Don't be scared of wood and water. My master bath floor is wide-pine, and it is beautiful, and warm in the winter and not slippery when it is wet. Just seal it with Waterlox tung oil, and if you want it with a satin finish versus a gloss finish, add a single later of Waterlox satin finish.

Here is a link that might be useful: waterlox

So your floor is not adequate for ceramic either? A ceramic floor does not have to be as stiff as one for stone.

If you are going for cottage, marble isn't really the most appropriate material anyway. Is your contractor recommending any specific materials?

Don't be afraid of wood. Several people on this board have wood floors and I really haven't seen any problems. I have it in a half bath and am putting it in my new master BR.

But if you want something different I've always wanted Marmoleum. I was in a house that had it in the kitchen - New England barn red with black and white swirls and streaks. I loved it. Just promise you'll post pictures if you do it!

Tibbrix, thanks for the tips on Waterlox. It is just DH and I so I am not too worried day-to-day abuse as much as a water disaster, but I guess that will be a disaster regardless of the flooring!

enduring and ineffable, I am still interviewing contractors. The first one pointed out they didn't like marble on 2nd story rooms. I didn't follow up regarding ceramic or other materials b/c it kind of threw me. I will also see how other potential contractors view the space. Besides I had already looked for a ceramic or porcelain marble-look hex and there aren't many, so I would be back to plain hex tiles.

Lotteryicket, I considered Marmoleum early on - I would love a checkerboard, but DH nixed it. Since he is giving me nearly free reign otherwise, he does deserve some veto power.

Actually, jrueter, one of the advantages of wood - among many - is that, if there is a "disaster", it's easily repairable simply by sanding and recoating with the Waterlox. I've lived in my house for 2.5 years with the pine wood floors and have had no issues whatsoever. There is a barrier between the wood and water. Just caulk around the base of the toilet and tub and voila! You're all set. I think there are more advantages to wood floors in bathrooms than tile, but that's just my opinion. I love how soft and warm the pine is under foot, including in the winter. As I said, it's not slippery when it's wet. If it scratches or something, just sand out the mar and seal. If ceramic breaks, you're stuff.

Other options, though, are sheet flooring in a polymer. Very tough and never need sealing as they are naturally water repellant. But they can be slippery when they're wet, so be sure to address that.

This post was edited by Tibbrix on Tue, Mar 4, 14 at 19:29

I considered Marmoleum early on - I would love a checkerboard, but DH nixed it. Since he is giving me nearly free reign otherwise, he does deserve some veto power.

Did he nix the Marmoleum or the checkerboard? We have Marmoleum in our bathrooms. It comes in many different colors and patterns. Depending on the width of the room, you might be able to use sheet Marmoleum so you wouldn't even have any seams to deal with if there were a disaster.

Just a head's up - NEVER caulk around the toilet. The biggest indicator that the wax ring needs replacing, is that the toilet leaks at the floor under the bowl. If you caulk around the toilet, you would never know. It would still leak, but remain underneath and rot the floor, not to mention the odors. Also, how would you get that toilet off to replace the ring?

Edit added: I do however, agree about caulking the base of the tub, and the shower stall

This post was edited by canuckplayer on Wed, Mar 5, 14 at 1:10