Hi Rachel, I ended up going with Oyster Gray. In retrospect, I would probably have gone darker so that the gray didn't blend into the tile so much (the edge of the Merola penny tile has a grayish hue). Lighter would also work for someone, but, for our project, we would prefer (at this point) to have the tile pop more. The photo shows the finished tile, but (believe it or not) we haven't painted yet (trim guy just finished on Tuesday actually) or wallpapered. We're still happy with our choice to do a full penny tile wall splash. Kathryn

Just spoke to tilers and there is cement board going down before tile. That will bring it higher so we don't have the gap problem we had last time. There is hardwood going down in the hallway, but I think it should be a pretty even transition once the cement board goes in. If its a bit higher we can add a threshold of some sort. These guys are so brilliant I keep forgetting they know what they are doing. The last guy I had doing the tiling didn't have a clue.

Thanks for your comments, all! (Pardon the lack of formatting, I've been typing this all on my phone!) ____________ Roarah: I think the marble-look hex option looks great! And the grey tile for herringbone is lovely too. I actually was set on doing a herringbone floor at first until it became more difficult to source a 3x20 or 4x24 length tile (I prefer a very long and lean look with a herringbone). Not sure if this will help you differentiate/decide between them, but the herringbone in that size feels a bit more modern to me, whereas the marble hex feels more classic/luxurious but I'm sure either choice will be beautiful on your floors! mrsshayne & grannysmith18: Thanks for sharing your experiences (I've been researching the heck out of those who've lived with penny tile floors to see if they ended up loving/hating them; interestingly, I found much more info on the black penny tile look but not a lot regarding white (except not to use white grout). Yeah, I think the amount of grout and worrying about it getting dirty is what's holding me back. Also, whether having such a large floor area of penny tile will be visually overwhelming instead of soothing and inviting. ____________ Latest Update: I actually returned the original 12x24 grey Porcelain (it was beautiful but was a bit rough in texture which I wasn't sure I wanted underfoot in the bathroom) and ended up buying a White Penny Porcelain mosaic with Mapei Flexcolor CQ Frost grout for the floors. However (>_<), I still can't help but have that nagging sense that this isn't the "right floor" yet... I realize I'm doing the penny or considering hex tiles because I feel like I owe it to the Victorian gods to be historically accurate but at the same time, if we could just have a smooth, one surface (minimal grout lines), white or light grey colored, easy to clean floor, I would. In other words, I feel like I'm trying to put in penny or smaller hex cause that's what it seems like I'm "supposed" to do, but I can tell that I don't actually love them (except for the marble hex which is out of our budget, since we have over 100 SF to tile) which is probably why I ruled them out in the first place, sigh. So I'm still in dilemma mode...but am thinking of choosing one of these really large format tiles from a local retailer (who offers bargain prices on bathroom fixtures and larger cement-look tile): https://goo.gl/photos/3wE9kcS3WPbp9sD18 Mainly, I'm reminded that my original goals for the bathroom were to make it whiter and brighter (maximize the minimal light), more spa-like, with some modern flair/finishes at a reasonable cost, though choosing the "right" tile seems like a decision that will never end until we finally get started on laying things down. Along with trying to choose a finish that a future buyer won't curse me for, the way I did when I saw the red terra cotta on the bathroom floor :P. ____________ I'll keep the thread updated with how things turn out (I really appreciate when others have done the same; it's neat to see people's considerations for why they did what they did and the incredible changes that can be made), just hope the bathroom doesn't turn out ugly (cause then I'll be less inclined to post :P!) Thanks for reading!

I would chose a cast iron base if that were an option, but the size is incorrect. I find the other options less appealing, but I think there is no reason to really research them.. Given that the person tasked with dealing with this is a tile contractor, I really doubt anything but a tile replacement is an option under the warranty. And honestly that seems fair to me. The tile contractor is going to be losing money on this. At least with tile replacement, he's getting whatever discount he can out of his suppliers and he's paying his own employees' wages to do the work. And I think like for like replacement is really all anyone can reasonably expect under a warranty. (And changing to a curbless shower and/or linear drain seems like an entirely unreasonable request. Those would require substantial changes to the shower build and would be a substantial up charge. No way do I have a basis to ask for that.) thank you!