As we say in my house, Gorgeoso :)

YAY!

That doesn't look like Tile Shop's carrara basketweave, which I though you were going for. Is it travertine?

OK...now I'm really confused!! The tile is "Bisbane Basketweave" and is travertine, according to The Tile Shop website. But what's weird is that I still can't figure out what the top of the vanity is. I thought it was crema marfil, but that's a marble, right? Then I thought, maybe it's travertine? But when I went back to the Lowe's website, they call it "granite."

Who knows? I'll just call it non-Formica, I guess!!

Sarah

Here is a link that might be useful: Vanity with

My bet it is one of those Chinese granites or marbles. I don't think they always match the others. I am thinking about getting that vanity. I need to get to Lowe's! The tile looks great with it.

That's very preety tile and it works so well with your other choices. What tile are you going to use in the shower area or walls with that?

Blondelle--I almost hate to say this here on gardenweb, because I can already hear the audible gasp when people hear this...but...I'm not doing any other tile. I am actually one of the .5% of the population that doesn't like tile around my bathtub--I know, weird, right? But I do have a good reason!! I find it exceedingly easy and quick to clean our Vikkrell (aka, hard plastic/acrylic in white) surround downstairs, so that's what I'm doing upstairs. Since I don't (and never will!) be able to afford a cleaning lady, THIS cleaning lady wants the quickest fix! And I'll never forget my mom scrubbing and cursing the grout near the lower part of the tub when we were growing up. I just don't want to deal with it, the install, and the cost. The plastic surround doesn't offend my sensibilities in the least (shocking, I know!). The other thing is that I don't want glass doors--I like the ability to change out the shower curtain and experiment with different colors in the bathroom...so the majority of the time, no one would see the tile anyway.

And I do like tile on the walls, but it's such a small bathroom and there's a beast of a cast-iron radiator that I am NOT asking my husband to take out again (you have to drain the whole system to take it out)--it was painted an ugly pale blue, so we had it stripped down to the metal by a friend sandblasting it and then spray painted with metallic brown paint...it looks a million times better--but there's no way to tile behind it without taking it out. That wall also has a huge window.

But if I were doing tile in the room, I would probably try to find those flat (not pillow-edged) subway tiles in white. The sink, toilet, and tub are white...plus as of now, I'm thinking just fluffy white towels to pull it all together.

Did you see the link to this bathroom?? Our setup is identical and I think they have subways on the wall.

Anyway, please don't boycott my threads because of my surround choice!!

;)
Sarah

Here is a link that might be useful: better homes and gardens--exact bathroom!

I love that tile! That would be a solution for my master bath so I really appreciate you posting this. What are you planning for a grout color? Please post pics as you get things done - I'm really looking forward to seeing.

And as for your surround choices don't even think twice about it - making choices based on what's important to you is the way to go through life (not resale and certainly not pleasing faceless internet people!)

The tile looks great! Don't apologize for your choices!! You need to choose what you like and want and what makes you happy!!

I am certain that your bathroom will be gorgeous with what you have picked, and that you will love it- it's not like the members here will be showering there!

Grout will be a dark chocolate brown...I'm going to go and purchase that and the sealer locally.
:)
Sarah

that looks outstanding - it's gonna be gorgeous!!

Very pretty! The choc brown grout will look awesome! Be sure to post pics through out, or at least when you're done!

Sarah,

That's beautiful flooring. I think I really want to try and get some type of basketweave in somewhere! But, my worry is the same as yours for the tub surround. I think that there's an awful lot of grout on the floor- wonder how that is to clean, and does it wear off- and would there be an issue with dark brown grout powder tracking onto floors elsewhere in the house? (I've never had any kind of tile on a floor, so I have no experience!)

We are building a house and I chose not to tile around my bathtubs too for the exact same reason. I hate cleaning tile grout. There are only two places with tile. One is around the master tub which will not get as much use as the other tubs. We got a Kohler one piece tub/surround for the other baths. I believe it was called Terracina. I am unable to get away from a tile shower since it is odd shaped. I am planning big tiles on the walls to reduce the number of grout lines. I love the basketweave BTW! Maybe I could work it into the master bath.

Oh, I don't think the grout wears off. We had 60-year-old porcelain tile in a small (but ugly!) pattern in both baths, and it didn't "wear off." Hoping that the dark brown grout will (A) look good with the dark brown vanity and bring out the pattern in the basketweave and (B) hide the dirt that a busy family inevitably makes.

