P.S. I meant to say, I'm trying to figure out the flooring outside of the shower - but welcome any photos/suggestions for a tile that could be used inside and outside the shower.

What about carrara marble? Very soothing and will still tie in with the white and sea accents? Here is the link to my remodel with a white subway shower.

Here is a link that might be useful: my bathroom remodel

I just went through this with our master bath that we are doing in a new build. I don't have pics yet because it isn't finished but we ended up choosing subway tiles for the shower walls and hex tiles for the shower floor. For the bathroom floor outside the shower we are doing a 6x6 white ceramic tile in a running bond (subway-style) pattern with 6 rows of hex tiles forming a border around the edges. My hope is that the 6x6 tiles will relate to the subways in the shower and also the hex border will tie into the hex in the shower floor.

Good luck with your decision. This area was hard for me to figure out.

I'd like to join the asylum bathroom club. I'm taking back the main bathroom in an 1892 shingle style Victorian. I'm planning to use white subway tile on the walls, 2" white hex on the floor (not sure about in the shower yet), white pedestal sink, white medicine chest and nickel fixtures (if my budget will allow). My bible has been "Bungalow Bathrooms" by Powell and Svendsen. Bathrooms at the turn of the 1900's were all white. There's a picture I've been trying to duplicate showing hunter green liner tile with the white subway. I've been on a massive hunt for such a green color. Most greens today are medium and too gray. I've ruled out AO dill pickle, Daltile oak moss as just not a deep enough green. Any suggestions are much appreciated. And I'm very grateful for all the great advice out there. Meeting with my contractor this week and hope to get started before too long.

Maia-

My advice is to ignore that designer. If your sf stands for SF, well, I've been in a lot of bathrooms in the city, and about 90% of them had white hex tile on the floor and walls. (The floor is usually unglazed porcelain.)

Colors come and go but white never goes out of style. You can paint the walls and buy new towels every few years. Someone on this board has a beautiful dark blue bathroom, with white tiles. Very colorful but the bones are basic white, and that bathroom could turn into a pastel with about 4 coats of paint :-)

Bungalow Bathrooms is a fabulous resource. She discusses the 1900 period, too. I was going more for the 1920's look so I didn't pay attention.

If you are in the Bay Area, I would recommend Heath tile because it is used so often here. You can pick up firsts in overstock if you are patient (they actually have a beautiful Azie Green at the moment.) My kitchen backsplash is a 3x6 subway pattern in a cream Heath tile, and I think it looks incredible. The light hits each one a little differently and you can really tell it is handmade.

Nutherokie-

Your point is a good one. The fact that the wall tile is a warm cream really "warms up" the room, as does the paint color. I wonder why they used such a white sink; it looks so stark by comparison. (That sink comes in biscuit color.)

And to correct my previous post, I went to say bathrooms in San Francisco usually have white hex tile on the floor and white SUBWAY tile on the walls.

You know, I really like the white sink! I think it really punches up the room and it also makes the creamy subway tiles look very creamy! I think it's a really nice contrast... I'd so do that if I hadn't already done my bathroom and if I didn't need the storage a vanity provides... and I do. But I do love that contrasty look!

Thank you all for your replies! I will go get the Bungalow Bathrooms book!
@appletini - your bathroom is gorgeous! Thank you for providing all the details - even including the grout color (which is another major decision for subways!)
@marmoreus - thanks for the ideas - can't wait to see photos!
@glsreads - the "asylum club" - luv it! I just got a "teal feature strip" from Luxe Tile - it was a bit too hunter green for us (we are going with a more pale washed out palette). I am not sure why they call it teal, but they sent it @ no cost with my sample order - you may need to ask them to send it b/c I don't think it is listed on their site. (www.luxetile.com)
@marie_louise - Yep, I am in San Francisco and I agree, I see a lot of hex - just walked by about 15 apt houses with hex-covered front stoops on Pine St. Heath is lovely - lucky girl!
@nutherokie - you found a gorgeous photo! Looks like a million bucks!

