Don’t do porous marble in your shower unless you are OK with it showing waterlogged dark, and rusted because of iron deposits. Because that is normal behavior for marble.

Also, the waterproofing system under the tile, and the tile installer are of key importance in getting a job that you don’t have to pay for twice. What system is your tiler using? What are his qualifications?

https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5839607/marble-hex-shower-floor-not-drying-consistently#n=6

My sister put real marble in her steam shower and it has rust spots and is very hard to keep clean. You can get a porcelain look-alike tile. I agree to go cooler with the color to go with the vanity top.

You didn’t ask, but are you sure about the wood-look tile? I keep reading on here that it’s already out of style. You could get a porcelain tile in 12x24 for the floor if you change your mind.

I respectfully disagree with LWO's assertion. For every install like the ones he/she showed, there are many others that look great for years. The key is proper install. Make sure the mosaic sheets are dipped (front and back) in sealer before install and use the correct cleaning agents and you'll greatly reduce any iron oxidation. Waterlogged dark spots are usually do to improper sloping of the pan, clogged weep holes around the drain, or a combination of both. Water will get underneath your grouted tile floor. It's supposed to. That's what the waterproofing is for. That water, ideally, pans down toward the drain and exits through weep holes, which are incorporated in the drain. If the pan happens to have a low spot in it, other than the drain, that water will pool there under the tile and grout, and create a dark spot. If the weep holes happen to get clogged during the install with thin set or grout or whatever, and the water cannot drain properly, you'll get a water logged dark spot around the drain.

I would never put natural stone in a steam shower. Then again, as much as I enjoy them, I would never put a steam shower in my house regardless of the tile choice. They can easily become a nightmare.

"Make sure the mosaic sheets are dipped (front and back) in sealer before install"

Absolutely INCORRECT horrible advice. Goes against every industry standard related to tile/stone.

Cmon Houzz control your forums of misinformation if you care about the very industry you were made from and thrive from. Houzz owes it to the industry

Sealed marble has MORE issues with saturation and rust than does unsealed. No way for it to evaporate when it’s sealed in. It has to wick via capillary action. One of those pics is from a perfect Schluter install. No weep holes in 21st century technology membrane installs. No pan liners. No water in water out system. The marble stays drier all along. And still, issues. It’s just the marble, being marble.

Look up Pasha Starykov’s controlled environment marble experiments. Sealed marble fared worse, In every module. He is a CTI, and CTEF inspector, and NTCA Ambassador. Don’t seal marble in wet areas.

@User I've read so many horror stories about marble, but I've had my heart set on it for so long that I need to go with it. Plus, I can't find a porcelain look-alike that actually looks like real marble. I'm not sure what system the tiler is using, so I will look into that. Thanks!

@HU-527663426 I didn't realize wood-look tile is already out of style :( Thanks for the info. If you run across a porcelain tile that might work well, let me know!

Wood-look tile isn't out of style. Don't let one or two out of touch houzzers change your mind on that. It's durable, waterproof, non-slip and looks great.

Wood look tile is on the way out. Usually by the time Lumber Liquidators and HD have it, it's on the downswing. Additionally, 5 years ago all the high end new builds in my town in FL were putting in wood look tile floors. No more! Now they're doing either tile that looks like cement or something similar or engineered wood floors.

As for the problem of the marble turning, it depends on the marble from what I've been told. I know my marble has "rust" spots but I have Afyon marble and it's more of a yellow and gray color with bits of orange which is what I wanted.

cpartist, I’m not sure where in FL you are but wood look tile is definitely a trend here to stay. It’s not going out of style, maybe certain sheens/colors but I’m in south FL and we just put in over 2000 sq feet of it in our house, everyone who sees it comments on how they want to do it in their house or they are going to show their customers etc. Just like hardwood there is a timeless warmth it brings if you do it in the right color, it has a great look, it’s affordable, very low maintenance and is super durable.

The Romans used tile everywhere and it still looks amazing! If you want marble use it

itsourcasa as long as you're happy with it, terrific but it definitely is a trend that is on the way out. I'm in SW Fl. Like I said, once something is in every Lumber Liquidators, Floor and Decor and HD, its on a downtrend.

