I was worried about the same issues on my 5 x 8'3" bath we just redid. I opted for large floor tiles (12 x18 laid in a running bond pattern) and they look great! I also really worried about the vanity size. This is the hall bath AND teenage daughter's bath, so I knew we needed lots of storage and counter space for all her girly stuff, while keeping it neat enough for use by visitors, and not too cramped. Our solution was to repurpose an old dresser and it looks great. I think the reason it's so successful is a) the dresser/vanity is narrower than "normal" vanities; it's 20" in the center and only 18" deep on each end. b) the dresser/vanity is not sitting on the floor, it has legs, which gives a visual impression of more space since you can see more floor. This vanity is almost 36 inches wide (!!!!) and replaced a 24" vanity in a different location- yet everyone who comes in says, "Did you enlarge this space, it looks much bigger!" Here is a link that might be useful: Staceyneil's budget/DIY bath renovation

I meant running bond pattern, not brick joint. Hopefully that wasn't confusing. No one answered so maybe so!

Hi this is an old post but hopping your still round! I have a choice of 12 x12,12x18 and 18x18 tile for a small long and narrow Bath width is 37 in x 7 feet, any suggestions on a pattern? Any help appreciated thanks

We're starting our master bath renovation in July and it's time to start making some design choices. This is a TINY (6'x7') bath in a 1898 Victorian foursquare home. We are not slaves to Victorian-era décor but I do want to use materials that generally look like they belong in a house of this age. Here's the proposed layout: As you can see, there's not a lot in the way of floor space, but what there is will be tile. I plan to tile the two walls of the shower enclosure floor-to-ceiling, along with the shower side of the brick chimney stack (we may or may not tile the vanity side of the chimney). Remaining shower enclosure will be glass; shower floor will be tile. Outside of the shower, I have considered using the shower tile to tile the walls up to wainscot height, but my contractor also suggested that beadboard or another decorative wooden wainscoting might be a nice alternative to tile. I am open to this option but I want to make sure I don't have TOO many different things going on in such a small space. Style-wise, I want to keep it somewhat simple but I am sick to death of white subways. I'm fine with some white, but I want to focus on soft greys and blues/greens/aquas in this bathroom. I really love the look of encaustic tiles and while I understand that true encaustics aren't suitable for wet environments, I'd love to find a porcelain look-a-like for the room floor, something like this: For the shower floor, maybe grey pennies: And then I get stuck. Coordinating grey subways for the shower, perhaps with grey wainscoting on the walls? Or pale blue subways in the shower and white wainscoting? Something else that's NOT subways? Marble hex on shower floor and walls? The choices are overwhelming, especially since my budget range can be pretty wide since I don't really need much in terms of square footage. I haven't chosen a vanity yet but I am planning on something grey with a white/grey marble or quartz top, most likely (and will use the same material for shower curbs/door saddle). Something like this: Thank you very much in advance for your suggestions!