No grout about it, the tiled surfaces found in these houses just wouldn’t pop the same way without their contrasting grout lines. From sunshine-yellow fillers to more subdued mixes—and even a winking brass inlay—these risk-taking approaches to grout will inspire you to color inside the lines.

A Translucent Shed Keeps a Couple’s Home, Gardens, and Cooking School Under One Roof

Ronnen Goren and Trace Streeter bought 20 acres in central Victoria, Australia, just six minutes north of the spa town of Daylesford, with the aim of creating a rural enclave where they could farm, garden, and host visitors via a cooking school and reception venue. In the bathhouse, set in a greenhouse setting, "clay bricks slip-glazed on two sides are laid with contrasting mortar to match the raw clay color of the other sides," describes the firm Partners Hill." layout="" credit="Photo by Rory Gardiner" photoUserId=""/>

A $100K Revamp Lifts a London Victorian to Memphis Heaven

When Tamsen Chislett and her husband Max Lines decided to renovate the lower ground floor of their Victorian terrace in the London borough of Islington, the brief to Office S&M was simple: they weren’t to use gray anywhere in the home. The result is a joyful mash-up of vibrant color and bold architectural forms that is at odds with the grayness so often associated with London. Case in point: The marbled countertops in the ground-floor bathroom are by Smile Plastics, a company that melts and reuses discarded milk bottles and chopping boards, and cheery yellow grout outlines the white tiles cladding the floors and walls." layout="wide" credit="French+Tye" photoUserId=""/>

Before & After: A Murky Home in Seattle Gets a Huge Dose of Light and Color

But you have to be flexible because it's an imperfect process." It's complemented by the tinted mirror by Alguacil & Perkoff." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Lisa Town" photoUserId=""/>

Mechanized Shutters Protect This Australian Home From Prying Eyes

When choosing what shades would go into the home's color palette, the design team drew heavily on the Western Australian landscape. "We looked to the Pindan red dirt of the Northwest, the luminous white beaches, the dusty eucalyptus greens," says Salomone. In the wet areas, the team used terra-cotta grout to offset the simple grid of Sugie tiles on the floors and walls." layout="wide" credit="Add credit" photoUserId=""/>

An Art-Collecting Couple’s L.A. Home Is a Masterpiece in Its Own Right

The couple have two young children, three dogs, and a cat, so the connection between the backyard and the kitchen was of the utmost importance. Dark terra-cotta tiles line the floor and continue straight out to the terrace. The architects added subtle brass details in the grout line where the kitchen flooring meets the island’s brass backsplash. “We wanted the color to spill into the grout line and weave its way from the threshold to the kitchen. The evening light catches this and illuminates the line for a moment,” explains principal Jessica Weigley." layout="" credit="Photo by Joe Fletcher" photoUserId="6133430985087148032"/>

A London Couple Design and Build the Home of Their Dreams for Less Than $110K

Fresh off their wedding and honeymoon, architect Richard John Andrews and his wife, Kristina, dove headfirst into a project that would scare off most newlyweds: a gut renovation of a ramshackle 1890s Victorian terrace house in need of "a lot of TLC." They sacrificed an existing bedroom to make room for a first-floor bathroom, which is fitted with a large skylight. The herringbone wall tiles are from Topps Tiles, set off with an earthy-hued grout." layout="" credit="Chris Snook Photography" photoUserId=""/>The colored grout complements the bathroom’s copper fixtures, made by the crafty couple. The freestanding bathtub is from Soak.com." layout="wide" credit="Chris Snook Photography" photoUserId=""/>

Overhaul of an Upper West Side Brownstone Apartment

After spending years patching up their rental, two architects decided to purchase their very own fixer-upper on the top floor of an 1890s brownstone on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Having fallen in love with the view of the Hudson River, high ceilings, and the fact that the apartment hadn’t been touched since the ‘60s, Kate and Arthur embraced the cozy new home and aimed to make less than 500 square feet feel larger. The couple tapped Sweeten to reconfigure walls, expand the kitchen, and update the bath. A minimalist black-and-white aesthetic dominates the apartment kitchen, where elongated black tile is contrasted with lighter gray grout. The countertops are dark soapstone, and the cabinets are a dark green-black." layout="" credit="Photo by Sweeten" photoUserId="6270260450342789120"/>

A Tiny Taipei Apartment Pursues Muji-Like Minimalism For $35K

Modern Mountain Getaway

A Reimagined Flat in Singapore

Shyan and Joy, the new owners of a flat in the quaint precinct of Ang Mo Kio in Singapore, tapped Open Studio to create a versatile home that balances private and public spaces. The social areas are deliberately moody while bedrooms and bathrooms are more playful. Terra-cotta tiles and matching grout provide pop of color, adding a youthful dimension to the apartment." layout="" credit="Photo by Khoo Guo Jie" photoUserId="6676211554289635328"/>

Secret Storage and Pastel Colors Outfit a 350-Square-Foot Apartment in Madrid

In an apartment of only about 350 square feet, Madrid–based architectural firm elii has designed a functional layout with a bright palette that emphasizes light and views to the streetscape outside. The bathroom has two frosted glass walls to allow light to filter in. Blue grout and contrasting yellow drawers and hardware bring bright colors into the space." layout="wide" credit="Add credit" photoUserId=""/>

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A London Couple Design and Build the Home of Their Dreams for Less Than $110K