Here's a couple of pictures, it's hard to get one good picture of the tub and the shower, so I took two. The tub used to sit in the middle of our bedroom, our GC put the new tub in the same place, but built a wall to separate it from the bedroom. The tile is gold green quartzite 16x16 with tumbled quartzite trim. All exposed tile edges are polished. The tile still needs to be sealed, the tub needs caulking, and there's going to be a little paint touch up & the frameless shower door needs to be installed, but we are almost there =)

Dear mizbe, Sorry not to have a useful suggestion for you other than to recommend classic white subway tiles. (They are trendy now; but I believe they will never truly go out of style since they are so pervasive a part of 20th-century American design history.) I can only gush: sounds like your kitchen is going to be gorgeous! Can we see pictures soon? I can't wait to see your luce di luna. And I bet many Gardenweb readers will want to know how it holds up to stains, etching, etc. compared to marble since it is frequently suggested as a substitute for marble.

Well, a decision has been reached. I went ahead and ordered the reversible rug pictured above (talked DH into it!). These rugs are called "Mad Mats" and are made from recycled soda bottles, and are a fair trade industry. I really like the fact that they're crafted from recycled goods in a responsible manner, and of course it doesn't hurt that the more I envision this particular design (the aqua side, especially) with my porch furnishings, the more I think it's perfect. Too, the rug can be here by the end of the week, and I'm not sure when I'll get around to painting one. I'm impatient. ;-) Anyway ... I'll post pics again when I get it pulled together with the rug and a couple more touches that I have in mind. The painted rug is still an option for later ... perhaps after we get some landscaping done and I feel like tackling another project, I'll give it some more consideration.

@thinkdesignlive I had no idea that the blues I'd picked out had red in them. I have been in touch with a Sherwin Williams color consultant, and will probably buy paints from her/ get her advice about actual paint colors when it comes to that. She'd also suggested figuring out the countertop first, in order to get it to work with the floor, before thinking about paint colors -- and she was the one who actually mentioned (an unspecified shade of) blue to go with the floor. The other half of my kitchen has a lot of bright colors, so that's another thing to keep in mind. I'd prefer not to have a totally solid color -- after all, butcher block would look nice (right?) and isn't solid. In terms of less busy stone, what about a Aspen White granite or a quartz with a more subtle veining pattern? We've seen Taj Mahal in both quartz and quartzite and though it would probably work very well, hadn't felt drawn to it. I also am liking some of the quartzes with subtle veining (see the top left four little squares in the first picture in the original post) -- would something like that be too busy, and/or are there granite or other natural stone options that are similar (if we decide to go the natural stone route)? I also found this suggestion on Houzz of a less-busy granite that might work with a slate floor - thoughts? -- I do have the beginnings of an idea book, here and on Pinterest -- here are a couple of links to ones I particularly like: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/307863324533778336/ I love the blue cabinets with the slate floor! Although we are probably going with a stainless farmhouse sink. Notice the white-is countertop: wonder what material that is? http://pinterest.com/pin/15621929927201978/ Interesting how they offset the look with a blue/butcher block island and white cabinets. We don't have the option of an island as contrast, so I wonder how this could be incorporated. Thanks, @thinkdesignlive and everyone else!