Bill: Thank you for the pics. They really helped us see how this may need to be done. The Schluter edge looks fine for the edges. Not quite as crazy about it for the outside corner edges (although it looks like you did a beautiful job with it). Question: for the outside edges around the recessed window, I wonder if we should just skip the tile in that recess and do a jamb and casing for the window out of some waterproof moulding, if such a thing is available. The window is fairly high and small, 48" x 12", at the back of the tub/shower enclosure. It starts about 73" above the floor, where the existing tile ends, so it won't get a lot of splashing from the shower. We were just going to continue the new replacement tile up to the ceiling and tile in the recess around the window (it is recessed about 3"). We are placing the existing old window with a new vinyl window. If we could find another way to waterproof the recess, like with a waterproof jamb and case, maybe that would work. (Does such a thing exist?) Of course that still leaves no solution for the tile niches we were planning for the walls of the surround. Maybe a complementary trim from another tile series would work for those? Thank you for your quick response. This is really aggravating. Work is starting tomorrow, when I also get on a plane for the E Coast. (I promised my wife that everything was ready to go and that she would not be left with any problems!) I like to plan these projects down to the last detail, and this was so unexpected.

WOW - that steam room is AMAZING! I think it would be very cool to have a job that you can finish and look back with such satisfaction at your artistry and skill. Can I ask your opinion about the tile layout in my shower? Above the chair rail I have planned on having 12x12 set on a diagonal. The 4x4 glass tiles would be inset at the points which meet at a line about 5 1/2 feet above the floor. I have initially laid out the pattern so each wall is symmetrical with the glass tiles centered but that makes it so the corner pieces don't line up. If I adjust the tiles so the corners line up then that offsets the inset tiles and they are no longer centered. Is there a right way to make this work and look good?

Not sure I explained myself well, based on your response. I am notsuggesting wrapping the brick wall in wood, and the wood i am suggesting would match your cabinets. I am suggesting a panel of cherry that runs in a vertical line the width of the fireplace (after covering the brick surround and one brick width wider all around that in a dark granite). The rest of the wall would remain brick. The wood panel would cover the arched niche (once you knocked off the lip). You could easily add a mantel then, perhaps in the same wood or even a rectangular box of stainless steel) on top of the wood panel. The ledge may be at eye level,but that in now way precludes you from leaning a piece of art on it. Check out how art is hung in galleries and in collections in homes, and not all of is (or can be if in a grouping)at eye level. I wish I could photoshop this to better illustrate my thoughts.

I've been going back and forth on this same topic for the white ceramic subway tile I'll be installing as a backsplash in my kitchen. I'm using a 2"x4" mosaic. The problem is they don't make matching bullnose pieces. I can get them in bigger sizes and try and cut them down with a wet saw, but they're thicker than the mosaic (1/4" vs. 5/16"). I'll have some areas where the edge of the tile is open (i.e. doesn't terminate into a wall or cabinet). For those edges, I really just want a matching 2"x4" bullnose piece with the bullnose on the short edge. In the upper corner, I want a 2"x4" bullnose piece with a bullnose on both the short and long edges. For the top row where it's open, I want 2"x4" bullnose pieces with the bullnose on the long edge. I looked at the Schluter, but I really didn't like it. I'm going for a more rustic look, and I think it has more of a modern look. The solution I finally found was a place down in Cincinnati where you send them pieces of your field tile and they make them into bullnose pieces to your specification with a kiln fired finish. That way everything matches my field tile. It's costing me about $4 per bullnose tile, but it's giving me exactly the look I want. I think they have a minimum order amount of $50.