I took Stacey's advice and ordered samples of other colors in the series. But they each have their strong dominant color. They don't blend colors much within a single tile, and yet slate has that going on all over the place. So we may just go with real slate, for the walls at least. I'm considering one of the wood-look tiles for the floors. Caught in the vortex of indecision at the moment! Thanks, Erica -- as it turns out, though, I think we're going with the tile shower floor after all, so the shower will be built with the bench. And thanks Bill - of course, the classic checkerboard! I would not have guessed there'd be that much variation in thickness within a series. (Of course, real slate has that also, so either way there will be more labor...) Am intrigued with quartz/quartzite, but that's another post....

"Matchng" is an idea to throw out of your head. "Coordinating" should be the goal. When you do a mult-white kitchen, you can use 15 different shades of white with all different undertones, and it will work. When you are doing a kitchen with only a couple of shades of white, you just have to make sure that the undertones don't clash. Matching cabinets to the backsplash either way is a bad idea as that gives you a very flat look with no change in color delineating the change in materials. If you do use the same color, the texture should change. Matte against glossy against rippled against crackled against damask, etc.

Kind of late in getting back to everyone... Jerzeygirl - thanks for the photo of your shower. Did you use white grout? I think the metal look tile would be too modern for my project. I love your marble sill. Was that a remnant? I'm looking to use something like that in my shower cubby. The Quartzite I picked out for my counter/curb is 1 1/4" which seems too thick for this purpose. Sloyder - I like your idea of a glass tile liner. Will also check out a matching marble liner option. I'm going to try and attach a picture of my accent tile. Linelle - Thanks for the pic! You are right on. The RS is very reasonable! Their rope tile is pretty but sticks out kind of far for my narrow bathroom. Your tile guy did a great job. Do you know what color/brand of grout was used? As for the quarter round, I had that one picked out and my contractor said it would look unfinished because it would be at eye level looking down at the side of it. My field tile would not stick out as far as yours. Cabot & Rowe - I will definitely check Daltile's website for other options. Joseph - your bathroom is amazing! Are those Graff faucets? I'm considering Graff Topaz wall mount for my bathroom. Also, how deep is your vanity? I'm struggling to figure out what size spout on the wall mount faucet is needed for my 11" deep Under-mount sink on an 18" deep vanity. Why is this so complicated?? This is my accent tile - Snow Stria with Glass from the Tile Shop. Border of 4 or 5 rows.

Did you read the reviews on HD's website yet? If not, start there. A quick search on Montagna tile showed 4.8 out of 5 stars on HD's website.. one had 110 reviews so that's good news. I bought porcelain tile from Lowes and haven't had any issues. I also bought glass mosaic tile from Overstock (same brand as Merola) and it turned out beautiful. With Lowes, the boxes of tile are marked with the lot # that the tiles come from, so it's important to buy the same lot #s if you need multiple boxes (some people complained about tiles varying with lots)- I don't know if HD is the same but I know with Lowes you need to check the Lot #. I put charcoal tile in my laundry room a couple years ago (looks great, held up just fine) - years later I wanted the same tile in my bathroom - the new boxes of tile were about 1/4 difference in size from the left over tile I had from the laundry room. Tile can chip, even the expensive stuff. I haven't had any issues with my chipping though. My Merola tile is different than what you're buying but mine shipped well packaged and turned out great. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase this brand again. HD is easy with returns too.... Done right, I think less premium tile can look just as nice :)