My bathroom is 5' wide and 10 'long (7' + 3' shower = 10').) I plan on using a 12 X 24" travertine pattern porcelain tile on the shower walls with an acrylic shower pan. I will use the same tile for the bathroom floor and halfway up the walls. The shower is located on the end wall directly in the line of the view from the bathroom entrance. Since this is a fairly busy patterned tile, I was thinking of not using a decorative boarder in the shower or if anything, maybe just three or four rows of the matching travertine 2X2"mosaic tile to break it up.

I am hearing in some posts that boarders are now being considered dated. On the other hand, I was told you want something like a boarder or a vertical stripe down the back wall of the shower to draw your eye into the room.

#1 Is this tile pattern enough to stand on its own without a boarder?

#2 In the tile catalog photos, they only show the tile in a straight lay pattern, not in a running bond pattern. Would a running bond pattern with this tile pattern be too much?

Since the bathroom is narrow, I know the floor tiles should be laid horizontally to make the room appear wider, but that layout would conflict with the layout of the walls.

Any thoughts?