Sorry but the overwhelming answer is tile. The only others I would consider are granite and marble - but you have hit the problem - how to "match" with countertops. That is 1 reason it isn't done very much. What are your floors going to be? The other reason is that it is expensive.

I'm too young to hate grout - I personally love the contrast and "age" it gives something.

I don't have your aversion to tile and grout, but you could look into making the walls out of Corian. They use it in some hotel showers now. It has Microban in it, so it shouldn't grow mold, only a caulk seam at the corners and a smooth surface to clean. Lots of neutral colors too.

Why not use granite?

We have large porcelain tiles with a colored grout at home and cultured marble at our condo. I don't want any material like marble or granite that has to be sealed or can be ruined by some cleaning agents. (A long time ago we had a post from someone reporting that a new maid ruined her marble shower; had to be replaced.)

marble is soft and is easily damaged, but many granites are very hard and nearly impossible to damage with ordinary care. I'd consider granite. You could use the thinner slabs which would make the cost a lot less.

Ditto Ccombs: I wish I'd had my act together sufficiently to at least research slab granite before going with tile.

It seems to be an option I'm hearing more about now that my showers are basically done.

I did talk to my granite guy once. He said it would weigh an aweful lot--we have a walkout basement. I did not have the floors over the shower reinforced. I think you can only get granite in 2 or 3cm. I have looked at something called Portofino that is made from marble or granite and some polymer or something. Looks really real. Anyone heard of it?

Maybe it depends on the granite supplier, but what I've seen used on showers looks to be no more than 1cm.

Given that 2cm of 'normal' granite in my area can be had installed for around $50/ft, I suspect 1cm might not be much more than tile...

I think nowadays >50% of granite cost is the install so even if you could find 1cm - the cost would still be $35/ft. I don't know current shower install costs for tile but that would seem like a lot considering floors should be

Hi,

Here is a cheap (maybe not so cheap ...)trick that I saw on HGTV. Use clear glass. Then paint the back side of it. It makes it look like black marble or what ever color you want. Black seems to work best I think. You have a easy to clean surface, lower cost, and lower weight.

The downside is for the shower controls you need to have holes drilled and also you need careful instalation. The glass should be the same type as shower stall glass for safety in case it shatters.

Best, Mike.

Use transparent polycarbonate instead of glass. The last time I checked, it was somewhat less expensive than safety glass.

Wow, these area all interesting ideas. I will check into all of them.
I will ask my granite supplier if they get in 1cm granite. Surely they can get it.

Another option is Silestone (manufactured quartz) - it looks like granite, antimicrobic, comes in solid slabs, and cost comparable to granite.

I've read several glowing reports about manufactured products such as Silestone, but I haven't any personal experience with it.

I think we'd all appreciate it if anyone using manufactured quartz gave us an update on cost and care.

Check this out on the kitchen forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Not my kitchen

I used white on white cultured marble, just a sheet of white 1" thick. It fit my price and was much less than doing tile as well due to the labor for tile. I wanted a neutral color that would never go out of style either. I used the same for the splash on the tub, but putting a border of tiles on top of that which will be easy to change out when it looks outdated or I tire of it.

I considered breaking it up with a border fairly high in the shower too, but decided against it as I like simple and we were doing opaque doors anyways to the shower so not really visible.

It is very easy to keep clean and unlike granite more tolerant of harsher cleaners.