And I have a huge secret for you. NOTHING is timeless. Don't believe me? Look at trends going back to each decade. Carpeting throughout the house was timeless in the 60's. So was avocado green and harvest gold. Timeless.

Raised panel cabinets were timeless. Then it was oak cabinets. And on and on.

itsourcasa, can you share the brand/color of the wood look tile you found?

We are going back and forth right now with wood-look tile vs engineered wood. We have 2 large dogs that have scratched our current site finished wood floors and we want something more durable in the new house.

All of the engineered wood floors going in right now with their matte gray-ish coloring will all look dated in a few years too.

As long as it fits with my house style and my furnishings, I'm not worried about trends, but having a product that doesn't get destroyed by the dogs is the main consideration.

Wood-look tile is overdone and dated already. If you're installing tile, have it look like tile and not something that is trying to simulate another material. Neither real wood nor wood-look tile is something you want in a bathroom anyway. While it is interesting that they can produce tile that looks like wood, I guarantee you'll be questioning why you did it five years from now. Go with something timeless, not something that is soon to be passe.

@kudzu9 @cpartist here’s my inspiration picture. To me this doesn’t look trendy, but I’d love your opinion on what flooring would look better.

cpartist.. agree to disagree. The look of warm wood floors is timeless IMO and porcelain tile is so durable it's not going anywhere.

chispa we went with Ashford truewood cream from floor and decor. I did a lot of research and had been eyeing it for years, I knew I wanted a longer tile than 36" and a light wood-look color nothing too orange or gray. When we got this house and embarked on a full renovation I knew it would be perfect. We're still in the midst of the reno so it's super dusty but it's perfect, all the guys installing it were impressed. We have a lot of boxes left over because there weren't any that came damaged, chipped or scratched. It's throughout our entire house including the kids/guest bathroom and our master bedroom. Some pics...

at night

Two more...

master

kids bath, I don't have any better pictures yet in here

My biggest pet peeve is when people (so-called pros on here) say don't get tile that mimics anything. Why not? Tile doesn't have it's own look, it's all made to look like something. It's such a strange thing to say. Wood is a great timeless look and for us south floridians wood-look tile is a great alternative to real wood, it does pay to upgrade a bit to something that has a nicer finish for sure.

@itsourcasa love the floor! It’s beautiful

Thank you! Hoping to actually get to enjoy it and move in some day haha!

In warm areas of the country, where it’s either engineered wood or tile for the floors, people will always gravitate to wood look tile as a “once and done” permanent installation. As long as it looks like real wood, and not the too dark black brown, or orange oak, or gray derelict wrecked ships, a wood-looking wood look tile is going to stay popular.

It’s an extremely”green” choice. Much more so than any other flooring type. It also has the lowest lifecycle costs, if you pick the pattern, and the installer wisely. Because the only reason anyone ever changes tile is fashion. Or because they chose a hack.

That is, it will be the lions share in warm areas until technology changes, with another installation option, like it did when engineered wood was developed. Or when someone got the bright idea to cross cheap roll vinyl and cheap laminate and market it with the word “luxury”.

https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2019/01/ancient-mosaics-discovered-in-southern.html?m=1

@User totally agree. And I could not get behind LVP, all the IGers are doing it lol but it was never an option.

Chispa, check out Kahrs.com for lots of quality choices. I love our oak floors from them. Also next time you're here, check out International Floors.

The look of warm wood floors is timeless IMO and porcelain tile is so durable it's not going anywhere.

It'sourcasa, your floors do look beautiful and if you love them, in the long run that's all that counts. However like I said, don't assume it's timeless. :)

Tile is not warm wood. :) And yes I agree porcelain tile is so durable and not going anywhere. However what that tile will look like will and does change with the latest trends and wood tile is not trendy anymore. :)

I put down cement tile in my friends' entry. It's quite trendy right now although I would have put it in anyway since it works with the style of my house and I love it. However I have no illusions that it will still be in style in 5-10 years from now. Will I still love it in 10 years? Most likely yes. It's the same with the porcelain wood floor look.

To me this doesn’t look trendy, but I’d love your opinion on what flooring would look better.

What's trendy looking is the wood look floor tile especially since none of us would ever put a wood floor in a bathroom. The rest of your bathroom inspiration is definitely more traditional in feel so I'd pick a tile or tile rug in a traditional pattern picking up the colors you've already used. Check out This Site for traditional pattern ideas.

