Motherof3 I am a mother of 3 too and have also used variations of that for user names, etc.! So we think alike, especially considering that you like the natural stone! There is no question that marble is higher maintenance than ceramic or other materials. I have been living with the new bathrooms for six months and this is what I can tell you. First, we are most definitely not people who are going to squeegee the shower every time we use it. But since I want the shower to remain nice, this is what I do. First, the bar soap is outlawed because you can't use cleaners that will remove the soap scum and in my view, the specially formulated cleaners (like 409 for stone) are pretty useless. Second, we put in a handshower and we do spray down the shower with it after each use. That is easy because we continue to run the rainhead and the body sprays while we run the handshower so we don't stand in there naked and freezing which would discourage compliance! The handshower is key!! Third, we have no door, so that reduces mildew issues. We do use a mild bleach solution every week, which takes care of mildew and cleans the grout. Where a bit of soapy film (DH cheats a bit on the soap rule I think) builds up around the bottom course of tile, I use a tiny bit of soft scrub very sparingly in place of the useless stone cleaners. Finally, during the past week, I have noticed a bit of rust around the drain, where the water sits a bit before the shower dries out. I used a bit of BKF on it and now, after I shower, I dry off the floor around the drain by just throwing the bath mat into the shower and leaving it there until the next shower. I am willing to do that much. With those caveats, I have to say that I am loving the bathrooms. There is nothing quite like marble. It is so soothingly spa-like. I smile every time I go in there! Hope this helps.

cotehele- That one is pretty. I have been trying to find something in a rsutic/weathered pewter finish, which has been pretty tricky, so I am starting to rethink. I definately don't want to do the ORB on the ss countertop, and I wonder what everyone would think about doing a finish to go with the mercury glass shade, which will be above the faucet. So what would look best, chrome, polished nickel, stainless, or brushed nickel?

Late to the party, but here is the downstairs bath after the floor was redone as part of the remodel last year. I was intrigued as I'm dealing with another similar sized bath and was considering large scale planks. I noticed only the one other example of very small tile. This is basketweave, mixed Carrera/Nero. I don't know if the pattern expands or shrinks the space. The width is about six feet in total, and as shown, 52 inches wide. This post was edited by gooster on Wed, Jan 1, 14 at 22:26

If you like a natural stone look without the maintenance concerns check out Daltile's Ayers Rock. The tiles are porcelain but look like slate. They come in a few different color variations. My son chose their Majestic Mound color for his recent bathroom remodel. He used 13x20 on the walls and 20x20 on the floors. He traded out a tub for a shower and opted for a cast iron shower base instead of a tile shower floor. I only have a in progress photo that doesn't show the floor but the floor look the same as the walls.