I'm a fan of a wide strip of vertical accent tile. I like that the movement mimics a waterfall. That can be accentuated by running a rectangular tile vertically.

Are you planning on using a colored glass tile? I think a gray glass accent would work. Or are you planning on a bright contemporary color like you show in your inspiration photo? I don't see that working with your traditional tiles - the 3" x 6" white subways and the hexagon floor. Also notice that they used large format tiles to modernize the look. I think you should consider using a larger subway as your field tile in order to provide more size contrast with the accent and the shower floor. Is that a 2" hex?

I prefer an accent tile that relates to the field tile, providing tone-on-tone color and/or some texture, rather than contrasting starkly with it, like your inspiration photo. With white subways, something like this marble and glass mix would complement your field tile and the traditional elements you've chosen. I "borrowed" this photo from a kitchen thread.

Do you have any inspiration photos of vertically tiled showers using a larger tile as the strip? I didn't see any in your Ideabook, so I think you'll need to find some. I remember one Houzz photo of a marble shower with white subways behind the shower fixtures. Doing it in reverse was unusual and very pretty.

Thanks so much Mayflowers. I'm leaning heavily towards a 4x12 white ceramic field tile (good to know the proper term now!) with a 2x6 white glass accent. Yes, hex is 2"

If I do matte finishes on the floor and field, I think it will contrast nicely against the glass accent. Light grey grout (because who wants to keep white grout clean)??

I can't help you much with size ratios. Maybe some of the pros will weigh in.

I like matte tiles too, and the contrast of shiny and matte. Do you know if matte is okay for a shower? I thought I'd seen somewhere that glossy tiles are better for water applications.

Post photos when you get your samples.

Beautiful dhygarden! I love the small mosaic, but unfortunately DH is adamantly against it. (One of the few design choices he's had an opinion about!)

Good call about proportions though. I went ahead and ordered the 4x12 ceramic and a 2x6 glass. Now it's a matter of figuring out the proper accent width. Read an article the other day about using the Golden Ratio to determine where to place the stripe. Where isn't my issue (it'll be through the shower head line), but how wide still is..... Hmm. Suggestions??

I saved a bunch of photos and 12" or so seems common.

Tropical Condo Bath · More Info

North Shore Condo · More Info

Bathroom · More Info

Chin Residence · More Info

Perfect. That's what I had in mind. Contractor suggested 16" but that looks too wide to me. Appreciate all the examples!