MLK, your shower is beautiful, and so is that floor outside the shower! We finalized our tile choices! I am going 50/50: First, glossy 2 x 6 tile (Heath Soft White) for the bathroom where the shower is rarely used. It gets direct sunlight from a window at the end of the tub. For the walk-in shower in the master, a matte 3 x 6 tile (Heath Muslin.) The floor of the shower will be 3x3 in Heath Muslin. (The only custom tile I'm going to need.) I'm so excited that I figured out a way to use Heath Tiles. I have it in my kitchen and it is such beautiful tile. It is particularly beautiful when the light hits it, because each tile reflects the light slightly differently. Their new line, Modern Basics, is much cheaper than their custom work, and best of all, there will be a 20% off sale over Thanksgiving-right before we were planning to do our bathroom. We are going to do unglazed white hex tiles on both floors. (I liked them so much better than the matte glazed ones, plus the square edges match the Heath tiles.) We just have to decide on 1 inch versus 2 inch, or maybe penny tiles or squares. I ordered one of each sample from Subway Ceramics to see how they compare to my local tile shop. (He only has small hex in the unglazed.) Sigh, I thought once I picked the tile that would give me enough direction that all of the other choices would be easy. We did decide on Biscuit fixtures, but which ones??? And then there's the faucets and such... LOL, my head still hurts. Here is a link that might be useful: both colors of Heath tile I'm using are here

I am SO glad...the backsplash is the one decision we didn't consult with our designer on, as we couldn't afford it until we paid off some of our other kitchen expenses. I couldn't justify taking a loan as I've never done that...everything in our kitchen we've pretty much tried to pay off right away. That's how we've always been. Thank you so much for the wonderful comments, and I will post pics once are cabinets are up so you can all admire them along with us!!! I am so relieved, was starting to worry that I made a big goof, and am excited that you are all on this ride with hubby and I. I think this will be the last of my backsplash posts...because my wonderful MATTEAnn Sacks Heath ceramic tile will be coming in the mail in a few weeks!!!

Have you considered doing a mix of the two? Here's an example from Fireclay's website and a sample installation from their SF showroom. We're doing a mix of 8" Fireclay hex tile on our bathroom floor using 65% Gypsum (matte) and 35% French Linen (glossy). We ordered extras of both colors so if desired we can adjust the use of before we install (i.e., after our installer lays out our design on the floor floor before he installs).

I chose matte for two reasons: (1) I don't like shiny/glossy tile, and (2) my decor has rustic elements, with which shiny tile doesn't belong. Point: Depends on the look you're going for and what you like.