Bumping b/c it was not showing up on feed.

Trying to bump again.

I agree on going with the Jamaica Gray tiles and skipping the small mosaic tiles: too busy otherwise and extra grout lines mean more work to keep clean. I also think it is a good idea to tile the full wall before putting in the vanity: this way the tile install will be easier and the vanity could be changed out in the future without worrying about how it matches up to the wall.

Last question: Are "chrome scones" edible? :-)

Mayflowers - Thank you! I really loved those hex. But I am happy with my choices. I just wish going with larger tile did not have to look so modern. Do you think it matters if I run it vertical or horizontal in a running bond? DH does not want it stacked, that is his only input, although he would prefer it to be horizontal.

Kudzu-- You think I should pass on the mosaic tiles all together? I was just going to run a 4-6" band above the vanity and in the back of the 12x24 niche as a I way to bring colors together.

As for the "chrome scones" probably not edible but they sure are purdy! LOL :) Can you tell I am trying to type while holding my very wiggly 6 month old!

I like really simple, so I might suggest using the mosaic tiles for an accent band, but not for the niche.

And if you are holding a six month old, you are doing very well!

When we laid tile, we decided when the tiler showed us our options. It was easy to make a decision at that time.

I like simple too but I also like pretty for a bathroom. Some of these bathrooms with oversized floor tiles on walls can be too much, so I'd rather restrict it to the shower where it makes sense for cleaning. You have enough hard surfaces as it is in a bathroom, especially for a tiny bath.

Kudzu - Thank you. The funny thing is that I am the queen of simple and less is more. Everyone who knows me knows that. But for some reason when it comes to such a small bathroom, I just want lots of white and some sparkle. I thought the mosaic would help give the space a little more of a feminine touch. Again, glass is a little more modern than I would have liked to go but I think I would regret the jade marble. I also considered just a backsplash and no niche but thought it might look nice to have some repetition of the tile.

Mayflowers - Thanks you, I think being here when the tile guys start will be helpful. Its just that the tile has the veining and I cannot decide if it should run with the veining of the wood vanity (horizontal) or opposite (vertical). So behind the vanity areas (about 38" with a 32" vanity) you would just put the mosaic backsplash band and that is it? Do not try to run the larger tile just behind the vanity?

Oh and and Mayflowers, thanks for the paint colors!! I forgot to ask but you must have been reading my mind!!

Walnut usually isn't paired with much other pattern. Does it look exactly like the photo or is there more grain? By tiling that wall, it divides the room diagonally with paint on the short wall near the vanity and around the toilet and tile in the other triangle. But if you do tile that wall, I'd leave out the glass mosaic.

The tile has a strong linear pattern. I would run it opposite of the walnut grain. Now that I've found this photo of the Mapisa, I'm not sure the square mosaic is the best shape. I also prefer just one or two rows of the square mosaics between field tile to avoid a checkerboard effect.

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Thank you. I do love the colors in the current mosaic but you are right, round or another should would be better. I am not sure if I could put a a band of mosaic in the shower if I run the tile with the grain going vertically. The tile looks pretty much as pictured. I wish I could snap a photo, but I do not have the tile with me right now. I wanted the mosaic to soften the space and help with the transitional feel I am going for. I liked the colors and hoped it would help create a spa like feel. My thought on running the shower tile behind the vanity was that it would not be seen and it would be impossible to paint in those tiny spaces on either side of the vanity in the future. Plus you really would not see much of the tile because the vanity would be in the way.

Mayflowers, I am trying to picture what you are saying about cutting the room in half diagonally but not quite able to picture it.

Also if I do a mosaic backsplash without the walltile below, where will the backsplash end? Would It run from the end of the shower tile to the wall to the right of the vanity? I ask because there are about 3-4 inches on either side of the vanity between the vanity and the shower and the vanity and the wall. Details, details-- they are driving me crazy.

Also how difficult would be it be to keep a marble niche or backsplash looking nice? Would I regret the decision to add it? I think it may look more traditional than the current mosaic and may look nice.

I'm not a tiler but I think it could be like this idea where you have field tile above and below the accent tile.That solves the 3-4" problem, which now that you mention it, you would want to tile there. I think the accent tile would need to continue through the shower. This is quite pretty with only one row of the mosaic. You could still tile your niche if you use a light touch for your accent row. You'd continue it around to the right wall. I think that makes the most sense.

