Subway tiles vs. hexagon tiles in the bathroom—what’s your pick?

Just make sure you’re ready for a lot of grout cleanup... it’s no joke.

Man, that’s the truth. Last time I did a small hex floor, I swear I spent more time with a sponge than with the tile cutter. And yeah, subway tiles are classic, but like you said, if your lines aren’t dead-on, it’s super obvious. Out of curiosity—has anyone tried those new elongated hex tiles? Wondering if they’re any easier to work with or just as fiddly as the regular ones.

Last time I did a small hex floor, I swear I spent more time with a sponge than with the tile cutter.

Yep, that’s the hex life. My knees still remember the last round of “hex yoga” I did in our powder room. Grout haze is basically a rite of passage at this point.

- Elongated hex tiles—tried ‘em once for a friend’s backsplash. They look cool, but honestly, not much less fiddly than regular hex. You still have to line up all those points, and if you’re even a hair off, it shows. At least with subway tiles, you can fudge it a bit with spacers and nobody’s the wiser unless they’re crawling on your floor with a ruler.
- The biggest difference I noticed: elongated hexes cover more area per tile, so you *feel* like you’re making progress faster. But then you hit the edges and realize you’ve got some weird cuts to make. Not impossible, just… creative.
- Cleanup is about the same. If anything, more nooks for grout to hide in. I went through three sponges and a lot of muttering under my breath.

Honestly, if you’ve survived a classic hex floor, elongated ones won’t scare you off. It’s just a different flavor of “why did I think this was a good idea?” But when it’s done? Looks sharp. Subway tiles are timeless, but hex (especially the funky shapes) gives you bragging rights.

One tip: invest in knee pads and good music. Makes the grout haze marathon slightly less soul-crushing.

I hear you on the grout haze—my last hex job turned into a full-on upper body workout. I still lean subway for walls, though, just for sanity’s sake. Anyone ever regret going bold with funky tile shapes, or does the wow factor win out in the end?

I went bold with a fish scale tile once—looked amazing, but man, cleaning all those curves was a pain. Still, I don’t regret it. The wow factor’s real, and guests always comment on it. I do wonder if the upkeep ever makes people wish they’d stuck with something simpler, though. Anyone tried mixing shapes, like hex on the floor and subway on the walls? Curious if that feels too busy or just adds character.

Mixing shapes can totally work if you keep the colors pretty simple. I did hex on the floor and subway on the walls in my last reno—didn’t feel too busy at all, actually made the space feel more interesting.

“I do wonder if the upkeep ever makes people wish they’d stuck with something simpler, though.”