Thanks, weed. I was curious because the Tropic Brown in your pic looks very similar to the granite we first picked out and ordered (forget the name but it wasn't Tropic Brown), but then they told us it was no longer available. When DH first saw it, he said, "Now THAT'S granite!" It just looked more granite-y, if that makes sense. While I love all the granites, including the swirly ones and the ones with movement, I imagine our original pick would've been a lot more impervious to absorption. But I haven't had any problem with the SC Gold and I love it too. I guess it's not a true granite, maybe a gneiss or something.

Thank you all! Because we want a curbless shower, I have decided against a pre-cast shower pan. I considered trying to do something custom (corian maybe) for the shower area, but in addition to expense, that left the bathroom floor and the need for that transition from one material to the other to be waterproof as well. Which led me back to tile. And if I'm having tile for the bathroom floor, I've got the cleaning issue anyway and I might as well go with just one material to get the continuous look and save some money. I'd be willing to re-consider though if someone has information about making a pre-cast shower pan for a curbless shower work well with a non-tile bathroom floor. I'm definitely planning on somewhat dark grout. I'm figuring a medium grey tile and matching grout are going to hide dirt the best. But I also want it to be as easy to get really clean as possible when I do clean. Thanks for the information about ceramic tile working well for tight grout lines!

Yvette Im sorry your upset, It does look lighter in todays photos to me. You have very poor photo quality and in truth you are comparing a Showroom floor with white marble or glass contrast relfecting and a complete different lighting schematic to your tub alcove. There is some solice in lighting. This is repeated on these forums time and again. Stone itself comes in dye lots and VERIES drastically. Stone wicks moisture, from thinset substrate and grout as it cures it gets darker before it lightens. Some thinsets can take 30 days to fully cure, some portland grouts do normalize over 7-10+ days. and there is a dozen things that can go wrong with hand mixed and installed grout. I cannot see close enough the details of your install but I can tell you I have had to watch sales people at tile shops like a hawk in that they are usually not a person to take advise from. Can you be 100% certain they sold you the proper color/brand or did they sell you something similar to sell you something. ? You should have more recourse if you Payed a tile professional to source and purchase the materials themselves grout included and if you have a contract and stayed hands off. One thing homeonwers dont consider when they get involved with these things is the importance of putting all the liability in the contractors hands to afford recourse. People that do the shopping finding deals choosing materials, and then hiring labor have little to no recourse so i hope thats not you.. I suggest further patience and see how it lightens, play with lighting and start to focus on other aspects of your room..

Something like Bostic Dimensions will allow the glass tile to sparkle. Many people are disappointed when grout fills in the spaces, as it blocks the light that entered from the tile edges. The tile looks duller, and less lively. This is a special order grout, so likely not available off the shelf anywhere. The talk about grout should already have been had with your installer, and he should have made several suggestions to you. If you want a special order grout, and I would, it will impact his schedule, because it isn't off the shelf. It's not inexpensive, but it's what really makes a glass install shine. Pun intended. https://www.bostik.com/us/Bostik-products/dimension-rapidcure-urethane-glass-tile-grout