I think your contractor is nuts. first, both tiles show as in stock. have you tried calling to see if thats true? second, the tiles should have been ordered quite some time ago. if he didnt do that, thats on him. third, i have no idea what he means by high maintenance. they are tiles. the maintenance is going to be on you, so why does he care? get what you like and stick to your guns.

No pro here, but color wise I personally like dark on the floor and lighter as you rise. Can you explain the high maintenance part? Does he mean more challenging for him to install? If you still have a functioning bathroom and he erred in not ordering in a timely way, I personally would wait out for what I really wanted rather than jump for his convenience  You are going to have that tile for a looooong time.

The thing you are leaving OUT??

What is the shower floor?

And why, when you started one year ago, were your tiles not ordered and delivered?

If you want a small bath to feel spacious? Repeat the bath floor tile on the shower walls.

I think you're hung up on an instagram photo.

Thus I ask in either of your collage? What's the floor in the shower?

If you want this as your jumping off point? Go to a local dedicated shop, and get the remainder figured out. Too many things going on....and you don't do this online.

There is WALL paint for a reason, if you want green. I'd go black and white. Keep it simple, or delay the bath . eight by eight?? Avoid the BUSY, BUSY. Not every surface can be the star.

I think I understand why the contractor was calling your original choice for the floor high maintenance. They are cement tiles, not porcelain or ceramic, and more prone to staining. Here's some information from Granada Tile:

"To keep cement tiles looking their best, make sure not to let any type of liquid sit on the tile surface. Clean up any spills immediately and dry the cement tiles completely with a clean cloth to prevent stains and permanent damage. Given that cement-like marble and other natural stone – is a porous material that absorbs liquids easily, over time, liquids like wine, soda, vinegar, and even water that is left to accumulate, can stain the tile."

I think the shower tiles that you show in blue or green for the walls are really pretty. Not a fan of the busy floor tiles. A porcelain hex tile in a 6" size might look good, either black or white. I prefer white floors in bathrooms precisely because you can see the dirt so it's more likely you'll clean up!

I agree with @JAN MOYER - simple tile that is consistent across the space seems the best approach in a small bath

IMO 12 x24 porcelain tile in a color you like for both bathroom floors and shower walls is always my go to First fewer grout lines and second neutral enought to not drive other choices for accent like faucets and counters .I think the fewer patterns in a bathroom the longer you will like the space

The thing about choosing simple porcelain, instead of a specialty tile like a zellige or an encaustic tile, is that it is friendlier to the skill level of basic contractors. I may be off base, but the comments from the contractor make me feel that perhaps he isn't fully qualified to work with specialty tile. Most General Contractors are not qualified tile professionals, and hire subcontractors for that. Also, what waterproofing system does he use? That is something to find out now, before any tile gets ordered or laid. Contractors who are iffy on tile skills are usually iffy on correct tile prep for wet areas.

Thank you all so much for the comments -- I appreciate it so much, and it is so helpful to have your unbiased feedback in this situation! Couple of responses:

• We have a shower over tub, so there is no separate shower floor.
• I would definitely not say I am hung up on an instagram photo (not sure I've ever even been on insta!) -- but I do have opinions on taste & what we were going for in the design. In general we are not super modern, streamlined people, I like layers of color and texture and would call our style "eclectic", but of course I also understand that tile is for many years so that's why we don't have even more going on. :) I really, really want some color in the shower, blue or green or in that neighborhood, because I think the color will look nice with the wood vanity and the white tub. It may legit be the wrong decision but that's one that we're going to be sticking with.
• Yes, I think it was the fact that it was cement that made our contractor stress to us it was high maintenance. I think it's a reasonable concern for us, we had asked our designer at the time of selection whether they were high maintenance and she had said not to a degree that we needed to worry, but it was always something in the back of my head I was worried about. So, I'm good with switching to porcelain but I wish I had a little more time!
• I totally understand the concerns some of you are mentioning about the skill level of the contractor...that said, we have been impressed by him and he is highly respected in the area. I don't understand why he didn't order the tile earlier (agreed with everyone who noted this) but his & his team's work has seemed high quality to date. He has also scheduled some inspections by the city that were not required but voluntary, and the inspectors seemed happy with the work (for whatever that's worth).
• The waterproofing system is Schluter-Ditra (at least, that's what I see in the bathroom, assuming that's the system?).

