Not a niche fan. Very rare is the tile setter that can pull one off successfully. Tile on the flat isn't a good idea.

the calacatta is going on the walls? I think that's enough movement.

I'd use a Schluter jolly for the niche, (and you may think about lining the inside of the niche w/the navy vanity material. Or, use a solid white quartz

see how the sides, top and bottom are the solid piece of quartz? like that.

either the white or the navy. if you choose the navy, do a light blue tile or a white mosaic

and go w/the stellar ultra marine blue color. If it came in a mosaic I'd choose that as opposed to a 2x4 size (which I think would look weird in the niche)

find a penny round, or hex, or small herringbone, etc, in that solid darker blue and use it.

if you like the scallop, use it

look at Encore Ceramics. they have some gorgeous blue glaze colors in all sorts of shapes and sizes

these are a few of their blue colors they offer

https://encoreceramics.com/product/atlantic-crackle-glaze/

they have at least 10 diff blue colors. pick your color,

then pick your mosaic shape

http://encoreceramics.com/product-category/mosaics/

I love a nice shower niche but rarely are they a feature, especially once they are full of shampoo bottles etc. They don’t need a contrasting tile.

Hallett,,, I think in this case it is a feature:

"The niche will be the length of the shower & the shower runs the majority of the back wall,,,"

although, if it's more of a modern design, you may think about using the same wall tile

just depends upon the look you're after. (I like to make them a feature so I'd use a blue

Beth

Thank you so much for all your excellent ideas. I actually originally wanted to use the same tile but our contractor said it would look too busy with the cuts. I forgot to mention but we are planning on having the surround tile run vertically at a 33% offset. Do you think that gorgeous herringbone you showed will work & if so do you think the orientation matters.

Joseph

I understand where you are coming from much more so than I would like. The reason we are redoing our bathroom is because the person we had remodel it before did an exceedingly poor job & our bathroom is literally falling apart. Given this we researched extensively & found a company that gives a 10yr warranty & has a big presence in our area. I'm really counting on all this meaning that they can pull this off

trish, it depends on your tile layout. you're doing a 12x24 wall tile.

I'd have to see the shower, the size, how the tile is going to be laid, what's on the shower floor, outside the floor, how the niche is placed, how large it's going to be, what kind of accent tile you're talking about using, the size, etc.

that wall tile is a busy tile. I love it though. (btw, did you order it already? If not, I'd switch it to the 24x24 instead of the 12x24

are you doing the matching mosaic for the shower floors?

they have a calacatta Azure too. darker blues. so pretty

24x24 on walls. I like this one

This one is actually a 24x48, which I think would be great for a shower wall. less grout lines, less trying to line up the veining.

24x48 on walls (This isn't bad. I like the color blue on the niche inset)

(now, try to imagine your long niche and the tile inside of it. If you want a blue mosaic niche, for sure I'd do white quartz on the inside of the niche, and the accent only on the back part of niche. make sense? )

see this one? white quartz all the way around on the inside. ( it should be flush w/the other tile though)

24x48

compare it to a 12x24 size on walls. see the diff? to me, w/this pattern, it's busier looking

back to the niche.

Very important the niche is properly measured and laid out so that you don't have cut tiles around it

example, see how this niche is placed perfectly between the grout lines so that no tile had to be cut? Look at the one directly above.

here's the inside w/the white.

This one is nicely done too. notice above and below the niche, no cut tiles. it's perfectly spaced.

Ok so all the lovely glazed tiles recommend resealing. Given that this bathroom is being redone due to a failed job I'm a bit over zealous on durability, admittedly the problems were all with the install not the products but still. So we are going to go with artezen deep blue herringbone for the niche.

Beth I love your idea of the quartz for the surround & we will be using Cambria White Cliff. As far as sizing my contractor recommended against going with the 24 x 48( they said our shower is too small for it to look good, a tad over 3.5 by 5.5ft).

I'll definitely make sure they have the tile & niche aligned for cuts, thank you I never would have thought of that before.

On the shower pan we are actually going to go with an onyx base in shadow. I know tile looks better but this is a two year old complete gut bathroom remodel that has been causing problems since before we even moved in & has already been professionally repaired multiple times. I truly hope this new company is better but I'm tired of a pitch that doesn't drain, tiles coming up & crumbly grout. I know I'm likely a bit paranoid at this point but a lifetime warranty sounds so nice I'll take an aesthetic hit.

