleaning it– I eventually noticed that it was looking very dingy.
There was essentially a decade’s worth of hairspray film from 6 women coating the floor. After an hour of scrubbing. It looked like it did in 1969. I don’t think the grout was ever sealed, I am not sure there was such a thing 45 years ago. Perhaps the hairspray actually help, but the floor cleaned up really well. I think these floors are pretty much bullet-proof with the right grout.
pam kueber says
hehe “… a decade’s worth of hairspray film from 6 women coating the floor…”
I was told at one point by a tile guy that it’s the minerals in our water that darkens the grout… Vacuum the floor as often as possible and certainly before you wash it.
Karin says
Love those wavy tiles! Because Merola tile wasn’t available at Home Depot here in Canada, I went with big box store tiles for my bathroom. These would have turned me around. Gorgeous.
Josie says
Large smooth tiles mean every speck and water drop show. The big ones may wipe quicker but they never look good for all that long. A small tile is MUCH more forgiving to living. And I’ve worked with both, as a cleaner.
You see more of it now because it’s in style. It’s not out of concern for the cleaning lady. Now, it can look nice, in the right setting, I’m not saying it can’t. But it’s not particularly timeless, or “better,” it’s just the style.
It’s a bit of a balancing act actually; more grout to get at, but less “oh no a single hair/dust speck it’s all RUINED” you get with big, and even worse with big + shiny.
You might as well get whatever you like.
I like mosaic 2nd best after hex – I must have been a bee in a former life. (3rd it tied with medium or small subways and arabesques… both fairly trendy for walls. So I’m not busting on what’s in style as such…I’m not immune to trends, especially ones with vintage callbacks!)
Personally, if I were absolutely grout-phobic, I’d go sheet or solid surface over a huge tile pattern, but I tend to find large tiles visually overwhelming in small bathrooms.
pam kueber says
Agreed !
Jane / MulchMaid says
Josie, thanks for the professional perspective. I hate cleaning, so I want my efforts to yield maximum results! Plus, I love small tile 🙂
Jim Kauling says
Please do not promote this tile! We had this tile in our first house. Dirt and water would settle between the small tiles and on the tiles themselves since the tops are not smooth. I never found a cleaner that worked that made the grout look clean, and it didn’t matter if the grout was white or gray. Many a weekend was spent with a toothbrush, sitting on the floor and trying to get the grime off the tile and grout before company came over. The cleaning issue was always the problem no matter if the tile was on the floor or the wall. Yes, it is retro, but there is a very good reason why you’re seeing larger tiles now- less grout and smooth tile surfaces means less cleaning.
pam kueber says
Epoxy grout! Also – a good gray grout….
Vacuum often. Vacuum before cleaning with water…
Large tiles = ugh
Carrie O says
Jasco Tile also carries both styles of the tiles. They are in Union, NJ down the street from where World of Tile used to be. They also have some 4×4 tiles in stock. I was able to pick up a few pink replacement tiles for really cheap like $2 a tile.