Conversation with a tile guy at Home Depot made me rethink my whole floor plan

I was grabbing some grout last Saturday and this older guy stocking shelves started chatting. He asked what I was working on and I told him about laying tile in my kitchen. Then he said something like "you sure you wanna run those tiles straight through the doorway?" and pointed out how my layout would make the hall look narrow. I had just lined it up off the wall without thinking about sightlines. He showed me on his phone how angling the pattern a half inch could open up the space. It hit different because I'd been staring at that floor for weeks and never noticed. Has anyone else had a random stranger at a hardware store completely change how you did a job?

2 comments

2 Comments

wade_young8614h ago

Nah I used to be the type who just lined everything up off a wall and called it good, but that kind of insight makes me realize how much small stuff really matters in a layout.

hollym1217h ago

Did he mention whether that half inch shift would mess with your grout lines lining up at the other end of the hall?