I think it looks cool. I would never know this was a mistake. Not that this helps if you dislike it.

You are not crazy. It is unacceptable that a company like that can do this. If you screw up you should fix the problem to keep your customers happy. I would call them and tell them that!!

That's a major variation. It should have been on the sample board at Lowes. Tear it out and pay to redo it at your cost is the only solution. Next time layout a full box.

You supplied the tile- how would they know you didn’t want this? If you don’t like it pay for a redo.

Homeowner supplied materials come with all the responsibilities of what would have been on the GC. 1 - making sure things are on site. 2 - inspecting the materials for fitness. 3 - providing any specific instructions necessary to use / install the materials correctly. Tile best practices are to open many boxes and mix them up to smooth any small variations.

In the case, the contractor is correct - this one is on you.

This amount of variation ABSOLUTELY should have been on the sample board at Lowes. You are SURE you didn't get 2 different colors? I'd save all the boxes and march myself down to Lowes. If you redo - you should at least get then to cover materials if they were mismarked / sample board was misleading, etc.

And, like emily9972, I think it looks good and different.

I would be more concerned that the waterproofing was done correctly as that niche and the area above the window look quite suspect top me.

"Am I crazy?"

The answer is always "Yes"

I think it looks great--a random pattern is actually difficult to achieve.

But how could you not know this? Either you pay to have it redone, or live with it as is.

In a previous house I used some expensive glass tile around a free-standing tub. The tile was hand-made so there could be imperfections ... I opened every box, laid every tile out on the floor and picked out some of the imperfections that I would not want to see permanently installed on the wall. I then put the "good'" tiles carefully back in the boxes. In a separate marked box, I saved the "bad" ones to be used when the imperfections could be cut and the rest of the tile used. I explained all that carefully to the tile person.

Some people are fine with all the imperfections in the glass.

I would never expect the tile person to make those types of design decisions.

You didn't know exactly what you gave the tile installer in the boxes, so how can you blame them?

Looks fine to me - and intentional

Looks good to me. I do not know how it goes with the rest of the interior design but with the information provided changing it will not make your showers make you any cleaner.

When I had my bathroom gutted and redone, neither my GC nor subcontractors asked me about grout line thickness and I wish I had known to specify that I wanted thinner grout lines. I also asked for a shelf unit and inset (think medicine cabinet) unit but was never really consulted for the designs of these. Both are "over-built" I think. I willfully didn't hire a bathroon designer. We were in the middle of Covid and we were new to town and the one who offered a quote had an aggressive contract that scared us away. But now I realize (hopefully) that the designer would have teased these thoughts out of my head. HGTV makes it seem like all GCs are happy to spend time with their clients but I'm afraid this just isn't true. If I ever get around to redoing my kitchen, you bet I'll hire a designer.

Sorry this is on you. If you hate it that much pay to have it redone.

It's unfortunate but you provided the tiles so you should have looked at what was in the box.

That being said, I would continue the tiles up to the ceiling.

What tiles are you planning for the floor? that will have an impact on the look.

Here's a bathroom with similar colour variance that looks nice...

You must have had a heart attack seeing this for the first time if you thought you were purchasing all one color. Sorry you are dealing with this.

You gave the contractor a box of varigated tiles and told them to be installed. They had no way of knowing these tiles were not what you wanted. Unfortunately it is 100% on you.

If you look at the box and look up the tile name, number, any info about the tile, I presume you will find that it is a variegated tile. Next time you purchase ANY housing material, research it online thoroughly. Don't assume that what you see on a shelf is what you think it will be.

Ask what the cost is to redo it. I'd be bummed if I had my heart set on all dark blue.

Thank you for taking the time to respond everyone. Lesson learned I need to be present and inspect everything before work is done. I thought the Contractor who subs out was supposed to do that.

I told my Contractor when I purchased the tile (and by purchase I mean he took a single tile and he used the sku on the back to place the order) I preferred one color..he was just not there that day to supervise and they started without my OK.

I would have prearranged the tile myself for a gradient look to compensate, but I was not given an option.

Welcome to my world. I designed a house with a dormer above each garage door to shed water away from the door. I show up to the josbsite and the garage roof is shingled with no dormers! I asked the builder what happened and he said the homeowner and he decided they didn't need them. That is one project where I failed to protect the homeowner from themself.

That is just part of the story. That house will have its own chapter in my book.

I think in this situation, the person that purchased the tile did not do their due diligence in providing the proper tile. I have seen MUCH larger problems on a construction site. I can think of one project where thew house ended up with one less bathroom. You got a nice show just different from what you expected.

And what if I had wanted these tiles placed horizontally rather than vertically?

No obligation of the contractor or sub-trade to enquire?

Since horizontally is the usual standard, then it’s up to you to indicate if you want a variation on the standard IMO. When you order a Big Mac they don’t ask if you want lettuce or pickles etc.

