Matte tile isn't exactly "easy to maintain". The texture traps dirt. I wouldn't use it in a shower.

Oh oh. Do you have personal experience with this live wire oak? Wouldn't it be similar to a honed stone?

I have matte tile in my shower and its very easy to clean. Its completely smooth, just no gloss. I attached photos of my bath. Is this what you mean by "matte". Around the sink is the same tile as the shower, just cut smaller.

Here is a link that might be useful: photos of shower with matte tile

Here's a beautiful bathroom using tile from Lowes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marble look-alike tile

Find the lightest travertine. Mix up the large and small format.

I'd suggest Emser's Classica line -- They've got lots of shapes including subways and 6x6's, plus FABULOUS trim tiles at surprisingly reasonably prices. I believe they have both matte and shiny. This is my guest bath, done in Emser Classica (all the cream tile) and Walker Zanger Mizu.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to post photos of your pretty bathrooms. You have given me ideas for my master bath, too. Sweeby, that is just what I had in mind for my guest bath -- off white subway tile. Love the herringbone! I will have to take a look at the Emser tile. Do you remember what it cost per sq foot? Thanks!

I think it was between $2.00 and $3.00 per square foot -- so really inexpensive! The trims tiles were especially inexpensive (Maybe $5 and change apiece?) and came in a huge variety.

You mentioned that you wanted a 'handmade look' and these tiles do have that quality. They're all exactly alike, but ever so slightly irregular in shape, which made setting them in a herringbone pattern *really* difficult! But my husband is a perfectionist and the results were just about perfect.

None of the tiles being shown are "matte". They are all gloss. My 1974 original master bath used a tile that was a combo of matte and gloss in the same tile. It was actually quite pretty. But it was so very very hard to keep clean. The matte texture of any hard surface has more microscopic surface area than the super flat polished gloss. It's what scatters the light rays rather than uniformly reflecting them and produces the matte effect to your eyes. It's also what hold on to dirt in all of that microscopic texture. I ended up using RainX on the shower wall tile after using bleach and a powered scrub brush for what seemed like hours, and that helped somewhat if I kept it coated. I couldn't do that with the all matte shower floor tile or it would have been a slip hazard. It became permanently stained from soap scum and shampoo etc. No matter what I used, and over the years I used everything, the dirt and the soap scum could not be gotten completely out of the deepest pores of the matte tile. Thankfully, it was in the master, so no one else saw it. It was gross!

This is why I never understand people who want porous or textured stone in a shower situation. Mate ceramic or porcelain tile isn't much better. It just never gets really clean.