Shower Tile

I am so pleased with the fantastic job that our bathroom contractor did especially on the shower tile pattern in the walk in shower.  I knew that for the master bathroom in this home, that I wanted to do something a little bit different than we have done in previous residences and definitely very high end with the shower tile designs.  Herringbone has been so hot this year and I do not anticipate that changing any time soon, so I thought that I would use that pattern as the majority and then a simple subway tile base to cut down on costs just a little bit.  I actually heard that these subway styles are some of the best tile for shower because they are extremely versatile design-wise and ultra easy to maintain.

Both in the bathroom as well as pretty much the rest of my home I like a less is more approach, especially when it comes to shower tile in particular.  There are certainly multiple schools of thought when it comes to figuring out how you will decorate these rooms (this greatly affects your budget too, so keep that in mind).  Some people like to splurge on bathroom tiles design and use that single design element as the primary source of pattern and style in the room.  Other people (like myself) prefer to keep the tile extremely basic and neutral in order to save money and ultimately make the room far more versatile, decoratively.

I have been on the fence about this shower tile since the day we moved into this house, I just can't tell if it looks great or if it is a horrible eye sore.  From the moment we walked into this bathroom when we were touring homes, I knew that it had fantastic potential at it's foundation but that it would need some renovations.  The floor tiles design is neutral enough that you don't really notice it, and the cabinetry and tub surround feel a bit outdated but would look absolutely stunning painted a crisp white. I try to envision how the shower tile would look paired with the white cabinetry and perhaps a new coat of paint on the wall, but I am having trouble with it.  If you were me, would you keep the existing design or replace it with some sort of new shower tile ideas. 

For clients that want to retain a chic and neutral bathroom style but still want to add a little bit of pizzazz somewhere, I generally suggest that they get creative with the shower tile design.  In this way, you can keep most everything else quite monotone, but a little bit of color or pattern in a very concentrated area can instantly elevate the space without being overwhelming.  This master redo is the perfect example of how you can play around with bathroom shower tile ideas (still in a very subtle way) to give more dimension to an otherwise two-toned bathroom.  Even though there are two different tile styles in there and it is quite a dark pattern, it still doesn't feel like too much because the vanity and countertops are so neutral.

Rooms like this make me not feel as bad for spending a lot of money on shower tile because it is truly the center piece of the space (if not the entire master suite).  Our contractor told us that the shower remodel cost would definitely be the highest single item of the entire job, and to make sure that we were getting exactly what we wanted if we were going to spend that much money.  I have had these photos saved on my computer for years now but always thought that they would be way too expensive to even consider.  They are still very expensive, but if we are going to go to all the trouble of gutting the place, I really want to make sure that we at least install the bathroom shower tile designs that I really love and will continue to love for years down the road.

I never really thought much about shower tile nor how it could have an effect on the overall style of the bathroom because we always had shower curtains that basically covered up the entire thing. I didn't need to pay attention to all of the tiled showers pictures in magazines because plain old white tiling was just fine with me because nobody would ever really see it beyond my fancy fabric shower curtain.  Once we decided to install these sliding glass doors, I realize that we really needed to step it up with our bathroom shower ideas because they were on full display now -- no more hiding behind a $75 Pottery Barn shower curtain.