In every single place in our house now we have used darkish grout with tiles. I really like the way it appears to be like in opposition to a basic, cheap tile (see our lavatory right here) and there’s the practicality of it not highlighting mould, stains and marks, particularly in a excessive site visitors space comparable to a household lavatory or kitchen.
So why didn’t you employ darkish grout within the kitchen I hear you asking? Effectively, we did, however we additionally used crackle glaze tiles – which we sealed! However solely as soon as – and the darkish grout bled onto the tiles so badly that we needed to tile a whole new layer over the part (as a result of to take away them would’ve taken the plaster beneath off).
We then sealed them an additional thrice to make sure however nonetheless obtained scared so simply went with a light-weight gray grout.
It was positive, they seemed good, but it surely simply wasn’t my imaginative and prescient, ? Our tiles (‘Ludlow’ in Ammonite from Porcelain superstore), for my part, would sing that little bit extra with a darker encompass.
I had been that means to attempt a grout pen for ages, actually I purchased one (through Rainbow chalk) and it sat unused on my desk for ages – partly out of nervousness however largely out of lack of time. However now we have lastly obtained spherical to it and listed below are the outcomes!
It took plenty of getting used to at first, as we had gotten used to the lighter grout, however for me, the room immediately feels extra ‘us’ and what we initially wished – the tiles ping, as do the objects leaning in opposition to the wall. Right here are some things to notice:
I didn’t ‘prep’ the room or the tiles.
Our grout in all fairness latest (beneath 2 years) so it was in state, and our tiles have been miraculously fairly clear!
One pen won’t do a whole room
Don’t give it a go along with only one pen (like me) in case your house is as giant (or bigger) than this. I booked out a whole day after which ran out of juice (each metaphorically and actually!) after a few hours. Ultimately we used three pens for this space, I in all probability didn’t use the pen proper till the final attainable drip because it will get trickier to navigate and extra room for error (and I used to be filming on a deadline so wanted to be considerably fast).
There are totally different measurement nibs
I used a 7ml one however they promote smaller and thicker (we by chance purchased a 15ml one and it was like a jumbo marker – we despatched that one again).
The nib typically will get worn down and tough after some time
Which means that your traces aren’t as clean and it will get a bit harder to make markings on the grout. That’s once you change pen.
To make use of the pen you shake, then push down on the nib to deliver the ink out (a bit like these gold pens all of us utilized in faculty?!) – I might suggest having a notepad useful to do that as you go. In case you push down straight onto the grout the nib can be ruined faster (see above picture!).
Attempt a tester space in a much less seen a part of the room earlier than you begin
Simply in case you don’t prefer it! I examined it beneath the breakfast bar first.
Don’t fear for those who go over the tiles
I typically had a humid flannel that ran over the sting of the tiles and would tidy up after it had initially dried.
I’ve not tried this in a rest room or moist room and can’t say whether or not it’d maintain up – just a few individuals on TikTok have stated it’s positive; just a few haven’t! It appears much less upholding on flooring grout (for apparent causes).
Be certain, in case you have totally different tiles like crackle-glaze, that they’re sealed earlier than trying this. Perhaps thrice to make sure! You should buy some right here (and we discovered utilizing a mini curler was a extremely fast and useful means to do that).
All in all, we’re actually pleased with the end result and it’s precisely what I ‘thought’ our tiles have been going to appear to be after we first completed our kitchen. It’s value mentioning that that is clearly freshly achieved and I can’t vouch for a way lengthy it lasts – however will in fact share if there are any main flaws. If this was one thing you have been contemplating (or possibly you hadn’t considered it as an choice earlier than!), it’s a extremely inexpensive change you might make with out an excessive amount of effort.
See the grout pen in motion on my TikTok house account