FWIW, @J C, I think the varigated tiles look great. All the same colour would have been boring IMO.

I actually like it too. I would let them finish. I would go all the way to the ceiling. Also you will have a shower curtain up correct? If you do not like it at least the shower curtain would cover a good amount of the tile.

worthy - I have not seen a shower room that size since I played basketball.

I told my Contractor when I purchased the tile I preferred one color..he was just not there that day to supervise and they started without my OK.

You purchased the tile and it was on you to inspect it. You gave them a product that was not satisfactory and it isn't their job to question whether you purchased the correct tile.

I would have prearranged the tile myself for a gradient look to compensate, but I was not given an option.

You were given the option. You could have opened the box when you got home, realized it was variegated, and laid the tile out, or written them a note.

Did you specifically say, do not lay the tile until I am present, I want to go over the layout with them? If you said that and they did it anyway, then it is their fault for not waiting. But if you didn't arrange a time to meet them to go over the layout then you cannot blame them.

IMPORTANT - as someone pointed out above, the waterproofing looks a bit "suspect" - look at the niches - they don't appear to be constructed and waterproofed correctly. If that's true, than you may have just become lucky - because your contractor will need to redo your surround - and that will include removing the installed tile.

Also, why isn't your tub being protected??? With the work that's going on, it is very easy for your tub to be scratched (or damaged in some other manner). They should have it completed covered with some padding to protect the finish.

Similar to chispa above, I went through every box of Carrara marble tile that was delivered to my house (I didn't purchase it - but I immediately wanted to see the tile when it was delivered). I culled out all of the tiles that I didn't want installed in my bathroom. I also had boxes of tiles that I liked at least half or more of the tile - so, I marked the portion of a tile that had something that I didn't like (example, a small odd colored vein) with a pencil - made a big "X" through the part that I didn't want installed (so the tile installer could use the rest of the tile for cut tiles that would be needed during the installation).

I also made stacks of the tiles so that the tiles were mixed/sorted the way that I wanted them to be when they were installed on the shower walls + around the freestanding tub.

I spent A LOT of time going through all of the boxes of marble - but I had specific expectations of how I wanted the tiles to look once installed - and the only way for it to be accomplished was either for me to go through all of them ahead of time - or be present the entire time the tile was being installed (which I'm sure would have thrilled my tile professional 😂).

I had all the stacks set up in rows in another room - the installer's assistant just grabbed the stacks and brought them into the bathroom for the installer.

FYI - tiles that look like yours with color variations are pretty popular (have been for a few years - Bedrosian Cloe tile became ridiculously popular - especially the white ones - there are a few really long posts where people have discussed using Cloe White as a backsplash in their kitchens + tons of photos).

I used Cloe White in a tub/shower combo surround recently (in a vertical stacked pattern) + have Cloe Baby Blue tiles that are going in the alcove behind the vanity in another upcoming bathroom renovation. The tiles are manufactured by Equipe Ceramicas - and are sold by various retailers.

I think one of the issues with your tile is that there is a lot of variation between the tiles - but not as many different shades in the boxes (as there are in the examples posted by worthy and lisedv above).

The Cloe tiles have more shades (it's actually dependent upon how much glaze was used on each tile = whether it's darker or lighter). So, while they are a V4 in variation = highest level of variation - there are more shades = it has more subtle transitions between shades.

Here is the photo that made me "fall in love" with Cloe Baby Blue tile (in reality, it is more of a mix of aqua):

If your tiles had more shades, it might not bother you as much. The tiles do look different depending upon light exposure (N/S/W/E - or natural vs. artificial, etc.)

When there is more direct light hitting the tiles, they appear to have less variation. Maybe you'd like your shower more if you had a bright light added in the tub/shower ceiling?

All of the below photos are ones that I took of both colors of my Cloe tile - in different lighting situations. As you can see, the lighting makes a big difference.

I think your tile surround would look nice if the tile was extended to the ceiling. What does your vanity/countertop look like + what is being installed on the floor?

To clarify and answer a previous question, the project manager ordered the tiles and dropped them off at the site. I did not physically buy the tile myself nor pick it up. I gave the product number to the PM. Timing issues just led to the situation I am in of not being able to check anything before work was started.

I was not even asked how I wanted the tile placed (horizontal vs vertical). They just did what they wanted. I am not a fan of how they lined up the tile. I prefer a more clean and modern look. All I see it Tetris every time I look at the shower.

JC you are the designer. You selected the tile even if you didn’t physically purchase it. You selected a tile with inherent variation- unknown to you perhaps but part of the tile not a flaw. You also apparently didn’t draw a tile layout specifying direction, grout width etc. You had a vision for the room but didn’t communicate it to anyone. what seems obvious isn’t obvious to someone who installs subway in a brick pattern 99% of the time. I get it- it’s not what you pictured- that stinks. In future projects you will be more involved or pay someone to advocate for you.