My bathroom is traditional in feel (although more craftsman) and I chose a marble floor with a basketweave "rug" and carried the "rug into the shower as an example and on the niche wall in the tub area.

Much more so than any other flooring type. It also has the lowest lifecycle costs, if you pick the pattern, and the installer wisely. Because the only reason anyone ever changes tile is fashion. Or because they chose a hack.
Or back and knee issues because tile is so much harder on both. When we were renting before our house was finished, we were in a condo with tile floors. Both of us were constantly having back issues that miraculously disappeared once we moved into our house with our engineered wood floors. If you have back or knee issues, it is something to consider.

If you don't, then I agree tile can be an excellent choice.

@live_wire_oak totally agree. And I could not get behind LVP, all the IGers are doing it lol but it was never an option.

Agree with you there. My beef with LVP is that it's not green at all. It's made with petroleum products.

Get what you want as long as you know the proper way to install it and maintain it. Period. There are wood look tiles out there that are horrible and there are some that are very nice - find the one you love and do it! Personally I am not a fan of marble, but I do appreciate it and everyone's love for it. If you want a l porcelain version - Happy Floors ( based out of Miami ) make s some really nice tiles.

Good luck - I hope you love your space when it it done

Laura-

What is ”tile that looks like tile”? To me it’s the vast majority of tiles that don’t try to mimic the look of an entirely different kind or class of material, like wood, denim, etc.

cpartist... I said the "look" of warm wood floors. You saying "tile is not warm wood" is obvious lol. Nothing compares to real wood but to get that look we went with porcelain tile.

kudzu9.... like what is tile that looks like tile? Every tile has the look of something, that's the whole point of it lol.

I'm not sure where you guys are getting the idea that the wood-look tile trend is gone or even a trend at all... we have tons of family and friends down here, probably spanning hundreds of homes and we're the first to have this wood-look tile. I've been pining over it for 6 years. It's still very much "in" and very much sought after. I'm not trying to defend it because I have it I just hate when these opinions become fact on here and get spewed all over houzz by a handful of people who just may not like the look.

Tile that looks like tile

arch13-

But do you think it could be more timeless with wood-look tile...? ;-)

LOL man I should have put all that on my floors instead... what was I thinking. Should have kept my sunken living room and glass block divider too... I need to sell and start over quick!

Oh I'm not getting into the wood look tile debate. I've already been bitten for suggesting marble be sealed on all sides. I shall slink away with my tail between my legs and let people have rusty Carrara.

bherian-

In regard to your inspiration picture, I think it's wonderful...except for the floor. Even if I loved wood-look tile, and had it throughout my house, I wouldn't put it in my bathroom. (I wouldn't put real wood in my bathroom either because it just looks out of place as well as being impractical in a damp environment.) I accept that there are strong opinions about wood-look tile and they're all equally valid. I'm just giving you my opinion: the floor in your inspiration picture detracts from the otherwise sophisticated overall design of the bathroom.

My thoughts about the inspiration picture is the marble shower is very cool looking where the wood-look is very warm and reddish-toned which look wrong together. Either a deeper charcoal if a darker floor is preferred, or a more grey-toned floor would look better in my opinion (regardless if it ends up being a wood-look or not)

thanks everyone! I have A LOT to think about :)

@bherian Just wanted to say that I absolutely LOVE your inspiration pic! I just redid 3 bathrooms in our new (very 80s) townhouse and used vinyl plank in 2 and tile in 1 for the floors...all of it mimics wood and all of it looks great. As to your original question, I like the top hex better than the bottom. Pretty sure the top hex you showed is what I used on the shower floor in our master :)

@bherian - To answer your question, either hex tile works with your shower choice, one is warmer than the other. That being said, the grayer version (colder) one looks better with the countertop. It may not matter depending on how far away your vanity is from the shower. I love your choices, but I must agree that the wood look tile is on the way out, so I would rethink that if possible. I'd probably use large marble on the floors as well. I have absolutely ZERO issues with my marble. No rust whatsoever. I have posted some pictures of my bath - it shows hex on the shower floor, and 6 x 12 marble outside the shower area. The rest is real hardwood.