Hi!

I suggest you pick up the brown tile behind the sink and repeat in shower.

Hope this was helpful:-)!

Unless you take a lot more baths than showers, and unless this is the only tub in the home, I would reconsider pecking at a bath reno, and would not tile anything until investigating whether the size of the shower could be increased and whether you absolutely need or want the tub. Sometimes it's better to wait and do it better: )

I would stick with the white tiles since the shower doesn't look very big n dark might it feel tight. I think the glossy cleans up nicer but who knows.. but I'm wondering why the mirror is so low. it over laps the top part of the tile there. Just Looks kinda strange to me. But u have a beautiful bathroom. Love ur choice with the sink. :)

Thanks for your comments. The backsplash is a taupe rather than brown which showed up on pic. Yes, we need to keep tub and may have to live with brass filler. I like to relax in the jetted tub. The mirrors are over back splash as recommended by designer at tile store I had 3 years ago when we did the vanity area. I have considered raising the mirrors. I've attached another pic of shower area. Size would be 36x48 and tiled up to 8 ft ceiling. Taking out storage shelves at end would add another 14-19 inches. We are in a condo, retired, have other projects and trying to get the most bang for our money (champagne taste/beer/budget!).

I would take out the shelves and extend the shower.

I think tiling in the same white as the tub would work - although you could use a different size (like subway, or larger format tiles) - and use the taupe to accent, it would be great if you could get the same taupe tiles as you are using above the vanity. You'll want smaller tiles for the tile floor, which could be white or taupe. Your bathroom is coming along nicely and I think once you do the shower and if you can update the brass fixtures in the bath, it will all come together beautifully.

When you do the shower, consider what you will need as you age (as you mention you are retired) - like grab bars and a seat, and both a regular shower head and separate hand shower (that will reach the seat). You can actually put the hand shower on a bar that doubles as a grab bar if installed into studs. My folks had to have grab bars installed as kind of a rush job when my mother was recovering from surgery a few yrs back, and it would've been nice had they already been in place.

We went back and forth between glossy vs matte when we did our master reno; hubby preferred glossy because he thought they'd be easier to keep clean but our tile store folks said it really made little difference. We ended up with matte and we squeegee the tiles and the glass door after each use, and they look nice (only a few months old though). We also upgraded to a grout that resists staining and mildew - flexcolor I think ours was called - and I would definitely suggest that.

Good luck and enjoy!

I would agree with Sophie this will not have a happy ending , is the shower in bad shape? If not i would leave it alone acrylic surrounds are easier to keep clean than tile if you have to do this because the shower is in bad shape then remove the shelves and enlarge the shower but IMO this will be a much bigger job than just taking out the shower it will affect the tub deck on that side for sure

I appreciate everyone's input. Two builders have viewed the unfinished area below & have not indicated any water/mold issues. My dilemma (not wanting to go to expense of tearing out tub surround) is should I have matte or glossy tiles for the shower redo, does one show more water spots and what size tiles. Pictured are 2 suggestions I have received. On the RIGHT is our current 4x4 glossy tile next to suggested 6x12 glossy one & shower floor. To tie in with tub, it was suggested to use 4x4s half way up & then 6x12 with accent strip separating two. On the LEFT is a 12x12 or 12x24 matte tile and shower floor tile. In the MIDDLE are current vanity top & glass backsplash of which I have 128 inches by 10-1/2 of the backsplash available for shower accenting. I lean towards contemporary.

I would match the walls in the shower with the existing tiles around the tub. Gloss tiles tend to be more slippery and I would use a white larger matte tile on the floor. You could add a band of the tiles on the vanity or if you are building niches into the new shower use the vanity tile there to tie your tile surfaces together. If you prefer to have fewer grout lines use the gloss larger tiles on the wall and a decorative band of the smaller white tiles. The smaller band of white could have a row of the glass tiles above and below.

I would change the bath hardware to match the vanities when you change your shower.