Holligator -- I am so glad to do you any kind of favor. Your kitchen with that beautiful soapstone was one of my first inspirations for using soapstone in my kitchen -- which we love above all things (if you look at the bathroom pics below you may be able to see the soapstone I snuck in there as well). And it's funny what you said about your husband liking black. Mine does too, as long as it's not shiny (which made soapstone perfect for us). So what goes around comes around on GW! I love that. Anyway, the floor definitely doesn't show dirt (even with a muddy-footed dog running around!). That's a bit hard to see in the pics (where the flash shows up every piece of lint) but in real life they just look good. We're very pleased (we had a great tile guy who was meticulous in laying and spacing the tiles, which were on a very loose mesh backing). It took some looking to find larger format hex tile. The tile we ended up with is American Universal in a matte black, 1.5-inch size. I really like the matte look (the penny tiles on Door 16 are matte black, from Nemo Tile in NY, with black grout) and I'm glad we went with the slightly larger tiles (the other choice was one-inch tiles, which were easily found at Daltile). The American Universal tiles were shipped from California (although the box says made in Japan) and had a lead time of a week or so; my impression is that they are fairly widely available (we got them from a local tile store). These photos aren't great (and the trim on the new pocket door is still not painted!) but maybe they'll give you an idea. The first is probably the best representation of the way the floor actually looks. From August 12, 2011 I think the flash in this one is making the grout look lighter than it reads in real life and the tile shinier. From August 12, 2011 Good luck with your powder room. I look forward to seeing the finished pictures!

Bill: I do like that blue! Thanks. Perphaps I will consider it for the subway accent. Today, and each day it changes, I am leaning towards grayish hexies.

I have the Subway Ceramics Avalon / Minas with a medium gray grout. And a Shaw's white sink, if anyone is considering that, by the way. (My contractor could have ordered it directly, but at his request, I went through a tile store, and by the time everyone had put their sugar onto it, it was OBSCENELY expensive.) I'm not an installation expert, but at least with the Subway Ceramics, the installers use little plastic spacers between the tiles (I think some others have their own spacers?) when they put them up, they don't do it freehand, so how much grout you get is a function of 1) the limits set by the curvature of the tile and 2) what size spacers they use. So you might be willing to go a little darker with a smaller grout line, or with a handmade tile that refuses to go close together, you might want to stay light. The traditional color is close to concrete. But most modern people don't seem to like that, so do what pleases you!

Guest bathroom shower surround, glossy white tiles, "regular" TEC grout, 2008 I think. MB and hall bathroom tub surrounds, glossy white tiles, TEC XT grout, 2011. No issues. The XT grout doesn't require sealing, but can be, using a solvent based sealer. We have moderately hard water. We wipe down the tub surrounds with a microfiber cloth after showering (to prevent water spots on the glossy tile). I clean the bathrooms pretty much weekly. I spray the tub surrounds with 7th Generation disinfecting bathroom cleaner spray. Let sit a few minutes, and wipe dry with a microfiber cloth. Tile and grout look as they did when first installed.