(the shadow onyx color with the surround tile)

Thank you so much for all of your insight, help & patience

(the blue color, in the herringbone shape)

I know this is an old post. Would love to see pictures of your bathroom. We are doing the same calacatta on the shower walls and trying to decide on what to do with the niche. We’re thinking about the same 2x2 or a blue 2x2 on shower floor. I’m torn on what to do for niche.

All three of the blue tiles coordinate color-wise with your tile, but they may provide too much contrast since the tile is busy. I like what my tile contractor did in my new shower. He used a smaller mosaic for the niche in the same material. The shower curb and base of the niche are in a coordinating color of Corian.

Rachel, I'm glad you're happy w/your tile job. it's nice tile. However, I don't want someone looking on here for advice and thinking that is the correct way to do a niche.

I'm not saying this to be mean, but your tile setter didn't lay out this tile around the niche in a proper manner. Sorry.

With a busier, larger tile like you have, and the mosaic insert, he should have done a better job of lining up the niche within the larger tiles, AND doing a diff type of edge. What he did, cutting the larger tiles into smaller rectangles, is not the way it should have been done.

Let me show you similar tiles with a niche done w/proper outside edging.

All he had to do was measure your tiles and place your niche so that it would fall in between full tiles. (this doesn't have the mosaic inset, but you can see how easily it would work and fit.

Silimar tiles. you see how he used the actual tiles for the edging instead of cutting it up to go around the top? (this one isn't perfect, as far as placement goes, but it's better than yours)

here's one w/a mosaic inset. see how much nicer it looks w/this type of eding around the niche?

This type of edging on the outside of the niche would have looked better.

I have no idea why he did what he did.

So this one did it somewhat like your tile guy did, only it's symmetrical all the way around.

the border edging he did on yours only goes on 3 sides. he didn't even do the bottom. And see the arrow how it's pointing at the tiles he used? not even the same color or graining as the one above it. completely unneccessary to do it this way.

I know why he did it, but it still looks off.

Also, this back wall isn't laid out properly. look at your full tiles in the pic above.

On the left side he has a full tile, while the right side he has a partially cut tile.

This is a poor layout. Both sides should be equal. he should have started in the middle and worked his way out.

See how this layout is done? look at the tiles on the left and right side. they match. that's because he started dead center and worked outward.

Here's another similar niche. While not the best, at least his wall tile layout is symmetrical.

I think the niche and the bench are poorly done. again, no dry layout was done here.

So, here's another niche lined w/tiles like your guy was trying to do. Again, not necessary, but at least he has the niche placed perfectly within the full tiles above nad below. The edging cuts go all the way around the niche, not just 3 sides. and the solid, dark inset border tiles keeps it from looking too busy w/the mosaic.

Now this niche below, was properly done. look at the niche placement. all the lines match up, the placement is perfect between full tiles, no weird cuts. The mosaic was done beautifully.

This niche is beautifully done too. placed in between full tiles. even the tiles on the wall are perfectly matched up on the sides.

But this type of tiling job takes a good tile guy.

Your guy should have done a dry lay-out so that he got properly cut tiles, and no "sliver" cuts anywhere.

A good tile setter would also measure the tiles, the walls and the niche ahead of time, do a dry lay-out, so that he can do proper placement of the niche so that it doesn't end up like yours.

You see how both of these niches fall perfectly within the tile borders? no weird cuts, no tiny cut tile or thin cut tiles in the corners, or mismatched around the niche.

look at your placement:

see this one? how it falls within the tile borders? looks great, right?

And there is no busy cut tile surround to add to the business of the tile pattern.

These next two photos are both with busier looking tiles similar to yours. See how the edgeing was done? just the tiles itself, and not smaller cut pieces to go around the niche.

This one was placed within the full space of a tile. top/bottom, no cuts.

Look at the tile layout on this back wall. see how the cut tiles on both corners all match up perfectly? they are both 1/2 cut tiles. (the niche could have been made a tad longer on the left side, but it's ok)

This placement is ok. At least the tiles in the niche match each other. and the niche is placed directly in the center of the 4 tiles all around it. It's well done for what he did.

