The first thing you might do is to browse thru the forum gallery here. It might give you some ideas or inspiration. You also might check the one at my website for aome more:

Here is a link that might be useful: My gallery's bathrooms section

I was going to say buy some bathroom design magazines and browse through photos, to get some ideas, but those will be on the luxury types, which doesn't sound like it'd be suitable for what you're doing. There are a lot of photos here in the archives, in addition to the gallery. So spend some time going through the old postings. Tour parade homes if they've got them in your area.

Here's my contribution: our guest bath, in which we kept the vanity (but painted it) and shower/tub, but changed everything else. I included a shot of the decorative tile border we did on the floor.

The only thing that really works for me is to look through magazines and on-line photos and cut or print them out and then just look at the features that I'm drawn to over and over. I begin to create a theme or a pattern, the materials I like most, etc. I realize that there are high-end things I can't have (like basketweave carrera marble floors.... ahhhh) but there are ways to approach that look (porcelain hex tile by Dal tile) that give me a similar design but without the exorbitant cost.

That's what I do anyway! I look at the tiles, the layouts and the grout colors. That's important too, because it can change the entire look of a tile installation.

I have found that some tile companies have design page on their site. Check out Crossville tile
http://www.crossvilleinc.com/gallery.cfm
also many tile stores will have boards with inlaid design pieces and let you take samples of it home

Sometime making decisions is very difficult

Here is a link that might be useful: check it out

Hey Soxgal,

Are you a Red Sox or White Sox fan? I'm from Boston so you can guess who I cheer for!

We just finished our bathroom and I had similar issues. I love the look of stone tile, but didn't love the maintenance or price. Plus, it would have been overkill in our small bathroom and we plan to sell in a few years anyway.

I ended up choosing Daltile's Brixton line in sand color. We're delighted with the result.

If you are in Boston, Daltile has a big showroom in Woburn.

Good luck - these decisions are hard!

claire

Here is a link that might be useful: Daltile Brixton

Hey Pinki-- Spamming'll get ya sent to Disneyland real quick.

you spend every waking moment looking at websites and magazines and travel to every tile and plumbing supply store within a 200 mile radius of your home. and then when the contractor demands that everything be in tomorrow for install you run around like a crazy person and pick up what is available. works every time.