It all depends on how much worry and maintenance you can tolerate. I wouldn't want to be chained to hardwood in a full bath -- it'd be too much of a maintenance monster. If you're concerned about cold tile, consider in-floor heating.

Ditto. I would never consider hardwood for a bathroom (maybe a powder room). Love the look tho so I think we're going to do wood look porcelain instead of using the same tile as the tub/shower surround. My listello is tumbled crema marfil. LOVE it, so, I'd say go with the crema marfil floor. I bet it will be beautiful next to your wood floor :)

Do you have boys? I have had in a powder room in a few houses. If the toilet is caulked with silicone (most plumbers say no) then urine cannot get under the toilet. Otherwise no way. In homes with silicone...no issues. If no silicone, bathroom always smells like urine.

I have hardwood in my master bath, but mine is site finished oak. I love it and if you have a good finish (I have a Swedish finish) it is completely impervious to everything...dampness from the shower, splashes from the vanity (but I keep a large rug in front of the sink), hair products, etc. I am careful about any leaks from the shower curtain that could get under the caulk where the tile meets the wood on the shower curb. I have no regular male users (my 5 year old grandson sometimes is all) and put a really nice quality cotton contour mat around the toilet when he is here. I bought one close to the same color as the floor and, while they are not in favor these days, I find it offers protection when needed and looks fine.

When I was trying to decide if it was practical, someone here said that if there is ever a leak, whatever floor you have will likely be ruined anyway, so I decided to do it. I love the look of the hardwoods continuing into the bathroom!

jewelisfabulous, thanks for the suggestion of in-floor heating. i would love to have it, though probably not in our budget.

monicakm, wood tile is a great idea! i'll see if we can find something that would match our hardwood. your bath sounds like it will be lovely! i love crema marfil!

gwlake, thank you for the tip! i do have a 5-year old boy, who has more accidents than i can count now, lol. i'll be sure to use silicone caulk, no matter what floor we end up with. Just curious, why do most plumbers say no to this?

olychick, thanks for sharing your experience! it is a good way to think about it.. if there is a leak, we would have to replace it anyway, no matter what flooring.. certainly gives a good reason to put in the wood, which might be easier to refinish/ find matching replacements later too..

How about a wood-look vinyl plank? That what we are doing in our laundry/mud and small bath. Water-proof without being cold and hard.

recently went looking for wood look tile for a whole house job.... it is worth a trip to Tile town to see what is new in porcelain tile wood look. Fortunately for me within a short drive I can hit like 20 stores and each one has something different. Some from Italy, Spain, China to name a few. Some look like crap, but some look amazing with the new hp laser printing there is literally no repeats in pattern. These high end tiles are not cheap tho.....good ones are 7.00 +/-sq foot. Not bad if just a small area. I would go with a few of your pieces of real wood and see what you find... personally I am not a slave to anything so if water spills I am not going to panic run and wipe it up.

Note the problem with this real look tile is they only show you one or two pieces and you have no clue how the other will look, and we find that they won't give samples and they won't let you buy a box and return so for us with close to 3k sq feet it was making my knees week. So we decided on real wood, can you tell me what you chose? and why?

Just my opinion, but I don't understand the appeal of TILE made to mimic WOOD. It's tile. Let it be beautiful TILE. We have underfloor heat in our MBA. Those early Romans knew how to live! haha

errant_gw, thank you for the suggestion! i think the challenge is if we do wood-look floors, is having it match the current real wood we have in the adjoining room.

chisue, would you mind sharing more info on your underfloor heat? like brands, cost per sf? thank you! it would be so nice if we can work it in.

We installed site finished hardwoods in our kitchen, and may add them to our master bath. I think its a beautiful and hardworking option. Use rugs and wipe up spills. If there's a leak, that is likely to damage *any* option. Don't leave standing water on your floors. Little boys can learn to wipe up after themselves. (Trust me, they can).

I've been in decades old homes with hardwoods in wet areas that are not damaged, even from decades of use. I think they are lovely!

The appeal of wood look tile vs real wood is lower maintenance, installation in places you normally wouldn't put real wood and (probably) longer wear. There are porcelain wood planks that you would never know wasn't real wood unless you got on your hands and knees and tapped on it. Just like anything else, you can buy cheaper goods and more expensive

michoumonster, you most likely won't find a wood tile that matches your real wood exactly but maybe, depending on the location and opening/doorway, it might look good with a transition between the two. Maybe even a transition made of crema marfil :) Have I mentioned how much I love crema marfil? <g>

Hi suzanne_sl - I had a question about the bracket that you had installed over the dishwasher on on this page: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2409200/help-i-have-just-put-a-halt-to-our-granite-production - would you be able to give me some info please. my email is jshkurko@gmail.com Thanks in advance!