Honestly, that is such a personal touch that I'd skip it. I know you love it, but not everyone will. If you're doing it for resale, it's not worth the effort. A nice shower curtain or accents on the vanity will go just as far and save you a lot of hassle and probably cost - even if the tile is cheap.

Agreed. Why don't you post a pic of your current bath. Maybe we can make some suggestions to work with what you have

As tempting as it might be, I too would skip it and save yourself a lot of time and money. I personally don't care for it but at the same time, it wouldn't be a deciding factor if I bought the house or not. It's a nice looking accent tile, just not my taste. We're installing a very expensive listello combined of 3 different elements. Not a good decision if we were doing it for resale. It's gotten no love here on the GW Bathroom forum but we love it and we're not worried about resell.

ps...your first picture has a broken link on it but I just now clicked it and saw that it's a different tile than the b&w tile in the other pictures. The embossed tile, is it from Maniscalco? It looks similar to the 2x2s we're using in the crema marfil listello.

pss...it IS the same, just a different color.

I don't think an accent tile would be any more cleaning work. It's the same amount of "edge" or grout, just turned sideways.

I didn't make my plan clear: The examples I found online have fancy accent tiles, which I do like, but I was thinking of the accents being simple brown squares -- probably from the floor tile. Not much personality involved.

Monica, I like the tile picture you've posted, and I do agree that this won't be much of a make-or-break considering the whole house.

Kats, I'll see about getting a picture -- the shower's being used at the moment, so I don't think it's time to bring in a camera!

Accent tiles are not recommended for resale -- not everyone will like your choice. Best to keep if more timeless without any accent tile. Maria Killam (colour design expert) is very anti accent tile as she rarely finds a homeowner that likes the accent tiles of previous owners. To each their own.

Carol

Maybe you could just do a nice cream subway tiile for the master shower. Grey is in now more than brown. To go with the perfectly good tile you have now, a nice cream subway should look good without adding more brown to the mix.

If you can find a small tile that matches the floor and bath tile, then I would go for it. It's not so much "personality" as it is tying the shower to the other elements in the room. But it also depends on the cost. Never spend too much for resale, because nobody ever appreciates that expense.

We did glass tiles as an accent - we have a two tile wide strip around the shower and around the bath. (That is maybe two inches wide.) You could get something that harmonizes with the tile but adds that extra zing.

I think a relatively neutral, coordinating horizontal accent band at eye level from 2" to 4" wide would add a little pizazz without going too over the top.

I agree with the others here that cutting in those dots would be a lot of work for something that may not appeal to the masses.

Looking at the kitchen backsplash and imagining a whole wall of it, I see it looking kind of "speckled" with dark spots. I'd go for plain and simple and jazz it up some other way.

I personally hate accent tile and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

You're more likely to turn off a buyer with accent tile than without accent tile. Appeal to the masses and skip it.

Maybe a 12x24 laid brick style would work instead of another square tile and would add interest, bring it up to date, and eliminate the need to jazz it up with accent tile. Personally, I hate accent borders. adding different tiles to a shower needs to be none or go big and to go big, like you see in estate homes, you don't want to go to that expense.

Keeping it neutral allows for a lot of styles. Going too square everywhere can look cheap builder grade and out of date very quickly.

>>>adding different tiles to a shower needs to be none or go big and to go big<<<

I'm not a fan of those thin/narrow accent borders either. We went big with an 11" border/listello and LOVE it! But, we're not concerned with resell. The designers I consulted with all said that when they're designing these for builders, they don't go any smaller than 10"...maybe it's a "Texas thing" :)

Very taste specific, so I'd skip it. As far as accent tiles, I wouldn't like the little squares or anything too elaborate, nor rows of pencil mosaic glass tiles. Something like this would be fine but not incredible. However, again, very taste specific.

I do like the narrow pencil trim in a more vintage/classic bathroom but not with tan tiles.

We went neutral on the accent band. DH wanted a contrasting band; I was in charge of ordering (and monitoring costs), so I compromised by ordering enough of the shower floor tile to use as a band. I like the contrast of texture, it's less jarring to my early-morning eyes :) But, if DH had not expressed a preference, I would NOT have added the band. I like my 10 x 14 tiles enough by themselves. And we could have avoided the slivers on the top row. Bad tiler!

^^^^^This post above by abbeycat. Same tile, different size, absolutely. That is very tastefully done. There are beautiful accent tiles out there, but many times look like an after thought or too much costume jewelry with that classic black dress, instead of one statement piece.

Photos of the existing bathroom would sure help.