Hello---Sarah Richardson mixes ceramic and marble in her bathrooms all the time and it looks great. Here is a link to a one of Sarah's bathrooms. It's hard to tell from the picture but up to the first bullnose is ceramic; not sure if the bullnose is ceramic or marble, and then the decorative inset is marble. Counter top is marble. Check out Sarah's other bathrooms too, she always mixes marble and ceramic. Here is a link that might be useful: Martha's Bath

True that porcelain tile is a recommended bath flooring material as granite and marble can be slippery. On the walls that are not tiled you could use a light or white paint like here to add a lighter surface somewhere in the room. I searched Houzz dot comm at the Photos link for the words gray slate walls but you could try other words to look for photos that show floors. In the pic after it I like that the shower tile continues on the floor (I believe I've read that there are many porcelain tile options with a slate look). [contemporary bathroom design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) [contemporary bathroom design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) by dc metro interior designer Patrick J. Baglino, Jr. Interior Design Another example with complementary floor and wall tile. [contemporary bathroom design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) by seattle architect Jeff Luth - Soldano Luth Architects

Jan, maybe I am using the term border inaccurately? The way my walls and vanities flow, the "border" I speak of will serve as a backsplash, continue (same wall) to the tub area, freestanding, and hence the wainscot height (with wall tile under it). That area flows to the shower with 45 degree angles (3 windows), where I want to continue the "border" and tiles. The tile does NOT look like it goes with the slab in my above pics, but it does very well, as dos the hex tile. Think your underlying idea is shower and floors should match? Or maybe I AM using the term border correctly, in which case you don't like. :-) If so, trim ideas? TY!

@joseph_corlett - Before calling someone else's viewpoint "Silly" you may have wanted to validate your position. It took me less than 1 minute to do a google search and find this abstract. "Abstract This study investigated the influence of flooring on subjective discomfort and fatigue during standing and on potentially related objective measures. Participants stood for 4 h on each of 7 flooring conditions while performing computer tasks. During the 3rd and 4th h, floor type had a significant effect on a number of subjective ratings, including lower-leg and lower-back discomfort/fatigue and 2 of 4 objective variables (center of pressure weight shift and lower-extremity skin temperature). In addition, lower-leg volumetric measurements showed tendencies toward greater lower-extremity swelling on uncomfortable floors. The hard floor and 1 floor mat condition consistently had the worst discomfort/fatigue and objective ratings. Significant relationships were noted between the affected subjective ratings and objective variables. In general, floor mats characterized by increased elasticity, decreased energy absorption, and increased stiffness resulted in less discomfort and fatigue. Thus flooring properties do affect low-back and lower-leg discomfort/fatigue."