Mrs. S - thanks for the advice! Do you think the tile here is 12x24? Is it even possible to herringbone a 12x24?

My personal favorite and no it is NOT "blue" ...........incredibly forgiving.A zillion sizes available including herringbone is "Nova Blue". Far more gray than blue.

http://www.gbitile.com/product/nova-blue/

I like both of those tiles, nima and jan!! I do love a herringbone pattern myself, and I would do it in one of those larger sizes as shown in the image, if the room was sized as shown in the image. Be careful of light grout, though. I'm a fan of medium or dark grout in a kids' bathroom (or any bathroom).

Cut some pieces of cardboard or paper to 12X24 and lay out a few in your space. If they are a little too big to make your pattern, then choose a smaller size of tile. If you get rectified tile, the grout lines can be really skinny, and you won't have that much grout anyway.

Jan, I really like that color of tile you posted. hmmm. I have a bathroom that's going to need tile too!

The bathroom is 10'x4' (wider where the toilet and closet is). I just went to the tile store and got some samples (more than what is shown here -- I got a light gray and a dark like Jan suggested). I quickly snapped this picture, but they were starting to sand my hardwood floors downstairs so the baby and I needed to leave :) Do you think I should go for 12x24" or order the tiles in 13x13"?

Dove gray porcelean tile is classic.

Like this. Daltile 12x12 Imperial Gray.

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Go with the 12x24! It's much more visually interesting, especially if you decide to save money by foregoing a diagonal layout. Yes, tile layers charge more for doing anything on the diagonal. And they will tell you there is more waste. My husband and I have laid several floors on the diagonal, and it's just not true unless the installer refuses to use any already cut pieces that can be re-cut to fit along edges. Also, save yourself some cleaning headaches and go with the darker tile. Believe me, with kids you will never regret it!

I always love a small, classic hex tile. It is beautiful, timeless, and can look contemporary depending on the color. I think it looks great in a narrow space too.

I agree with your contractor that herringbone is too busy for that narrow of a space. You room may be 4 feet but it looks like with the counter depth, the floor space will be narrower than 4. This summer we stayed in a vacation rental that had a beautiful, subtle, marble basket weave tile in the bathroom and it just looked all kinds of wrong because it was too busy for the small space. I think the same with herringbone in your space.

We did our narrow bath in hex tiles and it looks fabulous. We always get comments on it. I would pick up some samples and give it a try. It is also often easy to find in stock.

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I really wanted to do something different and hex was my first choice...grout with 3 kids then made me nervous. Do you find yourself constantly cleaning/sealing?

Here are the pics of the 2 tile samples I brought home. Both come in 12x24"and 13x13". I can't get into my house at the moment because of the hardwood floor sanding, so I took a pic in my parents' driveway. Outside isn't the best representation of the light tile. It's not that white looking. Here it is against my laundry room tile, which is a dark, slate color. Someday maybe I'll herringbone the laundry room :)

Thoughts? I'm thinking I can get a white shower curtain to mirror the white vanity, hang 3 chrome hooks (for my 3 kids) and hang white towels with their names monogrammed, and then get some reclaimed wood step stools, and a basket for laundry....to add in some texture. No clue on paint color!

I like the darker 12x24, but either would work. I wouldn't recommend white towels with kids, but you could bring in some color with the towels. If you can find a patterned towel you like, that also really helps to hide any stains that will probably happen in a kid's bath ;-) I don't know what colors you like, or what are in other areas in your home. Bring home loads of paint chips and have fun looking at them with the tile you pick. (View in the bathroom, so you get an accurate picture of how they look in that lighting.)

I like the darker tile, but I especially like the larger size. I think the herringbone will look nice, though lay it out a bit to be sure.

For a timeless look, go back in time:

I have the tile floors in the first two pics in kids' bathrooms and they have held up great. I used gray grout on the floors.

I think either of your choices will be lovely, but I do like the darker gray slightly better.

The darker grey, definitely...but I'd change it to a slightly cooler grey. Why? Look at the threshold; it's a noticeably cool grey in tone. Hue matters with greys. ;) Your walls could then be a pale grey. As for white towels - I'm all for them. You can bleach them. Can't do that with colours! Of course, you could also go with a colour in the towels - a vibrant turquoise for instance, and then pick that up in an accessory or two.