We just had our bathroom tiled in the US Ceramic subway from Home Depot, I think the color is called "snow white." It's definitely off white, and how it looks with your tub will depend on your tolerance for mismatched whites. We installed an American Standard toilet and tub (Americast), and those go very well with the HD subway tile. That's partly why we chose that brand of toilet and tub, in fact. Our sink is bright white and it's fine because it's small... but I don't think I'd like the difference if the tub were that color. The white shower curtain that I brought home looked awful against the Home Depot tile. (We ended up with one that matches the wall paint instead.) Whichever one you choose, check out the in-stock trim too. Lowe's has a couple of different whites but there are different trim pieces available for them, and you don't want to be stuck having to use trim you don't like. Home Depot had limited trim pieces available for their US Ceramic snow white (the only edging was plain bullnose). I wanted a Victorian or chair rail cap and was able to find it at a local tile store that also carried US Ceramic, but I think I was lucky. I am pretty sure Home Depot also carries "ice white" tile but I can't remember if it comes in subway or only in square tile. I know they had both "ice white" and "snow white" grout, anyway. All that said, I really really like the Home Depot tile in our bathroom... it's soft and not "clinical" looking and is very pretty with our greenish-blue wall paint. But then our tub matches it, too. Good luck to you with yours! p.s. Oh yes, do remember to check out your flooring with the tile as well... we had to rethink ours when we saw it at home under the "real life" lighting. Matching whites is a bear but we got it to work out in the end.

We have hard water, so the glossy tile from our master shower has spots. I keep hoping to find time to get them off once and for all, and then wax the tiles...but it's just not a big enough issue I guess. The white grout still looks white, two years later. Putting white glossy tile in our main bath as well, and I will wax these as part of finishing the remodel. Went with white grout, but part of me wishes I had done light grey instead. I was afraid it would look too busy, but in retrospect I think it would have looked great!

Missleah, I just went through the same thing. Check the thread titled "for those of you with white cabinets and white subway tiles..." I was in despair because I held up a (very) white subway tile we had used to tile the bathrooms next to our white-until-you-see-it-against-something-really-white cabinet door sample. It looked terrible. Little did I know there were many options out there. Luckily a lot of people on this forum came to the rescue with suggestions of tile companies with different shades of white. So far, I have gotten samples of Anchor Bay and Subway Ceramics; both have off-white tiles that look great with our cabinet. I also discovered that our local tile shop carries Irongate (Meredith) tiles; they have a crackle that goes well with our cabinets and some nice decoratives for a backsplash. Samples are definitely the way to go.

The difference is usually very visible, between hand made and machine made. Maybe not if you look at tile X vs tile Y. (Even though I am usually good with seeing it) But when you have a wall tiled-it will be quite easy to see the difference. Together with that, I'd base my decision (after budget considerations, of course) on the style, yours and the house. Couple pics, here in the thread, show exactly how beautiful simple tile can be. There are homes where machine made tiles will look classic and right for the space. I think-more modern kitchens/bathrooms, East Coast, urban homes, Cape Cods, Victorians maybe..? And there will be houses that will beg you for the handmade tile. It doesn't mean you have to cave:) But styles that heavily used handmade tile for years and years-they'll benefit from handmade tile. I think: Craftsman, Spanish.. As for difficulty of installation-I have no idea. In our case, heavily depended on an installer)) Some places are picture-worthy, some ..you're, like "well okay"..some were redone(very nicely I must say)/some will need to be redone. Not everybody can do the same job. Also, some places are trickier than the others, and require more skill. Luckily the trickier tile was done by better installers. But I'm paying for everything to look good..)) The amount of money that goes to compensate for spoiled material, and to purchase a new one, is much more than I ever imagined, and frankly-it's quite maddening. Also, with handmade tile-you have to wait. Sometimes for weeks. Take it into consideration too. Daltile will always be there I suppose, if you encounter a problem..3 days, and you're getting it. Handmade-consider yourself lucky if it's 3 weeks. Lastly, I wouldn't worry what people will say in 10 years. People say so many things about so many things..their opinions about somebody else's tile should be our last concern.))) Just make sure you consider your choice, and love it enough.