3” hex design.

Go look and see what www.heritagetile.com has.

If you are looking to take a nod to historical materials, you need to look for tiles that have 'rectified' edges, eg, as straight as possible. When exploring grout color, think about using a color close to the color of natural cement.

So with that said, I would not do the first octagon with hex because i know the edges on that one are softened. I think pinwheel or a regular hex is a great way to go.

Either Heritage Tile or Restoration Tile makes the most accurate tile for restoration and for more accurate tile for the period. I used Heritage Tile in my upstairs bathroom but both are excellent.

I don't have any photos available, but in our historic home we used the small 1" hex tiles in white. I designed a pattern where there are two rows of contrasting black border tiles that outline the center. So, picture a large white expanse in the middle outlined by a black row, then some more white and then another black with white on the edges. It's nice, gives some character and isn't busy. Plus you can do it by just putting black tiles in after you take the white tiles off the mesh background before you lay the tile. No need to purchase expensive pre-made patterns.

In my 1901 home the original tile floor that was in the bathroom had to be removed because of rot in the floor joists. We were able to match the title in size but not thickness. What we had and what we have now is the 2nd image the three posted above.