Dealer's choice here. Your money...your project. Lay some tiles out both ways and go with what you like.

I agree. the only one with the correct answer is YOU. Not me, not Steve (Stonetech), and certainly not your installer. I've done it both ways, and either way looks good when complete. it all depends on YOUR taste, and you're the one who's going to have to live with it afterward.

The one other thing I'll offer is that if you have a fairly mundane tile for the shower walls, using a different material in the niche...a natural stone, something with more visual detail, for example, might really set the shower off in a good way.

Example-- one I'll be doing in about 2 weeks will have a 3' long niche across the back wall of the tub. The tub walls will be subway tiles, and the back of the niche will be river rock.

Here's one with a lot of contrast done on a houseboat.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shower Niche

Sorry. Try again.............

Here is a link that might be useful:

threeapples, my tile guy was the same, said the sides should be the same, that's how it *was done.* So I went along with it, and while I do like my niche a lot, I wish I would have done the sides of the niche in the same as the back of the niche. My shower walls are white subway, which I love, and the back of the niche is a honed marble mosaic and you don't really get the contrast of the marble unless you are right in the shower looking directly at the niche. If I had done the sides as well as the back in marble, I'd have been able to see it from outside of the shower, and at different angles from outside of the shower. ah well, live and learn!

Personally, I prefer to see the niche blend in. In fact, I go thru great pains to make sure it fllas ion line with the coursing of the wall tile, for just that reason. But jsut for perspective, I'll show pics of it both ways-- one accented with different tile, and one that blends:

Beautiful work, Bill.....both of 'em!

I kept the top/bottom/sides the same as the field tile and only used the accent on the back.

Thread is 5 yrs old

That's okay over here on the GardenWeb. Why did you bring it up and point that out? We have wisdom and tips going back a long ways here.

There initially was a comment before mine dated May 26, 2017 which was deleted. It does look silly without it still being there. Many pros look at the date prior to opening a thread. There is a current thread in the pro to pro section on this very topic due to some recent Houzz format changes. By using an old thread you are short changing yourself on available advise. Also due to the rapid advances in technology and products available now many responses given 5 years ago will not be the same as the ones provided to you today. Not to say there is not valuable information in older threads. That's why I bring it up and why you should care. There is your 2017 answer:)

Well, that explains it and makes good sense. Thanks!