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Lovely! I like the classic white tile and porcelain and how you used furniture pieces in the bathroom. I love that the storage at the end of the tub has pull-outs that can be reached from the toilet. Your custom sink and backsplash and counter are unique and beautiful. Yours may be the first bathroom sink I have seen in which a small or medium dog could be washed! That is a good thing! I showed your pictures to my DH because I am thinking of classic tiled walls with a chair rail for when we redo our bath in a couple of years. He liked it! I was expecting him to say, "too old fashioned." He did not, he said it looked nice. From him, nice is a compliment. He even liked your rows of listello. I was just at the Tile Shop's site the other day looking at the Hampton tiles because someone was selling some on Craigslist. I am hoping to do as you did and get what I can cheaper there, and fill in the rest from the store. I can see that you worked very hard to secure all of your materials - and then cut the floor tiles to size and culled the Hampton tiles, too! You succeeded very well in getting the look you wanted while saving money along the way. Congratulations, and thank you for the pictures and great detail and supply list.

If you want a different system use a different tiler who is experienced and pre trained in the system you wish to use. You do not want your parents' bath to be his Guinea pig....Commit to either a system or a contractor but do not have a tiler learn as he goes on your parents' bathroom.

There is no absolute guarantee that a custom shower won't leak, but the best assurance is a competent installation by a reputable contractor. Then, of course, that problem is how to identify a competent, reputable contractor. For this, there is no shortcut to getting references and actually checking the contractor's prior work. You might also look at the technology the contractor uses. Years ago we, like everyone else, built custom shower pans out of concrete and butyl rubber membranes. Then, about 25 years ago Schluter came up with a better system using a patented Kerdi membrane. This is the new, better, almost idiot-proof technology. We have never had a leak through the pan or shower walls using the Schluter system. Anyone that still uses the older system is woefully out of date and greatly increasing the risk of a leak. So, find out how the contractor builds his or her showers.