Hell's Kitchen

Grouchy About Grout

Well, it isn't grout per se that made me grouchy but rather the grout lines.This particular renovation project is not for one of my clients but rather, for my own family home and is a kitchen overhaul. A painful, long drawn out affair.After much searching I found the perfect tumbled matchstick limestone mosaic with all the colors and texture I wanted.

Next step, finding the perfect grout color, which I did. Dove White.

 Installation was completed by a company that has done work for me in the past installing counters and tiles. I was very specific about the finishing, anticipating that (which is often the case with tumbled tiles or any tiles with an irregular edge that come in sections of 12" x 12" square, getting a "seam" where the sections meet up is common, no matter how skilled the installer is.     
                                                                                                                                                                          

Even though I pestered the heck out of the gentleman who installed it to keep the joints tight, when completed, it was still too apparent to me.

                                                                                        .

That's when it's time to take advantage of all my years of painting tromp l'oeil and faux finishing. Mixing up oil glazes of tones found in the mosaics themselves I got to work painting the gaps in   between the tiles directly on to the grout. 

                                                                                                                                          

 This was done on unsealed grout. The uneven way the grout absorbed the color actually helped the effect.

I am really pleased at how the grout lines have gone away.