You could go frameless with a glass that isn't totally clear (some texture) so you don't have to be a slave to the sqeege. Honestly....how much money do you have to spend? I prefer a 3/4" thick frameless glass shower. It's rich and heavy and feels like the quality it is. But it's expensive. A glass block wall...well you get more areas for mold with that, but they're nice (and I'm not ashamed to say if necessary I use some x14) and I'll probably do that in our rental because it's far less than the frameless glass. So both are nice...but it's all about budget.

ptamom, florantha, fori, and trailrunner - thanks so muck for your feedback. Thanks holligator for the grout color feedback. I ended up trying to match the more beige tones in the tile to tone down the greens and yellows. I think it works. My one concern is that the sealer will make it darker. I don't think your grout looks lighter, just really great. muspic, I agree with you. I think once it is painted (later today) and the herbs are in place it will look fine. At least that is my hope. Thanks laurainlincoln. Staying strong here. It is a working kitchen, sayde. It's purpose is for serious cooking and not so serious enjoying of the cooking. It's about balance and I'm really trying to achieve that here. So here's the latest update....Finished tiling Sunday and grouting yesterday. Still have some touch ups and csulking to do today but he did it. When all was said and done he did say he was very pleased with the results. That's a very high accolade coming from him. Here's some pics! I love it! I love it so much I'm not even going to mind paint window trim today :) And I detest retailed trim painting because it's so time consuming. Thanks for all of your support. The end result was worth all of the angst. I'll post another pic when the herbs are in and it's what I hope it will be.

I never have to clean my shower...glass, walls, floor or chrome fixtures. I use a daily shower cleaner "Clean Shower" which prevents build-up from hard water and soap scum. I've used this stuff in showers for over a decade. My "new" shower is 1.5 years old and I only plan to scrub the grout in the floor just before I re-apply sealer in 3 years. I have porcelain tile, regular type grout, and patterned glass. This product leaves a slight film on the surface that washes away with water the next time you shower. You can see it on clear glass but not on patterned glass. So if you want crystal clear glass you need to squeegee it, but you can still spray it on your tile and floor. (not natural stone). -Babka Here is a link that might be useful: Here is how it works

Tundra Finish Works, thanks for the reply. Yes, exactly my concern - tying the pan to the room floor! One thin line of silicon sealer is all that is between me and disaster? I will have the room floor fully waterproofed and the room walls are going to be tiled to about 45" and waterproofed to some reasonable height (have not discussed it yet with Jim, the contractor). He knows that he is pitching the room floor toward the shower and has instructed me to chose a room tile no larger than 3-4" for that reason. One of the reasons I chose Transolid is this video:Transolid shower pan demo He says that they solved the problem of the transition between the floor and the pan, though he does not explain how they solved it. Now that pan is not exactly the same as the one they are selling to me, as it does not have the covered drains or the faux tile look. The video is from 2010, and I imagine they have made changes to the pans in that time. Not to mention that this was a "facilities" show and not aimed at the homeowner. But their design is otherwise similar, with their half-inch "low static barrier redirecting the water to the center drain." They do not talk about the transition to the floor in their Spec Sheet. I am using their Remodel wall system. This Spec Sheet is for the 60 x 36 size shower. For some reason, they do not have the ADA shower size Remodel walls in their web offerings, though they do sell them. I am buying a couple extra pieces of their wall material to do the ceiling, too. I spray upward and hit the ceiling sometimes. Plus the one shower I had where we did the ceiling with the same wallboard as the walls lasted FOREVER when it should never have worked at all, since the material was not approved for use in the shower (I was young and stupid and had run out of money). Shower Wall Specs Creative Tile Eastern CT, thank you so much for the Trending Accessibility link. I have started to look at this. I see the part about their wall system being made with plywood so that things can be added later. Smart. I am putting in all the bells and whistles and bars to begin with. We are tearing out and rebuilding the walls in different places, so blocking will be put in place for everything when the walls are built. I have an "L" Jaclo grab bar for one end, a hand-held shower head vertical bar that is also a grab bar, toward the opposite end, a corner shelf (HealthCraft Invisia) that is also a grab bar and a grab bar to use vertically at the entrance. I will use a free-standing stool because I already have it and it is more flexible. I do want to look at the Trending Accessibility shower pans more closely. I see that their wall systems are assembled in the same way as the Transolid. Off I go to explore their site and learn more!