Above is the area with the window I am referencing. I hit post before I was done with the photos and can only add them in comments now. Here are two of my "inpiration" photos I saved from Houzz.

Go find yourself another tile person. Ask him when he got his interior design degree.

While gray seems to be what is on trend now, I personally despise gray and think your look will be just fine. I see your look in many new build custom homes on the west coast of Florida

Wow! Nice guy. I think your tile is pretty, especially the larger tiles. I agree with cpartist, find another tile person.

Why in the world do he care if they are "stupid" or not. Is he your designer? One of my best friends does flooring & tile work for a living. He has showed me pictures of jobs that he didn't care for the look so much, but would never say anything to the customer. What an idiot. What type of tile is it? I would stay away from natural stone.

If you are selling, I agree with mark. A natural stone tile needs sealed, you cannot use harsher chemicals on it, and, with all of those grout lines, it will be that much harder to clean. I do think he is downright RUDE for calling it ugly!

Yes, It is travertine and I am sealing it. Know all about that part of it. The plan was for the lower section to be tight grout lines......that is where most of the cleaning always needs doing....the lower 4' of any shower. Btw. .....love the Kohler those cast iron shower pans that I put in. So easy to clean.

I think it looks lovely with your floor.

Looks fine to me....

To me, your tile guy got disqualified right after he said "Stupid", "ugly", and "nobody does it". He's not a designer you've asked for advice, he's not a real estate adviser, he doesn't sound like a nice person, and doesn't sound like a smart one as well.

You'll be much better off without him. He's intimidating, and intimidating people rarely do a good job..in my experience.

What's so updated about Schluter edge? It's a way to deal with the edge when you can't find the better one.

Personally, to me your inspiration pics look much neater than what he's proposing.

The colors look good too, they make sense together.

You're exactly right-the materials should go with what's already there. Not with some material X that exists in this guy's imagination.

You'll be fine.

Just don't forget to find another tile setter. Instead of this genius..

I just want to put this out there, and, please, nobody get mad at me.

No question this tile guy's social skills are deplorable. But, having said that, if your goal is to sell this house, you want it to look as new and current as possible. Normally, I would say that if it's a look you love, get it, it's your house and you'll be living in it.

It is possible that this tile guy, rude as he is, sees a lot of bathrooms and knows what's in. People hire stylists to redecorate their houses temporarily so they'll sell easily for more money. It might be worthwhile to pay a designer for an hour of his or her time to guide you.

I agree that you should not hire this tile guy ... you should not reward boorish behavior.

But there is some truth to his words. Travertine is not currently being used for bathrooms like it was in the 1990's and early 2000's. My parents just sold and bought/built homes on the west coast of FL and I got to help out with some tile selections and visited new model homes and tile stores.

Travertine is also not being used here in So. CA at the moment.

Even if there's some truth to the guy's advice, I think his use of "stupid" is even worse than "ugly," because it's about your selection ability, not the tile itself. I would not hire him because he's not a nice person. An a-hole.

Half the buyers will like something and the other half will not like it. I say go for it and install the tile. It is nice tile.

Well, it's not a bathroom in the middle of Space. It's part of the house. As such it should be considered as a part of the house. I don't know what's used in the house. I didn't see its pics. I just understood from the OP that the decisions on these materials were made based on the rest of the space.

Much better to improve a room so it would make sense with a general style and color scheme. Than to just throw together something that might be current, but will feel like a total disconnect from the rest of the home. This new-on-top-of-old look, hastily put together, rarely makes a pleasant impression.

The tile guy suggests a very modern look. Great. Is the rest of the house modern?

What does it mean even, "nobody does it'? Who are these people I should be looking up to? What if I happen not to like big tiles, for various reasons? What if there is no connection whatsoever between his suggested look-and the rest of the space?

Why should OP throw away all her materials and start from the beginning, based on a doubtful suggestion of one unpleasant person?

He might have seen a hundred bathrooms that's true. It might be also they all belonged to people that share completely different aesthetics, and totally different homes, from what the OP has.

I was shown many pics of kitchens and bathrooms, when planning our remodel. They looked modern, current, high-end. I didn't like one of them. I liked them theoretically-but not in my place, that's built in a certain style, and to do there what "everybody does" means to kill it.

