I have a dark kitchen floor (it's Amtico vinyl "wood" planks in Priory Oak (really gorgeous, hard to believe it's not real wood), and it does show light colored debris, there's no where for it to hide. But let me tell you, with 7 kids immaculate floors are not a priority! That being said, this is a girls bathroom and there will be a lot of dusty things flying about. Yesterday I spent about an hour on the Armstrong website's "Design a Room" program and put different floors in different bathroom settings, and you could even change the cabinet and wall colors, just to get an overall idea of the effect of various colors. I was very surprised that a lovely, subtle checkerboard light gray/medium gray floor looked absolutely blah with the colors I had picked. However, a black and white checkerboard really popped. I love the checkerboard look, wanted to put it into my kitchen but I was afraid to. I only have a sunroom left, I can checkerboard that one if I don't do the girls bathroon (so this isn't my last chance). A black floor also looked great. The Flexitec flooring is already set at an angle, but the fake grout has a beige cast to it... here is the link to the Armstrong black "stone" floor. The grout lines are thinner, so there isn't a texture to the floor. That could be a good thing? I loved the black penny tile floor, it is a stunning effect. And I bet they have to work to keep it looking so fabulous. I'm now so torn about the granite-vinyl dichotomy. I hae to keep reminding myself that real tile is more of a maintenance issue in my house due to the constant shifting of my foundation. We have wall/ceilling cracks everywhere for a few months, then they disappear, then we have a huge storm, and the cracks return. But grout damage doesn't go away and gets worse over time. I guess it's a part of living in Texas. And hello Monicakm! Thank you for all of your replies so far, they've got me thinking. I'm heading back to the flooring store this morning to pick up more samples. Have a great day! Here is a link that might be useful: Amalfi Black

how about something i did not love...hardwood!! not a good idea in a bathroom (ours, like yours was a small 1/2 bath off the kitchen) - have now put down ceramic tile

We had cork floors for 18 years in kitchen, dining room, entry way and bathroom (same material/color). I loved it and it wore well. It was light colored and almost impossible to see dirt/hair on (we have a shedding dog). After awhile there were very slight raised ridges between tiles that probably was due to washing and letting water soak in. These slight ridges were probably only noticeable to me. When we remodeled, we didn't get cork because we felt like we needed a change and we couldn't find the right color of cork for our new cabinets. I would definitely get cork floors again for the areas you are considering. My preference would be for the floating installation. If you or someone decides to remove the floor, this would definitely be easier to take out. I have a friend who just installed a high end glued down cork floor. Can't remember the reason, but she also would get a floating one next time.

I don't mind the block random at all, but I think it too will be more challenging than "square tiles in square rooms." However, the edges might be forgiving enough to just be covered with baseboard, if your baseboard is thick enough. Each type of tile probably has its inherent installation challenge, and I think in that case it would be to keep the lines straight through the room because you could go off kilter a bit without noticing it as you work. Then it would be really random :-) I haven't tiled for a long time, but my recollection is that it's all about layout and measuring (well OK other than the glueing, leveling, and grouting!), and you could maybe see how the sizes of various pattern repeats compare with the size of your room. You're certainly wise to think through the installation process when you pick your tile. Challenging yourself a bit is often a good thing, but a really wrong choice could be a real nightmare, which most old houses already have in abundance! Oh, and mixing painted and stained trim? I think variety is the spice of life, so it sure wouldn't bother me. Especially if you're consistent within a room, which I'm not even always - with respect to style or colour (if I have original trim for an opening I use it, but if I don't, I use new or other salvage and it doesn't match). I think if the trim works for the room it's in, it doesn't matter if it matches the rest of the house. The only tricky question I run into is how to do the jamb when you make a colour transition. Sometimes the answer is easy, sometimes not. KarinL