I don't care for the way they stack at the tub (last photo); what size wall tiles are you using? That may also work in making your choice.

@Skippack Tile & Stone - tub surround tiles will be classic running bond subway in off-white. Not tub/shower walls will not have tile.

I'm hoping that the grout lines disappear, and, as much as possible, the floor will just look like a solid piece, but I don't know how realistic/subtle those lines will be once installed.

I usually like a stacked patteren but I aslo like 12 x24 for the floors and the shower walls to keep things simple and fewer grout lines everywhere.As for direction I would need to see a to scale plan to figure out how best to lay the tile to keep as many full tiles as possible and avoid slivers of tile . What is the marble piece? Waht are you using for the subfloor for the tile

@Patricia Colwell Consulting - Thank you. I'll work on, and post, a to-scale plan. The marble piece is the door threshold, which will be cut down and placed in the door threshold. PS: I've been around these forums long enough to know that you prefer stacked 12x24 on both floors and walls. :-)

@Patricia Colwell Consulting Here's the layout. Note that the vanity wall will be about 62", and the tub/toilet wall about 70". The tub bumps out about 8".

They should run long side to long wall. Meaning, they should run parallel to your longest bath wall. And unless you're going for a super-sleek, modern look, I'd do an offset pattern, not straight set.

@Sabrina Alfin Interiors - thank you. I am not going for super-sleek modern. More transitional, with a few elements on either end of the spectrum. Of course, if I go with offset, that begs the question of *which* offset pattern...

And longside to longside meaning parallel to longest wall, so, perpendicular to bedroom floor, right?

Why didn't they deal with the subfloor before building the walls and putting the tub in? It's going to be a lot more difficult now.

I'm confused about the shower. Your plan says bath/shower, but you said above that it's not a tub/shower and walls will not have tile. But right before that you said that the tub surround is subway tile.

@catbuilder - I don't know anything about subfloor vs. walls...

If I said it was not a tub/shower combo, it was a typo. It *is* a tub/shower combo. The tub surround is tile. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Oh, I see, this wasn't clear: "Not tub/shower walls will not have tile."

What I meant to convey was: "bathroom walls that are not part of the tub/shower combo surround will have paint rather than tile." Words can be slippery.

Oh, I see. Got it now.

You've got what appears to be finished wood flooring that has been cut out in some sections and replaced with plywood. You can't tile directly on top of what you have. What is beneath the wood planks, if anything? It's possible that there is not a subfloor underneath those planks because sometimes old houses put hardwood flooring directly on the joists.

Agree with Sabrina, offset is the way to go.

@catbuilder - correct. There is no subfloor. The wood planks (200 year old original pine flooring) is directly over joists. I know that tile person is putting something (maybe several somethings?) on top of planks in order to tile. Here's a photo that might help demonstrate my flooring.

@Skippack Tile & Stone - in my looking around Online, I see three patterns for 1/3 offset: stepped, random and one that kind of zigzags back and forth. Do you have thoughts on which would work best for me?

The bath is not huge, the zig zag pattern will work well in the space. The Stepped is my least favorite.

I hate the look of 1/3 offset, it just looks so wrong to me! If you have good quality tile and a good tile setter, going with 1/2 offset should not be a problem. If you don't have one of these, then I would do stacked.

@Skippack Tile & Stone - (et al)

When I said Zigzag, the below is what I meant. You too? Thank you! Does this pattern have a commonly accepted name?

Do you think the tile should go perpendicular to my bedroom flooring & vanity, horizontal with the tub/long side of the bathroom?

Follow the tile manufacturer's specs to be safe; if you don't and things go wrong it will be finger pointing from everyone.

@chispa - I hear you on not liking 1/3. That said, the manufacturer does not recommend 50% and it voids all warranties...

Here is the tile in offset, going each direction:

Parallel with planking:

(against vanity)

Opposite of planking:

(against vanity)

Hard to tell, but I would go with whatever direction gives you the biggest pieces when it’s cut.

I have 1/3 offset and I like it. It really isn’t noticeable when the grout is matched closely to the tile, anyway.

Thanks, @eld6161. There'll be significant cutting any way we cut it. I *think* I'm leaning toward parallel with the floor boards - I like that the long end of the tile would line up with the vanity, and that most of the cuts would be short-end cuts rather than long-end tile cuts, if that makes sense.. So far, just about every decision I've made beforehand has required some modification when the time came, so I shouldn't get too attached to any decision...

Yes, 1/3 offset is critical for a stable floor. My kitchen floor is 12 x 24 gray, offset by 1/3rds, and looks great. N

I prefer crosswise to the planking, even though it looks better the other way next to the tub. But I figure that area will not be as prominent as the doorway. How you do the 1/3 offset is purely a personal choice. I, for one, hate the zig zag way because my eye jumps back and forth trying to make sense of the "pattern". It just looks totally wrong to me. Others don't like the stepping pattern, but to me it looks so much better.

Thanks, everyone!

Here's another factor I didn't mention... my contractor told me that my wall was really out of plumb... If he were to straighten up the walls, I'd lose 4" in width on the toilet back wall. I made a choice - maybe the wrong one - that I'd take unevenly cut floor tile over losing 4" in a narrow space. So, if the tiles go longways, opposite the floor planks, the "off" cuts would be the long part of the tiles, and probably significantly more obvious than if the short end of tiles are cut... That may end up being my deciding factor.

Carrie, sometimes decisions are made for us. Either way, it will not be something you or anyone will focus on when using this room.

For me, unless the floor has an outrageous pattern, I would give the floor a quick glance, but then focus on the vanity, tiles, accessories and art work.

I never think of tile as having a warranty, so I use great installers that will make it work with the look I want. If you got a truly defective tile, then it doesn't matter what pattern you used.

I even had a wood look tile, in 2 different lengths, installed in a random pattern that only repeated after 8 rows. Good quality tile and a great installer, and it looks and performs just like it did when it was installed 9 years ago.

I think if you choose grout that matches the tile, the pattern won't even be noticeable. I have 6x24 tile in a 1/3 pattern and you really have to look closely to find the pattern.

@eld6161: "sometimes decisions are made for us." :-)

Oh well.

This is what I showed my contractor:

And this is what just got done by the tile installer. Contractor communicated with installer, but asked that I leave my tile example (above) on the floor to show him.

I'm going to let it go, and once it's grouted, I know that it probably won't bother me. I also realize that maybe I should have been there, at start of tiling, to make sure that tile installer understood...

Do you have an after photo?