For our new house master I'm using a fantastic honed marble look-alike porcelain tile, 16x16, and I'll tell you why. Last house we did an extensive master bath remodel with three different kinds of white marble. It was amazing and the complements were off the charts. I loved how it looked but I *hated* how it lived. I had water etching all over the place, even after sealing three times. Honed will help with that I think, but I believe even honed will etch. Honed also isn't as stain resistant, so you have to think about that, too. And it was indeed slick and we had to have rugs everywhere. Honed might help with that. But the tile we're using is an amazing replication of a honed marble, and I'm picky (won't even consider the marble-look solid surface counters because they're not realistic). Or you could find a granite look-alike tile. As I'm out there looking for granite for the kitchen I keep seeing all this gorgeous marble and lots of different opinions from granite suppliers and fabricators on using it in a kitchen, mostly negative. It tempts me every time. I absolutely love the stuff. And I'll never use it for a practical application again.

I have just finished my Carrera marble project, I used 6x12" and 12x12" on the floor. I also used 1x2" Carrera Basketweave as a mosaic accent on the floor and on the shower wall. We bought 200SF and shipping for under $1,800. The tile was from Venato Carrera and the Basketweave from the same company so it matched Venato Carrera only $11.95 for the Basketweave and $7.00SF for the 6x12". Here is a link that might be useful: Marble Quarry

Sure, you can replace the existing tile and do the carpeted areas if you want to deal with the mess and expense. It's not at all an undoable proposition. It's commonly done. If you want to break it up and put tile where the carpet currently is, it's better to have a coordinating color but not a "matchy" color. If you do something too close to what exists, it looks like you tried to match and missed. It also works to use decorative listellos or different sizes of the new tile to create a pattern that separates the two areas.

"...The kitchen/bath designer just spec'd it in and we had no idea of the possible consequences...." Most desingers have no clue how to set tile. How to prep for tile. What is required. I stopped listening to designers years ago. Now I work with builders and clients designers but I do not set any tile I do not want. If the designer says. I want a flush transition from the hall to the tile I act cheeky and ask how should I install that? I ask them questions like "So you don't want a crack isolation membrane and you are happy with tiling over the old plywood?" If they say yes then I ask them to bring in their tile guy and ask why am I here? People think that tile men have the clients best interest at heart when the truth is most times they are looking to only please the builder or the designer since this is the source of their income. You need to be careful here. Some of the worst mistakes I have seen have come from the designer making stupid calls and the trades just following them.