Have you ever had white tile? I had it and never again. It looks dirty 5 minutes after it's cleaned.

do you plan to use bath mats/rugs? that could add color...

Since you asked, yes. For me, that would be too much white. I'd be inclined to to leave the wainscotting wood toned, depending on the era of your home, possibly do it in a mission oak.

The highest contrast zone [where the white meets something else] will be the area of your room that attracts the most attention. Unless you bring more color down, it will be a room of two parts, color above, white below, and the division is the visual magnet. Currently, sounds like your room is wearing white belt, pants and shoes, and you are focusing on the shoelaces.

Very good... thanks for the comments. I guess the stone colored tile is the way to go. I'll just have to bite the bullet at $24.99 a foot. yicks! One question Happyladi, did you not like the white tile or did you use white grout and that is what looked dirty quickly. Just wondering. We are thinking about white tiles in our spare bathrooms which won't be used as much (and these will not have white wainscotting). We would probably use a light grey grout. How do all these people with cottage 1920 homes in the magazines have all this white everywhere and they look so classic and not white belt, pants and shoes, ha!

Since you did ask, no such thing as too much white. Its clean, fresh and relaxing. My former house (circa 1928) had the original hex tile, white with occasional black, white toilet, sink and tub, white subway 4 feet high or so, with black trim, and white metal medicine cabinet. I had white towels, and painted the walls a dove gray. Thought about recreating it in my new house but when a slightly different direction. A lot of the newer hex tiles are glazed porcelien and they may be easier to keep clean.

Oh Boy Bradleyi, now I'm really confused. That circa 1928 is the look I love. I want that whole feel for our new home, just trying to recreate the look and feel is so hard for me because I can't visualize it in my head. We are trying to achieve a new house that looks old and comfy.

tudorlover, if you are looking for stone-colored hex tile, check Daltile. Their Keystone Shapes series porcelain hex tile is available in many colors, including some neat fleck patterned colors. I got my 1 1/4" hex for $4.50/sf from an online broker (Dalitle showroom quoted me $7.25/sf).

Joe

I did a bath exactly as you describe and it wasn't too much white. The reason being, you have the color above the wainscoting and once you have bath mats, towels, window coverings, lighting, etc., the look is very much cohesive, clean and spa-like. I loved it.

We are doing this exact look in our master bath also. White pedestal sinks, white clawfoot tub, white subway to 4' wainscot, white hex floor tile... The color will come in the wall and accessories. We are building a "new old" home and I'm trying to create a relaxing vintage feel. Here are are a couple of inspiration pictures I have laying around. Sorry they aren't the best quality.

Oh my goodness - that last picture is so pretty. Thank you all for your input!!!! Can't wait to relax in my classic/cottagey/vintage spa... aaaaaah!

This is a photo of our 90% completed DIY bathroom. It at least may give you some idea of what a tan floor looks like with the white wainscoting and fixtures. I will say the tan tile hides EVERYTHING, I am very glad we went with the color we did.

I think the last picture shows a white floor. Does it look like too much white to you? I think the colored accessories really break it up. I think it looks lovely and very time appropriate.

This is our tiny version. As long as you do a pale grey grout on those small white tiles, they don't look dirty. It's only when you use big tiles and white grout that they are a pain to keep white.

We added colour to the back of the door and some prints on the wall, otherwise it is pretty much white - and I love it.

Before the marble threshold went in. Just to show the pale grey grout with white tiles.

I also don't think there can be too much white, especially if you use a gray grout, it can be really pretty. Unless its in a high traffic area, I think it should be fine.

Also, should have said that if youre not keen on the grey grout, you can use a light tan as well.

I think all white bathrooms are beautiful and definitely period appropriate. Get a copy of Bungalow Bathrooms by Jane Powell for inspiration. I personally could not bring myself to spend that much on flooring unless it were the utter perfect thing (and even then...). It sounds like you are kind of lukewarm on it and just feel that it might be a "better" choice than plain white - not that you are head over heels in love with it. Too much money for something to not make your heart go pitter patter whenever you see it. :)

I'm going for the white with black trim myself because I wanted something more graphic and "punchy" but there is a LOT of white in my bathroom too. It feels clean and fresh to me, I love it.

The one thing to warn you about is that whites probably won't match, so you have to be ok with that. :)

I'm a fan of white, wood, and Jane Powell, and although it's not finished yet, here's a shot of my allllllmost-done DIY bath in my 1922 bungalow. I think the wood (original floor, everything else built-in by me) really softens up all the hard white. (This will look much better when completed, but hopefully gives an idea):

Thanks again for everyone's ideas and comments. I love this website! Alohamillion - no it doesn't look like too much white. It looks adorable. Budge 1 I have to say, yes that's what I want! White tile here I come. The tan tile is very pretty, but everytime I see the white - my heart goes pitter-patter. I'm going to do the lite grey grout like Budge 1. By the way, what kind of countertop do you have on your vanity? Is that marble? May even add a white shutter on the windows like that picture - just to have white overload!!! NEVER too much white. Thanks everyone. You've really helped.

Chiming in a bit late but I did an all white bathroom in my tiny master with (gasp) white hex floors :). On the wise advice of BillV and Mongo, to avoid the dirty-floor syndrome I applied white Aquamix grout colorant to the floor, including the shower, before we started using the bathroom.

It's been 2 years now and working like a charm. The floors still look great, and during my weekly cleaning I use some Soft Scrub on the shower floor which is the only area that really shows dirt. Cleans up immediately.

Anyway, here is a picture of my bathroom. The only color I have is on the walls and I love the look. As someone said, never too much white in a classic bathroom.

Good luck,
Ann

yes, our vanity is marble. With all of us using it on a daily basis the marble is already very etched. However, even if I had to do it over again, I would still do the marble. Even etched, I like it better than anything else.

Circuspeanut, that is wonderful. I hope Johnmarie gets to see it. I think that is right up her alley.

Runninginplace, that is one gorgeous room.

Tudorlover
am in final stages of finishing my white bathroom. Am not so good with pics but will try to post later.
My 2 cents- I feel like my bathroom invented itself and invited me alone for the ride ;) I did set original plan of what I wanted to happen but after I started it seemed like one thing dictated what other needs to be and won't allow anything else. My point is go with your guts, bring few samples, lay them down, see how it looks with good light.
White could be anything you want and will fit into any design. It would be hard to have too much white IMO...
tile for the floor I used is Satin Sheets from Crossivlle tile. It is a white tile with stripes on it. Interestingly enough there are probably 6 or 7 different colored stripes down there but one can not realize it until kneel down and investigated. Overall color is light grey. Tile itself is slightly rough porcelain so COF is great for bathroom floor.

tudorlover
I had an all white tile bath in my last home and loved it. I live in an area with a lot of iron in the water and struggled to keep the grout from staining orange. despite the extra work i am remodeling the master bath in my new home and will again go with all white porcelain tile.