I used to do tiling on the floors my dad's old house. Now that I'm disabled you can't use my arms and of the parts due to nerve damage ( I talk using voice dictation ) but I think about this tiling jobs and I just am filed with that urge to tile. I really enjoyed it and I found it very easy minus the sweat and labor but that's not the hard part. The hard part was always the patterns eg like above... . Of course I actually didn't find it hard, I just out different patterns in it I liked. So do what you like and don't worry about it. Make it fun and do while you can, because one day you will won't be able to, whether due to time, money, old age, lack of opportunity etc. ENJOY! I wish I could. HP

kgwlisa, thank you! The picture helps immensely. Do you have a program that does that for you? Is it something that can be downloaded? Anyway, I was just looking at a bunch of old threads for ideas and I realized after looking at several that have two choices: either stop the accent strip and chair rail at the right edge of the window and the right edge of the sink, or continue the wainscot height strip AND chair rail all the way around the room. Originally, I had planned to continue just the mosaic tile (no chair rail) into the shower, but because the chair rail is going to line up with the windowsill, I think it will look really dumb if I continue the colored tile but not the chair rail in the shower area. Duh. So, I need to order a bunch more chair rail or figure out a different plan for the shower area. I love the idea of doing a picture frame type thing on the big wall, though - that would be a good solution AND I wouldn't have to order any more chair rail! I agree with you about the 2" border under the chair rail rather than the 3" - actually, I would even consider doing 4", but I think you're right that 3" will just look like I replaced a row of subways. I am definitely interested in using a single row above the cove base to accent it. I had also considered running a single row at the same height as the bathtub edge, and continuing that all the way around the room, but I wasn't sure how it would look to have a row of tile running under all of my faucets and handles. Anyway, THANK YOU for your suggestions and please let me know how you make your tile drawings - I need that tool!!!!

I think a transition of some sort between different materials usually results in a better looking wall than no transition, much of that depends on how similar or dissimilar the adjacent materials will be. A small pencil or some other liner can help the eye and the brain more easily move across the wall, and it often sets accentuates the components of the wall instead of having them muddle one another. While there are things I like and prefer, we don't always see things the same. Glass next to glass might transition just fine, glass next to ceramic might look better with a liner. Color transitions can be a different animal, to me "it depends" on the materials and the colors. Transition pieces can also help when adjacent materials are of a different thickness. They can also help when they are different sizes or set in different patterns. It really is in the eye of the beholder. But what I've found is that as in your case, if "it doesn't look right", then the homeowner knows that something else is needed in the design, but they just don't know how to make the leap. This may sound silly, but you want transitions to look planned and not haphazard, and the material acting as the transition piece should be subservient to the other materials. Meaning it should compliment them, not dominate them. The best I can offer is to "work on it" and get something that is appealing to you. As to the ceiling, if the planned pattern seems too "matchy" or not "matchy enough" then sometimes it can help to take a different path. Herringbone for a subway, or a diagonal for a square or rectangular tiles, etc. Ambiguously, Mongo

Hi beverly27, thanks, oh I like the accenting tile on the bench and the floor, we just demo'd the shower door and realize we have two lights in the bathroom and a window which makes it very light, so now we are thinking of a darker tile as a choice, but not sure if we should put the same tile on floor as the shower. we plan on an expresso black vanity with a white sink, the bathroom is so small that the vanity can only be 24 inches in width. will post photos in a new thread as well.