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!
Linda says
Like so many others, I was thrilled to find this resource. I just bought a 1959 ranch which was “re-muddled” before it was put on the market. (Who, seriously, thinks that adding a granite countertop and oversized greige floor tiles to a yellow ceramic tile bath and vintage kitchen makes them more desirable?)
Anyhoo, just called Classic Tile to confirm price and request samples of 2.25″ Block Random Glazed in grey and white. Phone was answered by a totally rude, unprofessional guy, who told me they had “like 40 people in the store” and there was no one who could quote me a price and that I’d have to call back during the week. When I didn’t respond immediately, he repeated that they had 40 people in the store. I responded that I’m glad they are busy and successful … and he hung up on me!
If it weren’t so important to watch my resto budget, I wouldn’t give these guys the time of day. (At least when you call Spear Engineering, they simply don’t answer or call you back!) Hopefully can find a lower-priced alternative to Home Depot’s $9.98 per sq. ft. Merola.
Pam Kueber says
Try Merola too, their products are on Home Depot online too https://retrorenovation.com/2012/11/01/bathroom-floor-tile-in-production-since-the-1970s-merola-university-random-mosaic/
Linda says
Update to my previous comment: After repeated phone calls to Classic Tile, I “got my New York on” and cajoled them into checking inventory for me. While they are now sold out of the grey random mosaic, they had more than enough in white for my bathroom restoration. I was quoted $4.50 per sq. ft., and was told they do NOT send out samples. Off we went to Staten Island! Picked up 77 sq. ft. of tile … and struck a bargain for $4.00 a square! As of November 2017, they have white, pink and beige available.
Pam Kueber says
Good on you! Yes, Retro Renovation — like NYC — ain’t for the faint of heart!
Kathy says
I checked the Home Depot website, and the tile edges appear wavy there too.
Lynn says
I was just wondering if anyone had any experience now with these new mosaic floor tiles and how easy it is to keep them and the grout clean. I grew up with purple and white mosaic tiles like these, and my mom was always complaining about them being hard to clean (and ugly–she hated purple). I always thought they were cool, but have messy kids, a past bad experience with hard to clean tile and grout, and limited time to spend on it, and didn’t want to get into something that required a lot of maintenance. Is there a best type of grout and sealant to use to make it easier? Thanks so much!
pam kueber says
Hi Lynn, on these types of issues, I recommend you contact the companies directly to find out their recommendations for cleaning, sealing of grout, etc.
Re grout, in my experience, if you go darker the dirt is less likely to show. Also see Kate’s story about epoxy grout (use Search box); I think she is having good experience with it, but it is more difficult to install. But these are just our own personal experiences as homeowners — not as professionals. So: I recommend you talk to the manufacturers and tile professionals to get their professional views.
Dave S. says
I am looking for the mosaic colorways of 1-1/8 inch, rounded square mosaics in spruce green. Any help would be mega appreciated! THX!
pam kueber says
Dave S, contact the company(s) profiled. See our Bathroom Help / Tile Help category for all our research on tile. There’s a green now too, although I don’t know if I’d call is “spruce”
Kathy says
Great find! They also have a lot of hex and pennyround, and all kinds of wall tile. Did you check out the round tile or the 4×12 subway tile?
Seekingsun54 says
I somehow stumbled unto this post as I was preparing for our MCM bathroom gut and renovation. I had just ordered a sample case of the gray Merola tile from Home Depot. My budget was cringing at the cost but I couldn’t find anything else that was close to what I wanted. I will be contacting this company to find out specifics!
Any low cost sources for hex tiles also (in case I decide to go that route)? Everything I saw online was over $10 a sq ft…
pam kueber says
check big box stores for hex tiles
Whitney says
Classic Tile also has a 2″ hex for $3.50!!!
Chong says
I just put an order in for these! Will update how they look in my bathroom. So happy I followed this recommendation. It cut the price in half and I’m happy that I didn’t have to do $9/sqft from Home Depot.
pam kueber says
Yay!
susieq says
I haven’t commented in a couple of years but thought I should.I had a 1962 ranch that had smooth mosaic tile in the family bathroom and just loved it.When we built a new house in the early 1980s I managed to find what I thought would be very similar tile that looked identical to the 1″mosaic tiles in blue.The tile was very pretty when new but the surface was impossible to clean and not durable at all.I have no idea what the durability of the tile shown here is but I would get a sample and use a scouring pad on it to see if it will hold up to a families hard use
Robin Mulder says
Good thinking.
My 50 year old blue speckled mosaic looks like new, but my other bath’s same era white smooth stuff didn’t hold up well. I’m hoping one of these will be a good replacement, and I’ve got samples coming, hurray!
I’ll be giving it the scratch, scrub, and smash test.
Robin Mulder says
I’ve been hunting down tile online for months, and was ready to order the Merola University for my 60s bath, but I love these!
I think that random mix is probably from Somertile (a division of Merola), as shown on their website. (http://somertile.com/SearchByKeyword?word=academy) .
I suspect that the individual tiles are bigger than those in the Merola University series, assuming that the pictures show a whole tile sheet. (As compared to the pictures of the University here: http://somertile.com/SearchByKeyword?word=university)
I can’t find that wavy version selling anywhere else online, so I can’t find any more information to verify that.
Thanks for this post. I’ll have to check into shipping costs!
pam kueber says
Well there you go! Excellent scouting! There’s Merola University… and then, there’s Merola Academy! Gold star to Robin!
Robin Mulder says
Aw shucks… just happy to help if possible. This site has been an inspiration to me.
By the way, just to muddy it further, you can find something called Somertile Academy on Overstock.com, but it is NOT the wavy kind. It looks like Merola University, and the product numbers match that. In addition, Wayfair carries “Elite Tile” brand, which looks to be exactly the same as Somertile/Merola.
Jules says
I wanted something similar to the grey mosaic- but couldn’t afford the $9/sq foot. Got the simple octagon-dot from Daltile. Too late now… darn! Good to know should a future opportunity arise.