trying to match existing flooring...does this look ok or awful?

[caedmyn]

We had a closet in our entryway opened up and are having a built in with a bench, cubbies, and coat hooks added where the closet was.  The entryway floor is slate flagstone and the closet had carpet, so the former closet area needed new flooring.  I found a local place that carries slate flagstone and hand-picked the pieces to get the best color match I could.  Most of what they had was gray or reddish whereas ours is dark browns and reds, so I had to pick pieces that were leaned more toward red.  The pieces are laid out but not cemented in yet.  DH took one look at it and said it will look awful.  He says there will be way too much grout showing and there's too many little pieces.  To my mind it looks ok and doesn't differ significantly from the existing flagstone, which has very wide grout lines and quite a few small pieces as filler.  What does the hive think...will the new flooring look ok, or not?  The area that's having flagstone added is 27" deep and the built in bench is 20" deep, so really only the front half of the new floor will show.

[school17777]

I think it looks fine.  

[mommyoffive]

Looks totally fine.  I didn't notice anything at all until I read your paragraph.  

[alisoncooks]

I think it'll look great, especially if you get the grout close! And it'll have a bench over it, right? 

[Scarlett]

It looks fine. Grout needs to match better,  it otherwise looks great.  

[caedmyn]

26 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

It looks fine. Grout needs to match better,  it otherwise looks great.  

 Some of the existing grout has been cleaned and some hasn't yet, so that's why there's color variation there.  He'll just match the cleaner grout and hopefully DH will clean the rest of it soon.

[Ellie]

I noticed the difference 🙂 but you're putting a bench there, right? It will be fine.

[KathyBC]

With grout and sealer it will blend much better.

[Carol in Cal.]

I think the grout and stones look fine together, but I think that that one straight boundary line looks funny.  It makes it obvious that there was an addition.  It would probably be pretty hard to change, though.

[Forget-Me-Not]

1 hour ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I think the grout and stones look fine together, but I think that that one straight boundary line looks funny.  It makes it obvious that there was an addition.  It would probably be pretty hard to change, though.

I was going to say the same thing. 

[klmama]

I disagree with your dh. The amount of grout and smaller pieces looks about the same as the original.  The straight line makes it clear there's been a change, but a bench and cubbies will make it less obvious, especially if the bench happens to hang over the line a bit and/or if you can get the grout color to match.  With the shadow from the bench and with any shoes, boots, baskets, etc. you may be putting under the bench, I don't think it will be a problem at all.  ETA:  I just reread your post and realized the bench won't cover the line.  Oh, well.  If you can get the grout to match, it will still be okay.  If your dh is really unhappy with it, what does he propose instead?  Does he want to replace the whole entryway floor? 

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by klmama

[gardenmom5]

the color looks fine - for me the most noticeable thing would be the obvious straight line where the new flooring is going compared to the old.

 

[RootAnn]

I think you did an amazing job matching & it won't be noticeable (other than to super picky people who will pickup on the straight grout line).

[mom@shiloh]

I think it looks fine. Once it's done, I'm sure no one would even notice that there's any difference. 

[Guest]

IMO, the match is not the problem, it’s the straight line where the flooring used to end that’s the problem. If you have a bench there, it will be mitigated a little but the straight line will forever make it apparent that it was added later. If it is important to you that it can’t be noticed at all, all the flooring has to be replaced. But only you and dh can decide how important that is. 

[Scarlett]

50 minutes ago, Quill said:

IMO, the match is not the problem, it’s the straight line where the flooring used to end that’s the problem. If you have a bench there, it will be mitigated a little but the straight line will forever make it apparent that it was added later. If it is important to you that it can’t be noticed at all, all the flooring has to be replaced. But only you and dh can decide how important that is. 

Yes this.  I think the Stone matches great.....it is the straight line. .... but I think the bench will make it look fine.  

[Sherry in OH]

I agree the straight line is the problem.  You could break out a few of the smaller stone along the edge and then lap in larger pieces of the new stone.   

[gardenmom5]

to get rid of the line - you don't have to replace the entire floor.  (same with hardwood if you're able to get the same type of wood).

just remove the smaller ones with the grout so the straight line is gone - then put larger stones overlapping the line.

are you doing this yourself?  or do you have a floor guy?  (a floor guy should have know how to do this so it disappears.)

[MEmama]

The straight line would severely bug me every day in my own house, but if it doesn’t bother you then there’s no reason to worry. The match of the stone looks okay.
Can you cover the stone with a nice rug to cover the line? Or install a deeper bench so the line isn’t visible?

[caedmyn]

I tweaked the stone placement slightly to hopefully make the line a bit less noticeable.  I'll post a pic once it's grouted.  There will be a good sized rug in the entryway and I can probably size up if necessary to hide the line.