Oh, and I forgot to add that we want to use porcelain tiles for the floor and the shower floor tiles can’t be bigger than 6x6 for the slope of the shower floor. Thanks again!

Anyone? :)

Sorry if this comes across as poo-pooing on your bathroom (no pun intended):

Concrete, and concrete-look tile was on-trend a few years ago and has sort of seen its day. Before you commit to a bold pattern that's not easily replaceable, ask yourself if you like it because you truly like it, or if it's because it has saturated inspiration images all over here and pinterest.

A few years back on the kitchens forum, someone mentioned the 'one true kitchen' and it sort of stuck. It's the ubiquitous 2010's dream kitchen: White inset cabinets, soapstone counters, 60" stainless double oven range, subway tile splash, chrome pendants.

Your inspiration image is sort of a 'one true bathroom.' If you google Neil Patrick Harris' bathroom, you'll see it: White subway tile, black penny round or hex floors, satin/unlacquered brass fixtures and hardware, encaustic shower floor, and welded black London-phone-booth style shower enclosures.

If you really love it and think you'll still love it five, ten years from now...go for it :)

No offense taken at all. I’m not great at this stuff, which is why I’m so grateful for any help.

The only thing that we are pretty set on is the white subway, because my husband loves it and he doesn’t ask for much.

I definitely don’t want the bathroom to look super dated in 5 years, and I was trying to stay with the style and age of the house but I don’t think I’m accomplishing that. I thought the patterned tiles could bring in a bit of the Spanish style, because I do want it to reflect the style of the home. Do you have any suggestions that might be more appropriate to 1920s Spanish style, but won’t date so badly?

Thank you so much!

You would make your small bathroom look bigger if you use the same tile on shower floor as the main bath floor. It will keep from chopping up the space.

keep in mind - often times bathrooms in the 1920s were designed purely for function and sanitation. My 1921 colonial has the original bathrooms. All have white subway wainscoating with a very simple cap, a sanitary cove base, and 1” white rectified hexagon floors. No decoration. No ornamentation.

That all being said, we don’t think about bathrooms like that anymore, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to make it sort of special. If it were my bathroom, I would run the same hexes in the main floor and the shower pan, and forget the encaustic look tiles. I’d also use chrome instead of brass, but Im very biased when it comes to that- just can’t get on the brass bandwagon.

I am in the same boat as you currently (tiny master bath in a Victorian house; want to choose materials that fit the style of the house without being a slave to the period) and I too have been considering the white subway/patterned tiles idea. IMO, white subways are classic and will never go out of style, but I agree with arch that the patterned tiles are a very trendy look, especially when paired with brass fixtures and as part of an overall black and white scheme. Personally, if I had a Spanish-style home, I would be looking at something with more color - a quick google search of "Spanish tile" brought up a ton of hits of colorful patterned tiles. I would think you could easily pair these with white subways for a look that will always feel appropriate to your home.

Thank you!! Those are great suggestions. I do think keeping the tile simple is a good idea, since it’s probably the most difficult thing to change . I’ll see if I can bring in the Spanish style in other ways. I’m thinking maybe an arch mirror, to tie into the arched doorways in the rest of our home. Any other suggestions or thoughts? We are going to do gray epoxy grout probably darker gray on the floor and lighter gray on the walls to minimize contrast but make cleaning a bit easier.

I am not a pro...but when I think about 1920s Spanish style I do not think of grey, so the middle tile would not be my choice. I grew up in Southern CA and had many friends and family who lived in the era and style of home that you reference, and none that I can think of had brass and grey anything.

Personally, I am eclectic and I do my “own” style, so if I wanted and loved black and grey tiles in my Spanish-styled home I would do it.

I think your grout choices are good :)

Im not sure how brave or bold you are, but what about doing a different color on the hex? If you google ‘Spanish mission bathroom’ there are a few lovely vintage photos with colored field tile. Minty green, pink, light blue.

