I just did a new shower and did not include any border. I have never been a fan of the little tile and glass mosaics - they just look too busy to me.

The builders around here like to install a wide strip of accent tile vertically on the largest wall of the shower. Never cared for that look at all -- would much rather have the horizontal accent. We have a tile mural on the most visible wall of our shower. Love it!

It is all personal choice. I think as people try to make 'timeless' designs, there's the question of "when will my glass/marble/ceramic accent go out of fashion?".

If you have a long wall and want it to be more interesting, the choice is yours. Unless you're moving in the next year or two, do what you want to look at every day.

I don't care much for contrasting borders or accents. I do like a little textural contrast but using the same color as field tile.

I do what I like regardless of the trend. I put a tile border up above the insert out of need. It did not go high enough. When I stepped under the shower head water splatter above the insert and got the wall wet. I personally think the added color looks nice.

I hope it's still fashionable or I'll have to redo my pink 1956 bathroom with the brown border!!!!

Gladys I also decorate with things that make me smile. I hang photos taken on my trips to exotic places in my home, mainly in my office. I have interesting things all through my house. Pinocchio hanging from the ceiling in my family room, Santa in a hot air balloon keeps him company. My home is a relaxing place to be. Makes me happy.

Sometimes a border solves a tile height problem. This is our new shower

The tiles we chose are 12 x 24. If we used just 5 high above the tub, the tiled area would be too short, but 6 high would be too high. We figured that out as we were sticking the tile on the wall. See the matching tile on the floor? We had enough left to put a border around the shower/tub enclosure, so that's what we did. Turns out that we really like that border-keeps the tile from being boring.

Thanks, Everyone. My husband likes the mosaic border that I chose, but I am having second thoughts. I think saving the $1000 might make me smile when I walk into the new bathroom.

I think saving the $1000 might make me smile when I walk into the new bathroom.

:-)

We have no border in the master bath and a vertical stripe on one end wall in the hall bath. In our previous home, we had no border in the master bath even though the tile went up to the ceiling. We did have a border in the kids' bath, but that was done in 1986! I think they're still "in style", they've just changed - no longer just 2/3-border-1/3 -- now the borders are vertical, diagonal, zig-zaggy, horizontal, etc.