Tiling was one of the biggest projects on our duplex to-do list this year — four bathrooms, two mudrooms, and two backsplash areas still to go — so it’s a huge relief to report that the floors, showers, and tub surrounds are essentially finished (about 95% complete). In this post I’ll show how each space turned out, share lessons we learned, and note which tiles we’d happily use again and which ones we’d avoid if we wanted a faster, simpler install.
floor tile | wall tile | shower floor | grout: frost | door: SW Oyster Bay
After two long weekends of DIY, we tiled all six floors ourselves (two mudrooms and four bathrooms). To keep the schedule on track, we hired our contractor’s crew to finish the four remaining shower surrounds in under a week — something that would have taken us several additional weekends. For the shower walls we used classic white subway tile, which is simple, affordable, and doesn’t compete with the bolder patterned floor tiles we chose for each room. Because we’ve already shared our subway tile adventures elsewhere, this post focuses mainly on the floor tile choices and the practical takeaways from installing them.
floor tile | wall tile | shower floor | grout: warm gray | door: SW White Truffle
We used an affordable 3 x 6″ subway tile in a running bond for the showers, and two en-suite showers got white herringbone tile on the floor for subtle interest. The floor tiles for each room were selected to complement the door colors and overall palette; we made one last-minute swap after seeing the tile installed next to the doors, which shows how helpful it is to see materials in place before committing.
We purposely chose larger tiles with strong patterns instead of small mosaics to speed up installation. That decision paid off overall, but not all large tiles install the same. Some patterns were much more forgiving and faster to lay than others. If speed and ease are priorities — or you’re a novice tiler — these insights should help you choose tiles that reduce frustration and time on the job.
Let’s start with the easiest tiles to install.
The Square Patterned Tiles
floor tile | grout: warm gray | door: SW White Truffle
The blue square patterned tiles were the fastest and most straightforward to install. Their square shape and symmetrical pattern allowed us to orient tiles in any direction, which simplified layout, cutting, and installation. Right angles are forgiving, and the symmetry made it easy to reuse cut pieces along edges and minimize waste.
The tile sizes — roughly 8 x 8″ and 9 x 9″ in the rooms we did — were light enough to handle easily while still covering ground quickly. Each of those rooms took about two hours to lay, which felt effortless compared with other patterns. The finished floors look intricate without adding installation complexity, so these square porcelain tiles are an excellent choice if you want a stylish but easy project.
One change we might make next time is to use a slightly darker gray grout in one room to make the diamond pattern read more strongly. We tried to streamline by using the same grout across multiple rooms, but varying grout shade can significantly affect how a pattern reads.
The Marble Hex Tile
floor tile | grout: frost | door: SW Oyster Bay
This hex tile isn’t marble — it’s porcelain — but it has a marble-like finish with a geometric overlay that makes it unique. It may be our top pick for the whole house: classic, bright, and visually interesting without being fussy. The tile size (about 8 x 8″) made coverage quick, and this floor took roughly 3–4 hours to complete.
Hex shapes require more careful cutting and attention to spacing to avoid layout drift. We pre-laid a lot of tile first, before mixing thinset, to confirm alignment and ensure we wouldn’t end up with tiny slivers at the edges. That prep work felt tedious but saved time when we started setting tile in earnest.
There are two visual options with this hex tile depending on rotation; lay out both and pick the look you prefer. With adequate spacers (we used 1/16″) the hex came together nicely, and the grout color helped disguise minor spacing inconsistencies. We used a premixed grout product that doesn’t require sealing and has held up well under heavy use.
The Patterned Hex Tile
This patterned hex tile went into a hall bath and was the most frustrating overall. The asymmetrical pattern meant orientation mattered and scrap pieces were hard to reuse, which led to a few bad cuts and one tile accidentally set in the wrong direction that we didn’t catch until grouting. Fixing it required breaking out the tile, resetting a new piece, and delaying grout to let thinset cure.
We also ran short of tile mid-job and had to order another box. Based on our experience and reports from others, plan for a higher overage — closer to 25% extra — when using intricate patterned hex tiles. The end result is beautiful, but installation is slower, more error-prone, and less forgiving than simpler shapes.
The Chevron Mudroom Tile
Downstairs, the two mudrooms and laundry rooms feature large chevron tiles (17″ x 35″). Because they’re long rectangles, they filled a large area quickly, but their size made them heavy and a little cumbersome to cut. Large-format tiles also demand attention to leveling, so we used leveling spacers to keep seams even.
The one oddity is the manufacturer’s recommended spacer size, which would perfectly align the tile joints with the pattern inside the tile. That spacer size is nonstandard, so we used 1/8″ or 1/16″ spacers instead. The chevron looks great and the large pieces meant the room filled quickly, but plan for heavy handling and careful cutting.
The Herringbone Mudroom Tile
This was the most difficult floor to install and the one we’re least likely to do again, purely for the amount of labor and attention it required. We created a herringbone pattern using three different long rectangular porcelain colors — pink, white, and taupe. The combination of a tri-color sequence, many angled cuts, and meticulous spacing made this the most mentally and physically demanding room.
Because of the complexity and the room size, this floor took a full day to complete. The result is stunning, but expect a long, precise process: planning the pattern, cutting countless angled pieces, and repeatedly checking that sequences and alignments remain true.
Cutting Around Toilet Flanges
One detail readers asked about on social media was how we cut tidy circles around toilet flanges. An angle grinder is the usual tool for a pretty circle, but we don’t own one. My method uses a wet saw and a series of strategic cuts: first remove a few large chunks with shallow angled cuts, then make lots of short, closely spaced cuts around the circle’s edge to create “teeth” that break away. The result isn’t perfect, but it’s hidden under the toilet and provides a solid surface for the fixture. Don’t be too cavalier — the toilet base needs firm, flat support — but perfection isn’t required since the flange will cover the cut.
Overall, tiling the duplex taught us a lot about balancing aesthetics with practicality. Square patterned tiles and the marble-look hex were the easiest and fastest to install while still looking beautiful. Complex patterned hex tiles and multi-color herringbone patterns yield stunning results but add significant time, require more material overage, and demand close attention during layout and cutting. Large-format chevron tiles are very satisfying for big rooms but require muscle and leveling precautions.
More Tiling Projects & How-To Ideas
If you want to dive deeper into tiling techniques and past tile projects, we’ve documented several installs and tutorials that cover subway backsplashes, penny tile, herringbone installs, oversized outdoor tile, and more. These guides can help you plan material choices, mixing thinset, and approaches for tricky cuts and layouts.
Note: images show some spaces before final trim or grout in places; baseboard and quarter round will be added where needed to finish transitions.