A shower floor and a bathroom floor should always have a non-slippery finish. Are those textured tiles? Small 1x1” hexes with sanded grout would be less slippery because of the rough grout. “Safety first” is always my main concern in the bathroom because of all the hard edges and fixtures.

I’m pretty open, my husband is a little more conservative with choices. I think he would be open to blue, but probably not pink :)

This is our other bathroom. I’m a little embarrassed to post it because of the mess, but we haven’t done a deep cleaning in a while because of our little one. So please ignore it. I do like how the people before us managed to bring in the Spanish style but didn’t overwhelm the space. I was struggling to figure out how to do the same in an even smaller space.

you could do a spanish painted tile backsplash.

Glo, those pictures are beautiful! I also really liked the idea of the patterned tile as an accent. Since I need the tiles to be at least a 6x6 or smaller to accommodate the shower slope, I’m going to see if I can find more authentic Spanish tiles in a porcelain in that size for the whole bathroom floor, or maybe do the hex throughout the floor and then do Spanish tiles as a backsplash or accent.

Has anyone run across a more authentic Spanish style tile in porcelain in a 6x6 or smaller? I’ve been googling but haven’t had much luck. Not surprisingly, the pros have more skill :)

Thank you all so much for your help!!

http://www.malibuceramicworks.com/

I didn’t check pricing or anything but look up “Malibu Tile” and here is a link with some inspiration pics: https://www.tierrayfuego.com/Ceramic_Tiles/SantaBarbara/index.htm

Ooo this, too...

So many tiles...so little time!

https://www.mexicantiles.com/malibu-decorative-ceramic-tile.html

Depends what your budget is?? I know Wayfair has some cheap knock-off tiles that could work. For middle range, I would try Bedrosian Tile. For high-end check out Walker Zanger.

I came to say Malibu Tiles as well. I've wanted them for years. But I definitely don't have the house for them.

The Malibu tile is so beautiful! We are flexible with the budget, if it is perfect and makes the statement in the bathroom we can probably go up to around 2k for the floor tiles. Luckily it’s so small that we will only need about 30-35 square feet for the floor total 27 square feet plus overages, so maybe up to $60 per square foot.

Do you think if we did 6x6 Malibu Tiles through the whole bathroom floor it would read as too busy? Or would it be safer to do the floor in a more solid color and then the tiles as a backsplash?

Thank you all again! I’m so grateful for the help and ideas

I think an entire floor of 6x6 decos would be a little too much. I would consider an inset like your other bathroom or a splash and stick with field tile from the rest. Also Malbu's decos get awfully expensive :)

If I were you I'd do the shower floor in the decorative tiles rather than the room floor, since the room floor will probably get covered up by a rug anyway.

What do you guys think of this tile?

**Gorgeous tile choice!!

I would do the Malibu tile as an accent tile. However, you need to be careful how you add it as an accent because that can look dated very quickly. If budget allows I would do a full wall of it in your vanity alcove. If that's too pricey I would then only put it up the wall about a foot above the vanity at chair rail height.

OR

If you do the entire floor, just make sure the rest of the bathroom is super subdued.

...although that reads a lot less authentic to the true Spanish style, however still incredibly beautiful.

Since the space is small, I’d stick with two tiles at the most. The pattern tiles are great for the floor, brings a Mediterranean element into the space. Also makes it pop. You can use either the black/ grey or blue palette. Both are good options. I’d look for something that can continue onto the shower floor. It’ll enlarge the space. Use the white subway tiles on the walls

Mry_irons I love that tile. I look forward to seeing what you end up with. I think it will be truly special and unique! You are fortunate to have a 1920s Spanish-style home!

Most bathrooms you see probably have a few different tiles that are used together to create a cohesive look that still has visual interest. When selecting your own tiles, try and limit yourself to no more than three different tiles. Especially in smaller spaces, too many tile types, colors, and sizes will seem overwhelming—but often using one single tile begs for a little bit of variety through an accent tile with a different size, finish, or color.