How do we know that's not the case of the OP?

I might not like the finishes that were overused for a long time, and I was never a fan.

But I definitely won't like a home that doesn't have some sense of flow and continuity about it.

chromatic, since you know your place, it's style, its scheme, what was done, what was not-you'll know whether whatever this guy suggested,even pertains to you.

You shouldn't hire him anyway.

And I agree, maybe it will be worth to have a consultation of a designer, for an hour or two.

Another option-is to post here pictures of the rest of your home..

Annoying, but maybe lots of good advice will follow.

Because right now everybody shares his thoughts on one small room-this bathroom. Without seeing what actually it is surrounded with.

Are you tiling this yourself? The reason I ask is because you bought the mosaic because you thought it would be easier to tile around the window.

You will have no problem selling your place with this tile.

I've installed all kinds of crazy-looking things in silence. The only color I care about is green.

I'd worry more about the logistics of waterproofing and tiling around a window first. A whole lot more.

They guy's attitude wasn't good, but he has some points. Travertine in a wet area is an automatic turnoff and rip it out scenario to many many people. No none wants to deal with its porosity or maintenance. We rip out acres of it. Improperly built, moldy, smelly scres.

The tile is the absolute cheapest part about tiling a shower, so it is not that costly to change it.

Porcelain stone lookalike would be a much better choice. Lowes had a great one in the Roman Stone line. It comes in beige or niche and in several sizes. A field of thev12x12's with a band of the 6x6's and bullnose around the window (should be vinyl) would leave off the slightly dated contrast accent band, yet give some variance. Don't forget the Kerdi waterproofing!

We used it here on a hard wearing kitchen floor in a pinwheel pattern.

Enduring.....I know alot of about how to tile. We did a floor in the past.....never again. Very difficult to work that fast and I am not strong any longer. But I do my research and understand about the techniques used and the need for proper bullnose or edge pieces. If there were not the window involved and someone else would hang the Durock.....I might attempt it. But not this time.

April....You bring up the important point about continuity in a home. I also think it a is crucial issue to be considered when remodeling. I have a neighbor with a cottage style house not unlike mine and when you walk inside, it looks like a Manhattan Penthouse apt.....so incongruous with the style of the house. I tried to renovate this house to be true to it's style.

Live wire oak.......Of the 3 walls in the shower space, two are cinder block with the furring strips you can see attached. The other wall is metal studs. I have some waterproofing paper for that side that I showed to the tile man, he preferred I get a gallon of Redguard and I plan to! I want to do this right even though I am selling. My conscience demands it! the window is aluminum which is what is in the rest of the house. So water intrusion is not my big concern.....also a house on cement slab. I have purchased the 1/2" Durock, will get the Redguard and have the waterproofing plastic roofing type paper for the wall with the metal studs if he wishes to use it. That with the sealer I purchased and will leave for next owner should address that ......right?

As much as it pains me to show pictures of how my house looks right now as I am in the middle of packing to move, I think your point is so important that here it goes.

I see the house as sort of ranch/mediterranean/french country? See pictures attached. There's some curved walls, black iron, brick and arches. The wall finish is stucco outside. Colors definitely cream, orange tones.

I was a complete mess yesterday after he left. I was just crying and second guessing everything I knew. Just being able to run this by some objective people has meant alot to me. Thank you each and every one.

Pics will be attached below....

What cpartist said:) Good luck, and I hope you find a nice, knowledgeable and efficient person for the job soon.

Love your house! Your tile choice is perfect. I am so sorry you had to experience a bully. Please even if it delays the project find someone else who doesn't get his kicks making others feel bad.

Hi everyone....don't know if you will get the notifications any longer. But here is the final product. In case I didn't mention it before, the fixtures are all Kohler Biscuit color. How do you think I did? Will it hamper my house sale?

I think it all works together, the biscuit seems to match the mosaic tile. And hey, looks like the cat enjoys it! :)

Looks great! Good job :)

I like it, I'd buy it :)

It's beautiful, fresh, and clean. It certainly goes with the rest of the lovely house. You'll do fine.

I think it's beautiful as well and it coordinates nicely with the rest of your home's features.

It's perfect!