Ok, Rufinorox. Let's see what we can come up with... - Does your contractor friend have an account with a tile warehouse/dealer or do they know a tile sub with accounts that would be willing to pass his discount on to you? Some tile companies may have warehouse/showrooms in your area (Florida Tile has one in ours). Talk with the different designers/reps in the showrooms you go to--outline what you're looking for including budget and see what they recommend. This was the formula that worked for me--I went to too many tile places to count & in the end 2 of them were instrumental in pointing me in the direction that gave me the style & price point I was looking for. When you are with the right person, you will know it--they won't try to push you toward a different style or a higher price point or seemingly insult you with the very few plain boring options they present that you've already viewed at Lowe's. -A white or beige bathroom should help make things easier. I know you're also looking for a little wow factor-i.e. the glass tile border. So in this scenario, you will likely need to decide which is more important--a higher end tile with no border or a lower end tile with the border. Those glass tile sections are expensive as are listello tiles, bullnose tiles, chair rail etc. One thing you may want to consider is splitting those borders in 1/2 lengthwise--it will make for a skinnier accent, but you'll only need 1/2 as much to complete the job. - It will likely be considerably less expensive to only tile the shower surround & floor and just sheetrock behind the toilet & sink. Now if you're going for a period look in the house and the tile behind the toilet & sink is integral to that, I understand. Otherwise, the money could definitely be used elsewhere in the remodel. If the room is 5x8, then you're talking about roughly 70 additional sq ft to tile beyond the surround & floor--that's alot. - Budget sounds good. As it's you're only bath, you are likely going to want the remodel to go as quick as possible, while still getting as much bling & bang for your buck--I would want that too! Plus anyone who comes over to visit will likely be seeing your beautiful masterpiece!What have you set in stone so far that you cannot live without? Can you post brand & model & price you were quoted? Are you dealing with Lowe's for those, an online source or a plumbing distributor company? Are those retail prices or you were given contractor prices? Make sure you're getting the contractor prices especially if you're dealing with someone local. If you're not, then usually you can get them for the contractor price online. When you mention fixtures, I'm guessing you are talking about tub, toilet, sink/vanity & maybe faucets? So that puts you down to a budget of around $2K - $4K remaining for tile? -As far as tile brand, we had the best luck with Florida Tile as far as selection & price went. We were looking at their tile before we found out about their coprorate showroom/warehouse in our area. You may want to look at Pristine, Renaissance & Las Olas from them--cost efficient with a high end look (I can post pics if you would like). The first 2 were $2.00sqft for your basic tiles in multiple sizes and the Las Olas was being discontinued and was $1.72sqft. All come in varying shades of white, grey, beige & brown which would meet your criteria. The last tile pic you posted was actually very similar if not exactly what we wanted to go with in our son's bathroom. Like you are finding, the cost can be prohibitive. We ended up doing a combination of Florida Tile's Pristine 9x18 size set in a brick pattern in alabaster on the shower surround & Las Olas 13x13 tiles on the floor in a diagonal pattern in the Sea Oats color (diagonal setting with large tiles in a small room makes the space seem larger). I think it turned out just as nice if not nicer. We opted to go without the accent tile in the boys' baths even though we had fallen in love with one similar to the one you've chosen (ours was made up of squares though). DH made a good point that no one would be checking out the boys' baths & they won't be living here forever, so why spend the extra? In your case, with just the one bathroom, I think it would be money well spent. I hope this helps!

Thank you for posting that example! I was just checking in on this thread hoping to see an example of where I might locate it on a tub/shower wall in terms of height since I will want to access it while lying down as well as while standing. Not a big deal (obviously!!!) but I want it to look right and to function right. I'm sure he is going to lose it on me. I have found all of this quite stressful at a time when work is also quite stressful. Oh well. This, along with a couple of the bathroom rated command hooks for loofahs and we should be all good for storage sice none of my bottles are more than 13 inches tall. I was not thinking quite clearly yesterday when I went to the Tile Shop. I wonder if he will also charge me $200 for tiling the little one? I hope not. He really seems lacking in creativity and a desire to do anything beyond what he "has seen" or certainly to do what I want; first on today's agenda will be me telling him that we are going to find a way to recess a medicine cabinet in a structural wall (after all it does support only the roof, not another whole story). He told me yesterday it would be impossible to do so. I really think he usually just doesn't want to do the work or put in the effort and hopes I will just take him at his word if he seems unpleasant enough to deal with. What s smart strategy! It really is not reflected in his other AL reviews but maybe they just took it as him being a seasoned authority. I probably should remind him I am an Angie's list member.

I don't understand why he can't go up to the ceiling (on the right) and then just continue the tiles out along the left side. see where I marked it in black in my earlier comment? I think what he's saying is that if he goes up a few more inches, the thickness won't be the same thickness as the border going vertical on the sides. But if he would have used bullnose edge on the shorter ends of the tile, he wouldn't have had to use that vertical looking border. you understand what I mean? I circled in black what I mean. the bullnose edge is on the shorter side of the tile. It looks like he used the bullnose on the longer side and turned it vertical. he should have just used the tiles like this. Now you can do your border w/the short end bullnose tile, and still go up to the ceiling and over to the left w/the longer bullnose tile, and everything would still match up. What may have happened is your tile doesn't have short end bullnose. maybe all they make are the end pieces. If that's the case, I would have preferred a Schluter metal edging strip. So, if you like it, then leave it. But what is going in the little space above the shower head?? As for the wainscot, they make a vinyl product that you can use. if you use a wood product, make sure it's properly primed (back too) , and painted w/special bathroom paint. Also be sure to have a good vent to remove any steam.

Robi, (I apologize ahead of time for the photo overload. grad a cup of joe and sit back awhile!) Your bathroom isn't that narrow that you need that super small sink! Keep the window! then you could do some plants above the toilet (that you'll be turning) First thing ,you should not be looking into a bathroom and staring straight at the toilet. rotate it, put shelves over it, keep the window, and bring in some plants. something like this. (this is a shallow vanity/sink-about 15") simple wood shelves for plants. run a wood shlef above the sink (and toile) for toiletries or plants, art, etc. Ask your contractor if he can do it. (the toilet) Shouldn't be too difficult to rotate it w/the back against the long wall. remove those weird shutters. do you need the privacy? if so, obscure the glass on the lower window. you see this one? just about the same width as yours. (minus the shower) window too. toilet looks much better against the other wall though. Here's another one almost the same. before and after I really like this one w/the shiplap, the window molding the vanity (do an 18" depth vanity. it should work. measure it out. do a wall mount faucet too. you'll get more sink space if you don't move toilet, do you like the beadboard wainscot and pedestal sink? nice floor tile. This is a very inexpensive redo. materials shown here are pretty cheap. You like the wainscot? Notice the window, the trim, the flooring, etc. you could do a shallower vanity. in your inspo pic you have a tile accent, but you could do a wallpaper, or even a stencil design if budget is a concern. if you like that tile accent, here's a closer look at how it's done. and this board and batten wainscot is a bit more casual than the other one How about a tile wainscot w/a bold color above? your room isn't this narrow, but just look at the design. hang two pendants (or two sconces) instead of the light bar over the mirror. If doing a simple white tile like this, go bold on the floor w/a print or design. A type of tongue and groove paneling is also an option (vertical or Horizontal). This is a custom wood vanity that's pretty easy to DIY. Top it w/a remnant piece of stone, vessel sink, AND the wall mount faucet. the advantage to this is you can make the depth of the sink custom. do a cool mirror and a sconce overhead, or on the side vertical wainscot. you could do a shiplap type plank, or a beadboard topped w/rail molding. this looks like a pennyround tile floor. you could also do a console sink, or a pedestal sink. simple mirror and sconces. or a pendant. I like this dark vertical wall treatment, the wood top vanity (more on that) sconces. do the same wood shelves over the toilet. or hang a plant in the corner. do a cool floor tile. another take on that style. do the whole room in the batten trim panels (easy) paint it all black (another reason why you keep that big window!) and bring in these other elements. if you like the plaid tile, they make them in an 8x8 size. you can find a smaller vanity. i'm digging this one doo. board and batten, porcelain brick-look tile laid in herringbone, turn your toilet, and do a similar vanity (these are easy to custom make to size) top w/remnant marble piece you could also do a little console sink like this if you think you need something shallow. If you look at 15- 18" deep floating vanities, you should be able to find something that works in there I have a bunch of ideas if you want a live edge wood vanity top. interested in seeing those? Wall mount faucet of course. so many ways to do these adhere it on a cleat screwed into the studs: make it more like a console w/a waterfall side (s) This one is actually super easy. I could make one of these. Then you could tile the entire wall Budget idea. this is a wall stencil not a wallpaper. beadboard wainscot, simple black vanity, (do custom knobs) and vessel sink w/a marble top. this is my bathroom from a house we redid and rent out. the vanity cost me $150 to make. 1950's chest I painted glossy black and added crystal knobs, topped w/a marble remnant ($50), and a marble sink I found on clearance ($30). Tiled everything myself. if you need some storage in there, see if your guy can make some shelving in between your studs. sorry, I get carried away w/pictures. so many great ideas for that bathroom. give me a budget and tile, design you like and I could put something together for you