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I'm thinking of using this Walker Zanger Villa d' Oro Calacatta marble mosaic in my kitchen behind my range. The 1/2" tiles are cubes so there's not much grout involved. I think a mosaic of small marble pieces would be more forgiving of etching than a larger marble tile. Doesn't sealing take care of staining?

The peachy color on their photo is actually cream.

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Mayflowers - you seem to be always reading my mind. I was just about to post this below photo of another GWer's bathroom when I saw your above post!

Mayflowers- That Walker Zanger tile is gorgeous!!!

It's tempting me! $47 a sheet, which isn't too bad if you want to cut it into rows.

Yep, that's the idea. The thick row of mosaic looks contemporary, which is why I suggested one or two rows of mosaic.

Oh...run the tile horizontally if you do a mosaic row.

Lol. Just when I liked the tile vertically... I guess that would not look right behind the vanity?

Cutting your tiles in row would help but at $47 a sheet I would not be doing a whole wall that is for sure.

Regarding your question about the niche: I'm not a big fan of them as they can be a potential source of leaks if they are not done perfectly, and they sometimes complicate tile layouts. However, if you want to have one, I would push for you not using the mosaic in an area like that where soap residue can get into the many grout lines and make cleaning and maintaining it more of a chore.

cplover - I like all your choices.

My favorite part of my bathroom remodel is the mosaic tile I put on the vanity wall and in my shower, including the niche. If you love something, go with it. :)

I did decide to do a 2" matching white quartz backsplash on my vanity because I didn't want the grout from the small tiles touching my actual countertop. One year later and no regrets.

I love recycled glass and the three pieces sitting on my counter is what inspired my entire design! I always say, if you design spaces with things you love, then you can't go wrong. it's your space, you enjoy it.

B&A

close up

shower-

I forgot to add, the mosaics you picked are obviously smaller than mine. But I almost picked the smaller size, just like you have. It was the only thing my husband had an opinion on - he insisted on the larger square tiles for the vanity area. I'm happy with his choice but I think the smaller size would have looked just as good (just busier). I decided to use the rectangle tiles in my shower. The contractor thought it was a little odd I picked two different shapes, but I love the outcome. I still smile when I walk into my new bathroom.

mrsshayne,

Do you have a bathroom reveal thread? I love your tile choices and would like the details and a picture of the tub area. Very nice!

mrsshayne - Love your bathroom. Very much like the look I am going for-- very relaxing and spa like. Love your choices. Where did you find the mosaic tile behind your vanity? I think that may also work. I would like slightly larger tiles, but this is what I found in my colors. Thank you for your ideas!

So if I would forgo the mosaic behind the vanity (still use it in the niche) and just run the shower tile instead, could I run the tile with lines running vertically?

If you use only the Mapisa, would you run it to the ceiling behind the vanity? In that case I think you could run it vertically and forgo the mosaic. How is the cut edge handled for large format tile on walls?

Found this in my Ideabook. That would be a pretty way to use your large tile and mosaic. For the size of your vanity, you wouldn't be losing much of the look to the counter-mount faucet.

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And this. Pretend the matchstick tile is your large tile. The lines run opposite of the vanity's. There's your 12" floor tiles too!

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Thank you Mayflowers for the photos. I was thinking of just running the Mapisa shower tile just up to the bottom of the medicine cabinet or so as shown in your second photo either with or without the backsplash. Not sure the whole wall would look good. But I am considering wrapping the wall to meet the door, because that set up will very closely resemble my set up. Although it may look weird if the other part of the same wall (by the toilet) is not.

My current thought is to put the mosaic only in the niche and not in the backsplash, because otherwise there is not nlatural stopping point and it would have to run into the shower or all the way around the shower and I am not sure if I would like that or not. I do not want it to look busy. Any thoughts on how else to do it?

With the side wall tiled, you don't have to worry about repainting it or getting splash over there. Initially I thought it would divide the room diagonally, but I thought you were going to the ceiling with tile, continuing from the shower. I think you can just do the Mapisa as backsplash. You have a waterfall faucet, mirror, and sconces for sparkle, tile for texture, and paint for color. But, how is floor tile edged as a backsplash? You don't want to use a metal Schluter strip.

