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Shower tile design dilemma - please vote!

MizLizzie
7 years ago



I would welcome any advice about how to tile my shower. The two interior walls will be white subway tile at the bottom, laid in a regular brick pattern. Going up the wall, we will then have a 5" decorative mosaic border, topped with a small chair rail. Above that the subway tile will be herringboned. The question is what to do with the stub wall. The interior wall of the stub will match the main shower, although it may look a little awkward. I'm fine with that. It will hardly be seen.

The two sides of the stub wall shown in these photos are what perplex me. The tile setter wants to lay 2 rows of bull nose subway vertically, and bolt the door between them. I think he is right. Keep it simple. But the other side of the stub, the exposed side, is only 5" wide. The tile setter recommends trying to replicate the design in the main shower -- brick-pattern subway at the bottom, the mosaic trim and chair rail, and above that the herringbone. But I just don't see how it can possibly look good. There doesn't seem to be enough space to work with.

I'm going to propose two alternate plans. One is to tuck a piece of molding into that corner. In the picture, you can see that I have a strip of 1.5" chair rail propped up. This is chair rail the cabinet maker supplied to top our pony wall and we have plenty left. This would allow room for one for subway bull nose laid vertically. I'm also going to Home Depot to see if they have any 1.5" cove molding, but I doubt they do, and this will have to be done in the morning. Of course any corner trim would have to be tied into the wood baseboard molding, and the lower strip of subway on the front of the threshold. I assume this can be done somehow, probably by shorting the corner molding just above the baseboard?

The second and perhaps easier option would be to match the flat side of the stub wall where the shower door will bolt. We would have to take two pieces of bullnose and cut each down to 2 1/2 inches, or maybe a little less to allow for grout. And then lay them vertically. In this way it would (I hope) look like vertical S ubway tile turning the corner. Crazy?

Until yesterday, I was going along with the tile setter's plan but I'm getting very nervous about it. Of these three options, which would be best? I really appreciate any advice.

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