De14041 that's a problem with mosaics almost everytime you try and border them or mix them with other tiles. I have no idea why the manufacturers continue to make them 1/16 to 1/8" thinner than almost every other tile. Your not gonna find a 1" trowel. In a wider area, say 3" then I would take a v-notch trowel and comb a nice bed of cement and leave it to dry. That way it builds up and the next day you stick them. In your scenario you have 2 options and they both suck. Option 1 build it high now and press them in until they are level, then use a small tool to remove the smooshed cement in the grout line. Option 2 cut the mesh and install each piece 1 by 1. As I said both options are a nightmare. My personal opinion from seeing this 1000 times is that unless your building a 30,000 shower and your gonna crawl around on the floor with a magnifying glass, you never gonna care. Stick it and grout it and move on. Once the grout is in you won't notice it unless your like the woman who started this thread looking for any problem you can find. If that's the case, walk around your house and look at the wood trim around your doors and ask yourself how you ever lived with that 1/16" gap in the miter. Then rip your doors out.

Well, doesn't the tile size depend, too, on how big your bathroom is(?). I think my tiler told me once that to use large tiles-- they don't look right unless you can have at least 3 (or 4) complete tiles in a row, either direction. Otherwise, he thinks large tiles don't work well. We used 14" square porcelain tiles in one of our bathrooms, set on the diagonal, with very very narrow grout lines. I really like the look (though I've read here that tiles set on the diagonal are a thing of the past!). Anyway-- I love the tiles on the diagonal, and I think it also makes the room seem bigger. In our other bathroom, we put in penny rounds, which just look like a beautiful mosaic-- really love those-- and no shower (free-standing tub)-- so grout issues just aren't a problem-- stays clean-- we're always barefoot.

I'm in the 11-20 minute group...and like it pretty hot! I live in southern California so, you know, the drought... I'd by hard pressed to wash hair, wash body and shave legs, etc. in less than 20 minutes. I wonder if most taking only 5 minutes have small kids. I know there was a time the only way I could shower for work was to sit my son (about 1yr) in the shower with me and let him play. He was just too mobile and I couldn't keep him in with baby gates anymore :D My daughter, who is now 18, takes nearly hour long showers, not every day but several times a week. I think she gives herself the spa treatment. She has asked for a shower stool, so I think she really relaxes in there!

ok. here is my last and final opinion. with everything I've seen out there and looking again at your kitchen, if it were mine, this is what I would do: replace the appliances w/ss. I know you like white, but honestly, you're going through all this stress over getting the perfect splash to go w/the beautiful granite, why ruin it w/white boxes?? if you had gotten a white countertop or top w/white/gold, it wouldn't be an issue. so, ss slide in range/fridge, and dw. then I would for sure install the under cabinet lighting because you will need it for my backsplash choice. imagine that, with your stone, with ss (or better yet, black stainless steel) appliances. the antique glass also picks up on the wood tone in your cabs. It's not busy and won't compete w/the stone. I know some people will think it's 'out there', but they probably only like white subways. I like to be a little more daring w/my splashes. I feel your kitchen can stand it because it's small and you don't have a lot of wall space. this style comes in a few different alternatives: these are mirror, but understand that this won't be affected by much of anything since you have very little space. These two above also go well w/the white appliances if you don't want to change them. the first one has the black that will go w/countertop and the tan tone of the stone to go w/cabs. as for stove, yes you could get a good price for it and put towards new one, or wait a year and do it. or live with it. up to you.