I was planning on running a vertical mosaic through my shower fixtures when I decided that tiling inside the niche was enough, especially if I used a large niche. I do like the horizontal niches, and it would look nice with your vertical tile. But you can also see that running everything horizontally creates a gentle flow. It depends on how quiet you want the room to be.

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With your white and clear glass mosaic, it would provide a little more sparkle without adding much color.

Thanks for the kind words cplover. I ordered my mosaic tile from Overstock because my dad was nice enough to give me a hefty gift card (from credit card points hahaha). HomeDepot sells it too (they just go by different names). It's Somertile - you can find this on Houzz too. I'm very happy with the results.

The charcoal floor is from Lowes. The white marble looking tile is from a local tile shop - it's nothing fancy- just (fake) looking marble tile lol.

Vanity - local cabinet guy made it

Vanity top - remnant piece I found

I was on a tight budget and looking on Houzz gave me lots of $$$$ ideas but I had to come back down to reality and pick stuff that fit within my budget. I love the outcome!

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/SomerTile-12x12-in-Reflections-Square-1-in-Ming-Glass-Mosaic-Tile-Pack-of-10/5244885/product.html?recset=db657788-95ef-42dd-bdff-2b0c0c4ccd71&refccid=KGPJBLTA5UM2YAKGOR3ETWP7GE&searchidx=0&recalg=61&recidx=0

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Merola-Tile-Tessera-Subway-Ming-11-3-4-in-x-11-3-4-in-x-8-mm-Glass-and-Stone-Mosaic-Wall-Tile-GITMMSW/202563856

brianbeth2 - I did some posts on my bathroom but I didn't do a full reveal. Any questions, just ask :)

brianbeth2 - here are a couple more pics to show you the outcome.

We had CARPET in the bathroom (before) hahahahaha

With the vanity being wood, I had to add the wood shelf and stool to tie it all together...

I could NOT afford a new tub so for now, we just added some matching tile around the tub. Someday I want to rip it out and get a freestanding tub....

Bad pic - but you get the idea...

So GC just left and he does not want to tile behind the vanity or past the shower. He expressed concern getting the brackets for the frameless glass shower door into the tile, so I guess the tile is stopping at the door. Or there would be a gap between where the shower tile ends and the wall/backsplash tile begins. He also does not want to cut the tile to incorporate the plumbing because he thinks it will look like a chop job, especially because the vanity is floating. SO........ it looks like the shower tile will stop at the shower and it will just be painted behind the vanity.. no backsplash at all. Not 100% happy, but not truly angry/upset either. Just sorta dumbfounded. Thoughts?? So the tile will only be the in the niche which will be on the long shower wall-- which will be 12" high and 24" long.

Mayflowers- Checked out Wales Gray and Pale Smoke... I like the lighter Pale Smoke better. At first glance, I thought it might look too blue, so I looked at Sterling (1591). But then when I held up the piece of the walnut vanity, I really like that light blue against the wood, more than the true gray.

Screws for brackets go through tile all the time and so does plumbing. On my last remodel I had 8 holes for plumbing through the large format tiles within the shower, 6 holes through the large format tiles for the two wall mount faucets on the backsplash, 2 cutouts for the backsplash receptacles, 3 holes for the bathtub surround, and four screws through the tile for the shower wall brackets. All the holes were cut before the tile went in place, and the screw holes were drilled afterwards. It looks great. Unless he is planning to do the tiling himself, and he's not competent, it should be no problem. Here's the backsplash:

I can't answer your tile and door installation questions. I would start a new post for technical questions because I see tile professionals posting here everyday. Should you be concerned about his ability to do the niche?

I suppose your alternative to no backsplash is a paint made for bathrooms like BM Aura Bath and Spa paint. At least you know that wall has a lot of interest without tile. I think you should do the single mosaic around the shower wall now so you have something to admire while you're at the sink. :P Or you might see if the large hex floor tile works now, which would at least give you some pattern on the floor.

Re: blue-green paint colors. When I sampled all the popular ones for my guest bath remodel, they looked too minty Crest to me. So I tried to eliminate the green and go more gray-blue. I tried to go as gray as I could in my windowless room but still have color. I thought BM Silver Mist was it, but I think it reads a little too blue on some walls. It's dark enough to not be baby blue though.

