I have a dark kitchen floor (it's Amtico vinyl "wood" planks in Priory Oak (really gorgeous, hard to believe it's not real wood), and it does show light colored debris, there's no where for it to hide. But let me tell you, with 7 kids immaculate floors are not a priority! That being said, this is a girls bathroom and there will be a lot of dusty things flying about. Yesterday I spent about an hour on the Armstrong website's "Design a Room" program and put different floors in different bathroom settings, and you could even change the cabinet and wall colors, just to get an overall idea of the effect of various colors. I was very surprised that a lovely, subtle checkerboard light gray/medium gray floor looked absolutely blah with the colors I had picked. However, a black and white checkerboard really popped. I love the checkerboard look, wanted to put it into my kitchen but I was afraid to. I only have a sunroom left, I can checkerboard that one if I don't do the girls bathroon (so this isn't my last chance). A black floor also looked great. The Flexitec flooring is already set at an angle, but the fake grout has a beige cast to it... here is the link to the Armstrong black "stone" floor. The grout lines are thinner, so there isn't a texture to the floor. That could be a good thing? I loved the black penny tile floor, it is a stunning effect. And I bet they have to work to keep it looking so fabulous. I'm now so torn about the granite-vinyl dichotomy. I hae to keep reminding myself that real tile is more of a maintenance issue in my house due to the constant shifting of my foundation. We have wall/ceilling cracks everywhere for a few months, then they disappear, then we have a huge storm, and the cracks return. But grout damage doesn't go away and gets worse over time. I guess it's a part of living in Texas. And hello Monicakm! Thank you for all of your replies so far, they've got me thinking. I'm heading back to the flooring store this morning to pick up more samples. Have a great day! Here is a link that might be useful: Amalfi Black

I just posted a question about using shellac in a bathroom (original finish), so it will be interesting to see what advice you are given. I picked up a high solids floor finish from the local janitorial supply place today that I may try out on top of the shellac to keep the water from damaging the finish. We love the wood look but want to protect it at the same time.

I agree with a lot of the advice you've been given. Your first step is to determine your budget. The second step is to find a reliable contractor that can work within the confines of your budget. Get a bid for all labor and services to be performed, line by line, in writing. Ask for references and don't be afraid to contact them. Ask for proof of insurance and licenses. Verify that those licenses and insurance are up to date. Do yourself a favor and spend time looking at youtube videos to learn about proper waterproofing techniques. Educate yourself about building codes so you know that what is being done is correct. Check with your city or town code office to see what permits and inspections are required. Arm yourself with information so you don't end up like so many others on here with dilemmas about improper installation and waterproofing and bad tile jobs. Remember that you don't know what you don't know. I had spent a few weeks learning about kitchen design and caught my cabinet guy in a few mistakes that would have been very difficult to correct after the fact. The pretty is the easy part. It's everything that goes on underneath that determines whether the pretty will still be functioning correctly in 5 or 10 years. As to what you've chosen, I would stay away from acrylic tubs. They can be cheaply made and don't always hold up well. They also don't hold heat well so if you like to soak in a bath, acrylic won't work as well as cast iron. Based on the color of your current cast iron tub, it's been there for 40 or 50 years. There's a reason it's held up for so long. You want to replace it with something of the same quality. When you look at toilets, consider an elongated bowl, comfort height toilet. They're a lot more comfortable to use. I just installed two with an enclosed trapway and it's so much easier to keep clean. I would also stay away from anything too trendy or difficult to maintain. Porcelain is easier to maintain than marble. Larger format tiles in the tub area are easier to keep clean than smaller ones due to less grout. Even easier are solid surface walls in the tub, such as Corian. Drawers in a vanity will give you a lot more storage than doors. Good luck with your project!

As a real estate appraiser I would advise to try to keep it. It will reduce the valuation by a few percent. If I were to appraise your home, I would now have to compare and adjust it from a 3 bathroom home to a 2.5. That's anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 adjustment downwards. Understand that I don't know where you live or your real estate market. Even though there is no bedroom on the floor, it's a very usable space. At the very least, I'd put in a shower. You just never know when someone will lose their mobility. It looks like an older home. If your laundry room is in the basement, you may want to reconfigure it to bring the laundry up to the main living area. That would be an improvement in utility and the only reason why I would consider eliminating it. Hard to see everything, but you could reconfigure the doorway/entry and take over that vestibule area.