i LOVE the tile. what size is it? if it's 4" i'd use the square white tile so the specialty tile fits in squared with the white ground tile ...maybe with a simple black rail going around the room? or is that too subway station-y?

and please tell me you will be integrating an outdoor open air shower behind the indoor shower. you have the plumbing and i will insist on using the outdoor shower when i visit. thank you.

Kate,

First, thanks for reading my diatribe!

The mosiac is 3"sq tiles, the design will be 6"x9". I did consider using a similar size field, but my tile guy says it will actually look more interesting if it is cut in to larger tiles or mosaic.

I went back and forth about a liner. I worry it will make the room look smaller.

Oh, don't get me going about an outdoor shower. This was supposed to be a half bath and outdoor shower, but somehow someone screwed it up. And on the plans i "read" the wall between the toilet area and shower stall as an exterior wall ... Now we just have the foot spray outside. I have made peace with this. The GC and architect couldnt understand why I was mad. I had a shower I could use all year!!! As if that made up for showers under the stars, or the sun's rays?

.

What about lanes that start on the floor and go up the wall?

I'm partial to this but it's probably too Deco for your house:

Thanks, Marcolo.

I love, love the first image --- the colors are great! I may borrow some of them for the no diving image.

The others i love too, always a sucker for b/w! But they may be too formal.

I wish I had some elevations of the bath, but I dont think I have enough space to evoke the feel of the lanes, and too many interruptions ... window, two doors, shower hardware ...

If I were confining you to two decisions for white tile - big tile or small tile? Glossy tile or white tile?

yeah, ditto marcolo. love that idea! and sorry, i missed the part about WHICH tile you were using. i thought it was the black, square...
for the blue mosaic i'd probably use 3x6" subways. you need to see it with your own eyes before taking anyone's advice though. go to home depot and buy some subways (they're .22 a piece!) and lay them out with the tile if you have it. if not, try printing out a true to size color copy. also get a few samples of what your tile guy recommends. personally, i'd rather have the cleaner edges of the subway than cut marks of a larger tile. jmo.

you have to promise to post a pic when you're done. i can't wait to see!

I'm in the middle of the same kind of project. Finding floor tiles is the issue however, since we're worried about people walking in with wet feet and slipping. The owner doesn't like 1x1's and glossy tiles are too slick even as 2x2's.

The unglazed mosaic sounds much better from a safety point of view! White sounds good though.

BTW, if you like the black and white, Daltile makes that floor and they have it in open stock at Home Depot. It might look formal to you, but it's a bargain! (And plenty enough grout lines for safety).

My bath is 5 x 7 (old house). It was done in 4-something square tiles when we bought the place; it didn't look good. Not enough expanse to make any interesting pattern. I used 2 x 6 subways and the proportions fit much better.

I'm confused -- I thought you were asking about white tile for the walls, the floor being cement with sand. I like subways, but not for that room. What about a 6x6 -- same size as seems to be fairly standard for pool water line tiles now. That should be a standard, fairly easy to get and inexpensive choice. I might go larger if I could find it -- I saw an 8x13 or something like that recently.

Are you talking about a standard clear glass that has a natural green tint or something more than that? Unless it is something I'm not picturing, I think I'd like the bright white -- but maybe not glossy.

I know I saw pool marker type tiles somewhere.... perhaps American Olean? My brain is fried and that is the only thing that pops into my head. My piece of chocolate cake is wearing off, so I need sleep, lol.

Marcolo - that deco shower tile is stunning! That would be perfect for our family bath with the hex tile floor I really want. That is, if we survive this reno, don't get jailed for killing anyone, and somehow cough up enough money again someday. We need a vacation or 2 before cash goes into our house again like that!

Thanks everyone!

Yes, American Olean makes depth markers. But I ordered the mosaic one you see in the post (its made up of 3" sq white and cobalt). That decision is made.

And the floor will be a sandy colored concrete, with a little sand for traction. I didnt want tile because it meets up with stone around the pool area.

My only question is field tile. It will be white, but should it be small, like a mosaic, like the inside of or coping around a pool. Or should it be large, like a cinderblock in a locker room. ANd should it be matte or glossy.

Overall style is vintage and informal.

PS Thanks Marcolo, for your vote for small!

PPs Lascatx, the glass is ordinary glass, but with a slight green hue that you might see in older glass.

Here is a link that might be useful: pool bath light - touch of blue

I love the concept and the tiles. Kudos to you for making a bold design choice!!! Please post the finished work back here so we can see it! For the field tile, I like the idea of a 3X6 subway in gloss white. The larger 'cinderblock" sizes will look more modern. I'd personally stay away from 1X1 mosaics in white as well -- also too modern. And I love the light fixture. Great choice.

And Marcolo -- you have a great eye for design too. I'm alway happy to see your posts. (and no, I'm not trying to get back in favor with you after tearing out my old kitchen!)

Thanks, Zac, for your kind post.

But now I am mad at you for tearing out your old kitchen, too.

PS Il Fanale has some very cool lights, and not bad prices.

I think mosaic 1x1 tiles for the walls, in gloss, for these reasons:
1. Gloss MIGHT be easier to keep clean, because it's so smooth, and there will be some of the outdoors getting into this space.
2. Tiny tiles evoke the "pool feel" that you want, and it makes the cute depth markers fit in better (I don't think that the large tiles combined with the depth markers make as much sense).

However, with small tiles comes more grout that must be cleaned. Are you prepared to deal with that? An idea may be to use the larger tiles that you like as the first two rows on the bottom of the wall, which would make for less grout lines. In an outdoor bathroom, with many people coming in with bare feet and possibly even dirt on their feet, I guess that perhaps some of that dirt could somehow get on the walls?? I don't know... maybe that's just silly. I just figure that if you do it that way, you get both types of tile that you like and MAYBE it might save the person (probably you) who cleans your house some time.

Thanks, Adrienne, for your input. I do not actually do not the cleaning (my favorite luxury and the last thing I'd ever give up .... not just because I don't do the work but because my house is always clean, and if it were up to me ....). Plus, I think this one will be used on the rare occasion of pool parties, but otherwise the kids would probably shower in their own baths after swimming. And the pool is indoors, although it is surrounded by glass doors and stone patios ... but given our weather here (snow today!), most of the time the doors will be closed so people wont be tracking in from outside.

I found out yesterday that my #1 tile choice has a 4-6 week lead time, so I need to go look again.

what a fun idea! Our new house has an outdoor shower at the pool and I'm trying to figure out if we can do a toilet somehow too (mostly to keep wet children from running through the house.) Our outdoor shower is just a faux rock/ concrete stall so probably in the end all the "decorating" I'll get to do is maybe a fun curtain.