I love the marble top I received and it was very similar to the one I saw in a RH store. You can also purchase samples of the counter material online ($20 I think?). I will probably be purchasing some samples now (yes, after the vanity is installed) to test out soaps and find out what will or will not etch. I think a dark gray tile on the floor and white tile on the tub surround would be absolutely lovely. Personally I would use tile colors in the "cool" family (whites, grays, etc) to be in keeping with the cool colors of the carrara top. I will definitely post pictures when I am finished. Things have been a little crazy lately and I'm at about the 90% completed mark and am struggling to find time to finish.

Just finished tiling my bathroom and I too will be installing a contemporary dark cabinet (American standard studio.. http://www.americanstandard-us.com/products/productDetail.aspx?id=1925) but instead it will a have squared sink also sitting on top of a glass counter top. I wanted to somehow tie in the color of the glass tiles and counter top and this is the combo I came up with. my wife and just about anybody who has seen the bathroom absolutely loved it. Ill try and post some pics. Trying to explain how these tiles look together just does not do them any justice glass tiles from: (have more green to them than the pic shows) http://www.glasstilestore.com/product_p/taobliss.htm subway tiles from: http://www.tileshop.com/products/detail.aspx?categoryID=6&subcategoryID=37&familyID=1277&Record_ID=8656

Hi everybody! I have been waiting all summer for it to cool off. It seems that the heat makes my dizziness and nausea worse. I have lost about 15 lbs with being too sick to eat throughout the summer. I just this week got my helper here to help me clean the garage and then I moved the vanity out there and sanded it a bit in the easy places, and got it up on a table. I got the brass floor protectors pried off the bottom of the legs and was pleased to find no holes have been drilled in them. That means that I can drill holes for the feet I bought. I have adjustable feet that will give the vanity an extra 1/2" of height, and that can be screwed up to give another 1/2" if we want. That would make the legs appear to float way too high in the air, so I don't think it will work. the extra 1/2" will have to suffice, with the ability to make the vanity level so that the sink will drain properly. I have also decided that the bail-type handles that came with it are not going to work for us. I can't see us fumbling around trying to grab the bail that has recessed back into the grooves of the handle around it, standing there with water or soap in our eyes. A knob is much easier to use. I had Hubby try using the bail and he vetoed it on the first try and said, "replace 'em!" I am using these on doors of a set of shallow cupboards that will be recessed into the closet of the the neighboring bedroom. I figured they were a sure bet for the six drawers, too. I am not going to use the center drawer anymore, what with all the plumbing going on above it, so I will just fill in those holes. I need to cut away the bottom of the drawer space, then move the drawer support piece to the left or right. It is at dead center right now, and the sink's drain will need to go there. I just have to sand down the fluted areas of the vanity table, then it will be ready to be primed and painted. I am still leaning toward painting it the violet Peace and Happiness. I have purchased more components for the plumbing. I have all of the shower controls and the rain shower head and regular shower head. Still need to get the hand-held and some safety hand-hold bars for the shower area. I still have not finalized a wall tile (looking at fake Cararra tile for the room's walls) or floor tile or the surface for the top of the vanity. We HAVE concluded, though, that we cannot get this job done until Toby, our ever-more-confused beagle/golden retriever mix, dies. He will be 16 at the end of this month. He has spinal arthritis and began vomiting every time he was given his Tramadol or his glucosamine/chondroitin pills, then quit taking them. He had to go on prednisone to control the pain. He is peeing a lot in the house, always on a rug or quilted mattress pad put down for him. The bathroom is his main place to pee. I will not have my new floor grout saturated with dog pee. I don't think the poor guy would cope well with the construction, either. He is now blind in one eye and somewhat deaf. It would be too confusing for him to do all that construction. So even though I can't get Jim over here to do the work, if I could, I would not be able to do it until Toby passes on. So, instead, we are getting new gutters and trim, and getting our four remaining windows replaced. We did the other three windows when we remodeled the kitchen and made the living room into the library/music room. I am in the process of cleaning and decluttering so the window guys can get in to measure!

I totally understand your concerns about maintaining congruity with the era of the house. My personal feeling is the the mix of old and new is what makes design interesting. I'm not a fan of walking into say an all modern room in a vintage home. It's jarring. But intentionally integrating a modern element into a more traditional space can be the spark that "makes" it. So, for your bathroom, the larger hex can be a "riff" on the classic tile - that updates it while playing homage to the house's era. At the same time, the use of a solid blue on the floor is already a more modern use of the material. So you could go with a smaller blue hex rather than the larger. I would choose your grout very carefully. I personally don't like a ton of contrast between the tile color and the grout. It just looks really busy to my eye. I also am imminently practical and would never put white grout on a floor. Something in the medium gray range would probably work best but I would have your tile installer make you up a couple sample boards once you get to that point. Smaller hex in a solid color: Grout similar to tile color: