I don't think it'd be a problem at all, so long as there's some kind of delineation between the shower and the rest of the wall.

i did a similar thing in my small master - 4x4 white with dark blue glass accent tiles in my shower, 3x6 subways, again white & blue, on my tub surround & deck. i think it looks great & let me keep a look i really liked in the two areas to tie them together, but not just a repeat of the same tile.

Here is a link that might be useful: my postings - final pics are near bottom

Thank you Bill and Toadangel....loved those pictures!!! Gives me some hope. HA! Yes, there are no less then two doors in this tiny bath so there is definitely delineation. I'm even thinking of doing the door trims in tile...my latest idea.

One more question if either of you read this. Would you do subways in the shower stall and 6x6 on the vanity/toilet wall, or vice versa? I can see it going either way. Any advantage one over another?

Thanks for commenting!
pupwhipped

I'll be the voice of dissent and say I'd prefer to see one *pattern* in your small bath.

As a small bath person myself, I am trying to create a fairly seamless line with the tile to make the space seem a little bigger.

I think it could be pretty to mix the 3x6 and 6x6, though. I contemplated that as I'm doing 6x6 running bond, but they didn't have my color in the subway. [El cheapo Dal line!]

If you're at all interested in the above, maybe you have do the 6x6 to ~ 30 or 36 inches high, then have a course of 3x6, your pencil liner, and another course of 3x6 throughout the bathroom; in the shower you would just continue on up with the 6x6.

Good luck with your project!

house vixen, interesting, very interesting. I'm definitely going to give this some thought. I've now got cold feet all together. Yesterday I was set to order my very expensive listello...and chickened out. I LOVE IT, but it has the American Olean ice white color in it and I'm still fearing ice white in all the subways or 6x6's is just gonna be too stark in my bathroom. ugh. See the link below for my listello. Hubby is absolutely going to kill me if I don't get this tile situation settled. I just want to punt!

Thanks for your thoughts.
pup

Here is a link that might be useful: Listello I love

Mine will be 6 inch square cove topped with 16 rows of running bond subway, topped with 1/2" black liner and then a six inch bullnose. In the shower the six inchers will continue up in a stacked fashion. The ceiling of the shower will be a border of subway, then black 1/2" liner, with diagonal 6" in the center.

So this is all in a small bathroom and my fingers are crossed that it will look good and that we'll like all the white once its up. There was no time to start over when I was second guessing the whole plan.

Bottom line, I think (I hope!) a mix of the two tile sizes in different patterns will look nice together.

pup - i did the subways by the tub since the tub was rectangular, so they seemed to me to fit the lines that the tub was creating, then used the 4x4 in the 42" square shower, again with the matching shapes. one thing i will say about the subway - there are a lot more cuts if you line them up in a brick pattern. maybe check your measurements of each area & see how each type of tile would end up laying out.

vixen - i'm not sure we're too far off each other really - i have the same basic pattern, just in two different sizes in two different areas of the room. i personally don't like when sizes of tile change right next to each other - i like the uninterrupted flow - but the way mine are it keeps that flow, since the two sizes never touch, and still gives the pattern a bit of variety without being two different looks in the same room.

lisa

Toadangel --

Yep, I was actually coming back to say so much depends on one's room -- how small is small, where are the sightlines, do the patterns physically interact with each other? Then of course where does personal preference fit on top of those factors?

Pup, since you mentioned "tiny" and "two doors" I was thinking there might be enough going on, but now I'm kind of hoping you'll go wild in there so I can see how it turns out!

In general I tend to gravitate towards all one pattern or a top/bottom split but also in general I'm not a big pattern person in other decorating matters; I do more solids and negative space around wall items vs visually complex zones.

[My ~ 6 x 10 is a bowling alley bath; from the pocket door you see straight back to the shower and from one's perch on the pot adjoining "regular" and shower walls are about a nose length away. My sedate side is already nervous about the amount of texture and pattern that my more extroverted side has spec'd out, ha.]

Thanks everyone!!! I still don't know what the heck to do. I did, however, go ahead and order my listello pieces. And damn it, the tigers eye glass pieces are nothing like the color in my sample. I was beyond irritated but I don't have the strength to start over. Guess I'll learn to love it.

Wish I could post a pic or drawing of my bathroom, but I am clueless. I'll try to explain. When you walk through the door from the living area into the bath, on your left is the alcove that will have my shower...no tub, just shower. It is 5'5" long. On your right side will be the vanity and toilet. Then you walk on through another door that goes into a bedroom. So, the shower is on one side, vanity and toilet on the other and these two doors line up with each other on each end. I wanted to put subways on the shower and 6X6 on the wall behind vanity/toilet. OR, I could reverse that, I guess. What to do....what to do.

I wish someone had a pic of what I'm thinking of doing. Toadangel, your pics gave me a little idea, but you have a tub with your subways, and your 4x4's are on a shower wall. Thank you so much for them, though. What a nice job!

Maybe I'll post this on the decorating forum and see what ideas or pictures I might get over there.

Thank you all soooooo much for your thoughts
pup

Okay, I have a picture to share now. This is the combination I described earlier ~