So when we started planning our MB remodel, I knew all those SW Sea Salt type colors were out. Wales Gray/Pale Smoke has a touch of green but isn't minty. I can definitely see the green when I put it up against Silver Mist, and it actually brings out a little lavender in the SM, which I believe is how paint companies get those silver colors. I plan to sample Wales Gray when we get back to our MB remodel, which I thought we might do this spring, but now I'm working on my kitchen backsplash instead. I also like SW Misty and Samovar Silver, which is slightly more blue than WG/PS.

Grrrrhhh. I am so peeved now. I feel like I have been screwed over. :'(

It sounds like the GC may not be capable of doing what should be a fairly routine tile job. Maybe it would look like a "chop job" if he did it. It's not uncommon for contractors to give bogus reasons for why something can't be done when they aren't up to it.

Well that is the thing, he is not doing any of the work, his guys are and they seem thus far to be amazing. So I just do not get it. I mean he has been super nice, so I do not see why he would lie to me. Also it would be a change order so he could charge me whatever, in theory. I dunno. I want this done but I want it done right. I just wish I had a second opinion, so to speak.

Interesting. I didn't mean to imply that he is an outright liar. Making precision cuts/holes in tiles is a bit of a skill, but any experienced tile person should be able to do this competently as part of the job. Maybe if his guys are generalists, rather than full-time tile setters, this might make them a little nervous. I suggest you tell him you want to discuss this further as you've seen photos of lots of tile penetrations on Houzz for plumbing and the results looked fine. Then see what he says.....

So I let my GC know that I was a little worried about no backsplash and he called me right away. Offered to come out to the house to talk to us again. Said he would totally do it if we wanted to, he was just afraid I will not like the look. First we do not have bullnose tile and are using chrome, flat edge Schluter, which will go with the other chrome fixtures in the room. He was not sure I would like where the schluter edges would meet at the L and if I would like the edges going across. He also expressed the possibility that when the guys go to attach the floating vanity to the tiled wall that the a tile could crack. So I think I may have freaked out/panicked a little. He seems totally cool. Now I guess the ball is in my court and I just have to make sure I make the right decision.

Do I run the shower tile behind the vanity or not?? HELP!

I would run it behind the vanity: that's the cleanest and easiest way to do it. The only way that you would have a problem is if you don't secure the vanity into the studs or have some blocking installed that you can screw into. If you don't do that, and the vanity is only hanging from anchors into the sheetrock, it could loosen up or fall. But this would be a problem whether it was tiled or not. The only way I can see tile cracking is if the vanity is not securely installed as I just described.

Be sure you like the look of the Schluter running all along your backsplash. Typically it's only used to cover a short side edge of kitchen backsplash tile when there's no bullnose tile. Some people like the look and think it looks contemporary. To me it looks like metal floor strips and I'd never use it no matter how much I liked the tile. I've read that you can get it in colors, so I would match it to the tile. I would not want a chrome strip.

Here they've just used a matching trim tile. You could do it in white or pick up the soft gray/blue/green color from the tile. I wonder why he didn't suggest that. I'm more convinced than before that you don't see Schluter along the top of a backsplash.

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Flat pencil liner.

I'm not a big fan of Schluter-type strips either. On our two bath remodels, the tile setter simply used a grinder with super fine grits to polish the edges of the porcelain tiles. Even though the color of the clay body is not identical to the surface of the tile, I prefer this to a metal strip.

Thanks everyone. This remodel just got away from me. I decided just to tile the shower and have no backsplash. I just did not have the time to research my options other than Schluter. I liked the Schluter but was getting so much negative feedback that I decided I did not want to do something I would regret. It is such a small space it is difficult to determine if something on a larger scale would work in the space. I also eliminated the mosaic in the niche for fear it would be too busy. So now, I am just keeping my fingers crossed hoping that it all looks okay in the end. I still have to pick a paint color, but I think the other decisions are pretty much done.

Simple is good....less is more :-)

I hope you don't regret eliminating some of the designs you had discussed in this thread.

For my master remodel I used large floor tiles and added interest with a 5/8" travertine band that was placed about 8" from the walls and followed the shape of the room. The design also called for the same to be done in the toilet room. At the last minute I told the tiler not to bother with the toilet room, it seemed like a lot of work for such a small space ... I regret that decision every time I walk in there!

Good luck with the remodel.