This niche is gorgeous. so subtle, but well planned between full tiles. (I don't like the asymmetrical tiles on the other wall, but it's not too bad)

I bet your tile guy put grout in your vertical corners, yes? and the floor/wall joint space?

And around your bench?

All of that should be silicone caulk.

Sorry to bombard you. I just don't want someone else to think this is ok.

If you ever redo a shower in the future, you'll know what NOT to do

Oh my, Beth thanks for sharing...I learned so much. I dont think I can unsee the lack of symmetry now. Ill need to check if the seems are caulk or grout.

I hope you can find out Rachel. So sorry to blast you. that wasn't my intention. I do like your shower tile and the niche itself, I only wish it would have been done by a better tile installer.

Did he build a bench for you? hard to tell. do you know how it was done? the waterproofing?

Trish, that came out really nice. love that tile and your niche size.

Beth, I didn't take it as a blast at all. I'm no pro and I'm happy you pointed out what I don't see. I have no idea how it was waterproofed. It is part of a new build. I moved in October 2020 so a little over a year ago.

FYI, those seams are silicone. As I approached the shower to inspect, I thought oh sh#t, Beth was right. The silicone color matches the grout exactly ... I had to feel it.

Wow Trish! Those choices look great together!

@Trish That looks great! Love the herringbone and that blue looks great with the tile. It's kind of a hard blue to match. Well done!

Trish, your shower is so beautiful!

Thank you everyone for your kind words. Houzz has the most amazing community that I would be so lost without.

Beth H I have you to thank so much. I had no idea about using the quartz in the niche before you nor would I have thought about where the tile meets. Your words/pictures were absolutely instrumental not only in the way of ideas but in helping me to articulate share with my contractor. You are an absolute Rockstar, anyone who says altruism doesn't exist clearly has never been on Houzz.

Jentstl, I can't wait to see the lovely choices you make & how it all turns out

Rachel, you've a beautiful shower & that shower head looks truly divine

@Trish, enjoy your new shower. Are the shower walls porcelain? I love that tile.

Rachel

Yes, thank you. Marble is pretty but too porous for me

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ivy-Hill-Tile-Calacatta-Indigo-12-in-x-24-in-Polished-Porcelain-Floor-and-Wall-Tile-6-Piece-11-62-sq-ft-Case-EXT3RD105285/314051353?MERCH=REC--pip_alternatives--313879955--314051353--N&

https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/ivy-hill-tile-calacatta-indigo-12-in-x-24-in-porcelain-wall-floor-tile-sost4218.html

@Trish Would you mind sharing what color grout you used on the shower walls? Most of the light colored grouts I'm finding are too white or beige. I found a light gray from a different brand than my tile guy wants to use, so I may just have to tell him that's the brand I want him to use. Thanks :)

@User Of course, the color is sterling. A word of caution though, the sample color looks accurate. However, the color on the bag looks scarily gray. It isn't at all but the sticker color is very misleading. So much so I got scared to use it. I ended up doing a mock up with spare tile & letting it dry overnight before I felt comfortable using it. Admittedly I'm a little paranoid due to several mistakes earlier in this process. They have color match caulk that we used to seal the outside of the niche around the quartz. Hope this helps & good luck with everything.

Shower walls grout color - Sterling

inside niche grout color - Bright white

Bathroom floor tile grout color - Raven ( not pictured)

p.s. sorry for the dusty garage picture of the first one

@Trish Thanks so much! That is the brand my contractor wants to use. I had an old sample grout chart from 2017 so I ran to Menards and picked up another one in case there were newer colors. The Sterling sample on the new chart looks more beige, but on the one from 2017 it looks more like the grout in your picture. Crazy that the samples are so far off...most all of the colors on both samples look completely different. The K&B showroom had samples of Custom Building Products and we were thinking of using Ash, which is a light gray. We are doing the 2x2 of the same tile on the shower floor, but don't want too light of a grout color for there. And didn't know if we would want different color grout on walls and floor. Sterling might work for both (the gray one and not the beige one lol!). I definitely am going to do a mock up. Would be nice if they offered grout samples similar to those peel and stick paint samples. Those are a genius invention! Thanks again :)