Thanks for the lead on dark green tile diynewbie! I've been in email and phone contact with luxetile and a sample of their teal subway will be shipped tomorrow. It's being discontinued but at the moment they have more than enough for the accent pieces I need for my walls. Their costumer service staff was very responsive. I'm also trying to get a sample of Ann Sacks pine color to compare. Wish me luck!

glsreads - sorry, I don't know how to send a message through this forum so here is one more idea for the green liner. I just cked the Dal and AO tiles you ruled out, and I'm not sure that the "teal" (looks "preppy" green to me) liner from Luxe will fit the hunter green you are looking for in order to get a vintage feel - it's a pretty modern green in retrospect - but if you are like me, buying paint & tile samples seems to be part of the journey! I don't know if you are in the Bay Area, but if so, have you cked "Art Tile" in Oakland, CA - http://www.yelp.com/biz/art-tile-oakland - I wasn't looking for liners (I was looking for subway) when I was there but they might be able to make some suggestions, esp if you tell them the book you are referencing (they might even have the book on hand). They are known for finding tile used in bungalow style homes which are prevalent in Oakland. Good luck!

I second the picture example. My wife and I chose a 2" Hex Tile to go with or 2.5"x10" white subway tile.

It will look great I'm sure.

Thanks, John - what color grout did you go with?

Got my teal sample tile and there's an evergreen sample on its way. The teal is pretty close to what I was thinking about. But to get the sizes and look I really want I'll be cutting 3"x6" into 1"x6" and 2"x6" pieces.

If I use a wet saw how tricky and how much waste/ruined tiles should I plan for? I actually need 56 to finish the job. If I go with the teal, it's being discontinued so I don't want to run out and I do want some extra for any future replacements.

Also plan to use light gray grout on hex floor. Can I use same color on walls? Interested in specific brands and color names people have used.

Sorry diynewbie, I'm not even close to San Francisco so I can't take advantage of the Heath or Art Tile places -- sigh. I had fun checking both out online. Doing the best I can from Milwaukee, WI.

glsreads - did you get the liner sample or a 3x6 sample? (I got both) - are you saying the liner is too thin (think it's less than 1")? (Tip: You might want to start a new thread for liner questions - people may not see your question here under the heading of "white subway") The issue I see w/ cutting a glazed ceramic tile is I'm not sure what the edges will look like when they are white next to the green glaze, but I'm no expert there. I think you want to find an actual liner so that the edges are a bit glazed? Maybe just ask Luxe Tile what the manufacturer is of the "teal" and see if it comes in a 2 x 6 (it might even be AO or something easy to find - they sent me some floor samples that I think are Dal but they don't state the names on their site). Also, have you visited Tile Shop (1701 South 108th Street, Milwaulkee) - I love their imperial glossy subway & trim! Maybe they have something in the way of liners...?

Back to your grout question - I'm intersted in anyone else's thoughts here, too! (Glsreads - Check out appletini's page and specs above. She used laticrete spectralockÂsilver shadow).

I don't have pictures, but I have a shower with white subway tile walls, Emperador Dark polished marble 1 x 1 mosaic tiles on the shower floor, and an Emperador Dark polished marble slab on the shower bench, and every day I'm thrilled when I look at it. Outside the shower, the floor is honed Carrara Arabescata marble in a herringbone pattern. I love it.

Doninphilly, that sounds so lovely - would love to see a photo if you can get one. Herringbone in marble is so elegant...

White tile is a really fresh look when it is freshly swept and mopped. I lived in a home with white tile floors in two bathrooms and a kitchen and don't recommend it for the obvious maintenance and upkeep reasons. Light grout, even sealed grout, will darken unevenly over time- and this is more noticeable and looks dingy the lighter and more solid the tile color. My mother, whom has white hex in two bathrooms currently, feels the same way... love the look- not the upkeep.

You asked about wood floors with subway- I'll post pix of a bathroom in a home we lived in for 10 years and had laminate (wood look) floors the entire time....the much-used kid's bath floor looked practically new the day we moved out. If the room had flooded badly, the floor would have needed to be replaced...but for normal bath function- it functioned very well...and I think is even more susceptible to water damage than wood would be.

Don't mean to be a kill joy toward anyone's vision- of course, plenty of people live with white tile...and if practicality was always the leading factor for design choices- what would our homes look like?

{{gwi:1457540}}

Thank you, kitch_n_kat - I appreciate your comments on the upkeep. DH likes the idea of white ceramic hex with lt. gray grout, but I really don't want to be scrubbing grout with a toothbrush on a regular basis ;)

How about marble - Is anyone finding it hard to upkeep marble mosaic or market hex flooring (wet and dry areas)? Several tile shops have told me marble is not practical around a toilet as it can discolor or in the shower - which I don't understand b/c I keep seeing these lovely bathrooms (like appletini's) with marble. Besides having to seal the floor annually, has anyone had issues w/ slipperyness or discoloration? (if the tiles are small enough shouldn't be a problem, I think)