I wonder if you want to consider alternate period materials - for example, wood. In our modest Victorian, the original bathroom floor is wood. It was painted when we moved in, and we sanded it to natural fir, but I am painting some very battered floors upstairs in light colours and really like the look (this one was chipped dark green though... so, not so much). So we've had a natural finish wood floor in the bathroom for nearly 20 years, with kids growing up. With no bathroom fan (lots of condensation). It looks a bit beat up - but this is mostly because we used a water-based clear finish, which obviously was a stupid idea, but no one could have told us that at the time. Well, it was also a pretty well-used floor to start with (that would be why someone painted it). So, some staining, but all of it adds to the "authenticity" and aged look. For look and feel, the floor is great. It is never really cold the way tile can be, and we like the look. Of course, our standards may be low... I'll have to look again to see if it could be photographed. But in real life, it keeps us happy. So maybe try compromising from your hex tile ideal in a slightly different direction? The other thing I would say is that if the small hex tile is that impractical, surely it would not have been the flooring of choice in Victorian times. Maybe you are overplaying the one downside you are afraid of? If you have mats, can get at all the floor with a quick dry mop, and have a bathroom fan to quickly clear condensation after a long use (I can't stand having a fan on WHILE I'm in the bathroom), maybe you are making a mountain out of a molehill. Finally, it sounds like you have made all your other design decisions and are now looking for a tile that will fit. Maybe if you start with a flooring you like and are willing to flex some of the other decisions, you could come up with a total picture that will work. (and I say that partly because I'm not a fan of subway tile :-)). But seriously, resolving these design gridlocks is often a matter of clarifying which design elements are in fact fixed, and which are variable. Often, you've fixed some in your head that are actually still variable, and flexing those opens up new options. Karin L

Can you replace with the same small ones? Or else, do what I have done, in a similar situation where small shrubs were planted to fill in space, but have now gotten bigger. I kept some of the shrubs but moved some out, so that the bigger size still sits and fits well where it is.

I think the general thing to do is to get the room furnished with the big pieces (furniture) and then whatever goes on the mantle is what you do last, a finishing touch, to accent the rest of the room. If you use a plant make sure the light is adequate to keep the plant alive and well.

That is one imposing fireplace. Have you thought of painting it? I never recommend painting things like brick or woodwork, but this looks so dominate. Unless there is other brick in the house, I don't see what the wall of brick relates to. I do see brick outside though in your second picture. When the wood grate is in pace, does it still point out onto the hearth? You could put tallish vases on each side of the hearth. I think I'd put largish pictures along the ledge for variety. There are ceiling mounted tracks that can be installed to hang pictures from. That might be something to think about. The cables are versatile, so you can stack hanging frames along one set for example.