But, some questions:

• As I mentioned above, I don't want to continue the floor tiles into the shower -- I completely respect the suggestion and that it may be best practice design-wise, but I really want blue or green tile in the shower so that part has to stay. That said, you do have me concerned that the pattern on the floor is going to be too busy.... The context is that I really love that pattern and am always drawn to it. But, I also don't want to make a poor decision. I am sharing the floorplan below in case it's helpful. I was thinking there was enough space in the middle to accommodate a pattern like this....but is that crazy?
• I do want to stick with hex tile, I think the shape is really beautiful, but if I didn't go with a pattern on the hex tile, could that work?
• And I am still trying to decide between the dark floor (black or charcoal) paired with the green tile in the bath, vs. the light floor (white) paired with the blue tile. Any guidance on how I might make that choice?

Thank you again!!

I hope you are physically young and stay that way. A master bath with NO shower? Yikes. the climb over : )

I think a non-patterned hex tile with low contrast grout would work well for a floor - FWIW we just did a black hex tile floor with white tile surround in our shower/tub and I like the contrast but it still feels simple (our bath is way smaller than yours in old house so wanted the classic B&W) - I think a light floor tile with the blue would be really pretty - with a nice airy feel, maybe a little less intense than the black/green?

I agree about the cement tile. Our designer suggested that for the kids' bathroom but once I researched it, it sounds like more maintenance than I want to take on. Ours was a check pattern, and we used Dal-Tile to recreate the pattern in a porcelain tile. I think you might get the feeling you want using a solid hex tile. I would go with a light floor because I feel like with dark floors, even right after they're cleaned, you can often see a sheen or footprints etc. (We have black marble in our kitchen.)

To help you decide colors, I would just google images and pay attention to the details. Here are some images I found. I notice that each room has elements of white to balance the colors. Maybe you could do white walls and shower curtain.

Thank you! Yes, I hope we stay physically young too.... In all honesty, we had wanted a separate shower but due to significant budget constraints had to cut it. That decision is so far in the rear view there is no possible way to revisit it, at this point -- it would make way more sense to live with the current layout, hopefully for 20+ years, and then redo the bathroom when needed. We may not have that choice, but at this point there is no way to put the shower in (and we simply don't have the funds.)

With that said -- thank you lala and stiley! Stiley, the images you provided are super helpful and all gorgeous.

I snuck in to the bathroom to see if I could get a better sense of the tiles in the room and I have to admit I find the green tiles to be so beautiful. Does anyone think they would work with the light floor tile (i.e. is my assumption that the green would have to go with dark, and the blue with light, unfounded)?

Also, I am really stuck on the matte vs. shiny question. Appreciate any feedback there!!

Great can be less hand wring.

There's an entire back wall for ART too....is there not?

If you love that pattern and layering of colors pattern etc. , go for it. Busy, boring, etc is subjective. If it makes you smile when you look at it, just do it.

I'm personally drawn to the green and dark, and I'd think that the glossy tiles would help bounce light around. It looks like you have two shades of green tiles--is that because of the glossy vs matte? Can you take a picture of the green with the light floor tiles? I don't think you can go wrong either way.

ETA: We have dark hardwoods, black marble kitchen tile, and kids and a white Lab. Dark floors are definitely high maintenance, but since it's a small room, maybe that is OK for you.

To answer your more recent questions, I actually love the combo of the green tiles with the white floor tiles. looks very fresh and airy to me, which i like. The other combos are more dramatic/moody, whoch can be good too, just depends what you like!

Its hard for me to see the matte vs shiny on my screen, but i generally prefer shiny wall tile with matte floor tile.

For a black vs white floor, I always recommend putting samples down and get some foot traffic on them. See how each shows any dirt, and how you feel about cleaning off that dirt. Both will show dirt in a different way, and a lot will depend on if shoes are worn in the bathroom.

You have a lot of good choices here. Don't let "the road not traveled" deter you from being firm about the direction that you do take, without looking back!

What did you end up using? I love the Sartorio Eucalyptus, but shipping from Italy is insane. Did you find a distributor in the states?

We ended up using the Sartorio Eucalyptus! here's a picture (although it's in the evening so it looks darker than in the day....) We think it's really beautiful.

Not sure where you are located, but we got it for a good price from the Tile Shop in Berkeley (it's been a while now but I want to say it was $9-10 /sq ft?) https://www.tile-shop.com/products/tbrick/tbrick.html

Keep us posted on what you decide!

It’s stunning! Thank you so much for the information. We’re in Boulder, CO…it must be available somewhere near here too. I’ll keep looking!

Thanks! Good luck!