Have you gone to Lowes to see if there are 2 different colors of this tile? or checked all the boxes on site? Something seems wrong. There are 2 distinct colorways here - not variation.

I'd go to lowes and see if there are 2 colors. And I'd probably open a box and take them all out to see a full box.

When you picked the tile - that's the time to specify layout.

You need to talk to your PM about design decisions, maybe a 2x week meeting to say what's going to be done and what decisions need to be made, etc.

Building a home is a FULL TIME JOB, as a homeowner.

Not "having time" is not an excuse. If you want something enough, the time is always there.

What is the name and manufacturer of the tile? IMPORTANT - did Lowe's have a sample board in the store? I assume there was one - do you have a photo of it? If there was one, I assume that the tiles on the display were consistent in color.

Sometimes a contractor/installer will not check tile boxes to make sure that they are all from the same "run" = color lot #. However, the variation in the color of your tiles is much too dramatic to be due to a mix of different color lots (that would be a more subtle difference - however, it would still be noticeable and annoying to the homeowner).

I started wondering if somehow boxes of different colors were put together by Lowe's and delivered to your GC for pick-up - HOWEVER, there are more than two colors on your walls = at least three different colors would have to have been mixed together - and all three would be related shades - just some lighter and some darker - which seems very unlikely (but not impossible if there was a light shade and a dark shade - and then different color lots mixed together).

It is the responsibility of the GC to pick up boxes that were the same color lot# + a tile professional is supposed to check lot #s when doing a project.

Do you have information re: how the surround was constructed - from demo to its current state? (did you take photos while it was being constructed?) As I suggested above, you may be able to have a different tile installed - at zero cost to you - IF the surround was not constructed correctly. There are statutes enacted that protect homeowners re: renovations/services performed at their property. If the installer/contractor did not follow the correct technical specifications re: waterproofing and/or other areas of construction, the surround will need to be replaced by the person responsible for the mistake.

If you find out the above info, I will help point you in the right direction on how to resolve this issue.

Since horizontally is the usual standard....

Deviant again!

FYI - my Bedrosian tile - a V4 variation - looks like this in customer installation photos:

This is how Lowe's lists my tile on their website:

I think that this Bedrosian tile (Marin) may have been more of what .you wanted (thought you were going to receive):

They have it in the lighter Aloe Green color (shown in above photo) or the Ocean Teal:

FYI - it's on sale at HD (if you are able to have your surround redone):

I think it was listed as a V2 variation - same as your tiles.

Thank you to everyone for your comments. But a BIG thank you to dani_m08 taking the time to explain a novice like myself about this process and providing in depth detail. This is my first time doing this sort of thing. I did not know that tile pieces were sold by the piece at Lowe's and that is very interesting to learn but also a little concerning.

How do you find a designer specifically for renovations? I did go to a tile shop and they had a sales rep there, but they did not seem like a designer. Most of the items were out of my budget to take the process any further.

I do agree the vertical stacked pattern looks better. I would have asked for this layout instead of what they chose had I known what day they were coming/starting.

My contractor had done so well asking me about every little detail on other things, that I did not think to he would forget to ask about this one, and I do get its on me at the end of the day...but we are human and also dealing with personal matters can prevent the brain from functioning at its peak. I do not need any more comments repeating how it's my fault from anyone else on this thread; but I do appreciate the reality check.

@J C I'm sorry this happened to you, and I've been in your position! I have been misled by marketing photos not once but twice (2nd time is on me, right?) I did a whole thread on it here, hoping to save others from doing what I did. FWIW, I like your tile! (But I understand your disappointment if it's not what you wanted.)

@worthy "And what if I had wanted these tiles placed horizontally rather than vertically?" Unfortunately I'm not sure we can count on the subs or in some cases even the contractor to ask for preference. In my new kitchen I knew I wanted the backsplash tiles installed vertically. I had taped up a bunch of tiles on a piece of cardboard to make sure I liked them in different lights, so I kept that up for the tilers. I also took a tile and outlined it in Sharpie on the wall in the pattern I wanted, with a note that said "install this way please!"

I was lucky to have good tilers. Much after they were gone and I had moved in, I realized things like the fact that they centered the tile dead on behind my cooktop and between the upper cabinets. I never mentioned that, and it would be nice if that were the norm, but I don't know if it is. (Pic below with the lights off - I was eating and just took the snap.) They did ask in advance if I wanted them to cut off the pointy end of the tiles that meet the counter, to avoid lots of little cuts. That was a yes from me. (As an aside, the marketing photos for the tile below showed installs that reflect the variation of the tiles, so I knew what I was getting before I even opened a box.) Also I regularly brought the subs coffee and treats and thanked them for their work, so maybe that helped make them more open to talking to me.