Pretty sure this is not the type of floor you want if scratches/possible discoloration/patina would bother you. But we're a patina kind of family in a VERY patina-d house!!!
:)
Sarah

I think GW is about following your own drumbeat, not the herd, so kudos for you on the bath surround choice! I think gw can have a herd feeling because many people do influence each other, and there is a lot of flattering imitation too (mrslimestone, for example), but there are also great threads about people doin' their own thing their own way. I'm glad yours is one of them. Just watch out--the imitators might not be far behind :-)

Oh, the imitators don't bother me--I know full well that some of my choices are not mainstream, so I doubt the Vikkrell surround will catch on ;) But I copied so many aspects of so many different kitchens over on the kitchen forum--my computer's Kitchen Inspiration folder is gigantic!! This site is all about pay-it-forward! I loved being able to pick and choose little aspects of so many different kitchens/bathrooms...to me it is fun!! My sister-in-law and my mom and in the process of remodeling their kitchens and they do not seem to be enjoying it AT ALL. They just want it done and over with. I think I am one of a small percentage of people that actually ENJOY the whole process of it.

And, don't get me wrong, I am the world's BIGGEST gardenweb fan--I don't know how any layperson gets through a major home remodel without this forum. And 90% of the people that I tell about this look at me like I have three heads or way too much time on my hands. My husband being one of them!! He appreciates the lower price items I find and some cool solutions to problems in our old house--but I would fall over if I ever caught him searching for something on GW! Just wouldn't happen!

My ONLY complaint about gardenweb is that many people on here have MUCH larger budgets than I could ever imagine, so it's hard to see their BEAUTIFUL final products and not want the same thing. A LaCanche range in my kitchen??? To die for--and it would have looked fabulous!! But just buying that range would have been more than ALL of my appliances combined!! So I'm the cheapo-repro girl!!

:)
Sarah

I guess I missed it...where did you get that tile from? I LOVE it!

It's called "Bisbane Basketweave" from The Tile Shop. Jay from the Rochester store got it down to $12.99/sf, but I needed it shipped, so it worked out to be about $14/sf. You can get it from their website too.

A little note...I did get one box that was pretty badly damaged (the freight guy put the bundle of five tile boxes on it's side, rather than flat). Didn't notice it until my husband brought the last box in later that day. Probably seven or eight of the rectangular tiles were loose off the mesh. I'm hoping that when you set it, they can just be hand-placed.

Again, check your boxes...thoroughly before the freight guy leaves!!! I did take photos of the mangled box and sent them to The Tile Shop's GM, as per a conversation with the salesman from The Tile Shop. And I did go through ALL fifty square feet of tile. I found three of the rectangular tiles broken. I guess I could make a big stink about it, but I only need 43sf and I have 50, so I think there's enough overage to pick and choose some of the pieces.

:)
Sarah

Here is a link that might be useful: Bisbane Basketweave

Sarah,

Glad to see you are happy with the Bisbane! We love as well. As for the condition of the couple of boxes, we were dissapointed to see the condition they arrived to you in, as they left here looking great! We've forwarded your pictures to the trucking company to hopefully improve their end of the transaction in the future. If we can help you out with any projects in the future please let us know.

I agree with you about how this site adds so much to the design process. I disagree with your friends thinking you have too much time on your hands. GW has saved me time: time in meetings back and forth with the designer, time driving to showrooms and stores looking around. And especially, time doing the whole project over again in ten years bc I need to redecorate bc I wasn't thrilled with the first time around. I am doing our kitchen and baths once and for all time. I sincerely hope to be six feet under the next time they get done.

The money thing doesn't bother me all that much. I think it's because I've seen really creative, expressive stuff done on moderate/low budgets. Also I subscribed to New England Home magazine, and it was fun to see the high-end design. It seemed the wealthier the clients were, the less they had to prove, and the more off-the-beaten path and self-expressive their houses were. Off the beaten path and self-expressive can be done on any budget. I almost posted here, but it was too long, so I'm adding a separate post about a bathroom I did for $750.

Love your posts, hope you stick around even after your projects are done.

Re: Dark grout
we have dark brickred-brown tile with dark red-brown grout on our kitchen floor and it was one fo the best decisions we made in the kitchen - down 5 years and beautiful, easy to keep clean and a joy. It does show crumbs, that's how you know when to sweep, but sweeps up beautifully.

So pretty, really, so v. pretty! I'm noodling around for tile ideas and am delighted I opened your thread. That dark brown (vanity stain, accent tile) is lovely with the deep buttermilk of your counter and main tile. What a soothing space!

I am so happy that people are using The Tile Shop in Rochester. They have amazing tile and are so knowledgeable about design and process. Our kitchen looks absolutely amazing. I am going to try and post a picture of it. Sean, the manager is great to work with- everyone I know is happy with their results and thank me for suggesting the store:)