I have tiled several floors and a few shower and kitchen walls. A couple thousand sq ft in my life, but by no means an expert. These tiles do seem like an advanced install tile however with the wavy edges and that has me concerned. Tile is one thing, grouting and getting the desired outcome is another. I'll have to talk with the other half of the equation about this.

Can you elaborate on this a bit more? "It's going to be a PITA to clean and keep them looking nice."

I have tiled showers in the past with durarock and never had a problem. We are using kerdi system on our bathroom however so I am not concerned with my ability to waterproof. My wallet is concerned with the cost of Kerdi however.

That's not a tile to do such a tight grout line, even an 1/8th may be an issue. What are the manufacturer's spacing recommendation on the tile? Are you aware that the 50% offset can be a problem with lippage? Follow what the manufacture suggests.

Hard to make these look good because of the irregularity of the shape. Even spacers might not be enough and a minimal joint is a non-starter for this material if you ask a tile professional. Contrasting grout will make it worse.

Here is how contrasting grout might appear.

Because they are wavy with irregular edges, they are hard to squeegee. That's why they are harder to keep clean. You really have to wipe them with a towel after every shower to keep mold and mildew at bay.

I cannot address the install question but we have a similar tile in our shower, and we really like it. 3+ years of shopping tile and this is the only one hubs liked. I was apprehensive for the reasons mentioned above but it has not been a problem.

It hasn't been difficult to keep clean and only one of us actually squeegees. No one in our house can be bothered to wipe with a towel, lol.

Our mastiff gets bathed in it once a week (he has terrible allergies). The shower gets cleaned afterwards w/ a soft sponge and mild dish soap. It only takes a few minutes. No mildew, etc.

I agree that you will not like a darker grout. We matched to the tile and it just disappears. You won't lose any of the handmade effect of the tile by matching the grout. Up close our grout varies in thickness due to the nature of the tile edge. Good luck with your project!

BTW dura rock is not waterproofing in a shower so good thing you went with Kerdi sure hope you watched the you tube to install it properly. I would not do a contrast grout with those tiles every little error will show up like crazy. The size of grout line is usually mentioned on the tile box

Irregular tiles requires wide grout lines. Not narrow. Contrasting grout will make it look amateur and not intentionally irregular.

We did the same style tile in our shower and did a 1/8th spacer with a platinum color grout which is light grey. It looks great. Some grout may look darker because it is wet after a shower. Grout lines were for the most part easy to grout at 1/8. Some waviness in the tile may have just a little bit more of a gap.

Oh also, we used Kerdiboard under that.

I read somewhere else that this tile (Villa Artisan) can't use spacers and you need thicker grout lines for it. My husband is planning on doing this himself so I am looking for advice. Any help you can offer?

Purchase tile wedges. Not spacers.

https://www.barwalt.com/jars

red