Matching Existing Tile

Q: We are about to remodel our 1970 kitchen. In the 90’s someone installed a really beautiful tile floor with a border design in the center of the room. The design is a square border with the 12″ floor tiles set on a diagonal inside the square. The tile only goes up to the cabinets, not under. We plan to change the layout of the cabinets. If the tile is still available (it seems like a fairly common type), will it be a problem to add tile under where the cabinets used to be and to extend the center design. Basically, I’m asking if I will have to tear the floor completely out, or if a tile floor can be selectively added to or changed once its already down.
Thank you.
A: Assuming you can find tile that is the same color and dimensions, you could just move the cabinets and install new tile to match your floor in theory. The thing to keep in mind here and my reason for saying “in theory” is based on installation. As long as the potential for having a slight difference in height between the old floor and the new floor you should be OK. The reason why there is some potential for differing height is because the thinset you use to install the new tile could end up slightly thicker or thinner than when the initial floor was installed and after it sets your could see a small difference in height. Granted this difference would be small if anything and with some careful grout work would most likely be unnoticeable.