Place tile on the walls noted in red but only up to underside of window trim.

This way the walls are protected from water & there is still wall space for towels and art.

I might consider a plain glazed white tile in a 12x12 square.

I wish I could figure out exactly what style I'm going for. Something like a modern farmhouse. I like simple with bits of elegance. Not too fancy. lol. The problem is that I get so fixed on worrying about the style that I forget to pick items I like.

This is what our tub fixture is.

I have considered wainscoting. I like the look, but I didn't know if it would look overdone with the bathtub. As I said, I don't want it to be too stylized as the rest of our house is not. Since I have a stylized tub and faucet I was thinking I should keep the walls more simple.

Does that make sense?

Also, it is my husband that does not want subway tile. I make most of the decisions on design but that was his request. Mostly because almost every bathroom photo you see online these days has subway tile. I know it's popular, but it's a bit overdone these days. I do like herringbone or chevron tile, but I'm having a hard time visualizing it with hex tile. And that could be a bit more complex of a look than I want to go for, anyway.

Would recommend not tiling up the wall with the hexagon tile, i would keep it just to the floor. Hexagon tile we are seeing being used more and more in a new trend but some people i have seen are not happy with them in the long run as it is a harder style that does not transition well over the years. If you are wanting to have the tub with that faucet to be the focal point then I would keep everything else very simple. Wainscot is a good idea too. If you are wanting to protect the walls from water maybe a more simple tile in white that you could place about 2/3s up the wall, but you would want that on every wall not to only use it for one, so that it doesn't look out of place.

I wouldn't use hex tile on the walls -- too busy and will make the space feel smaller. If you don't want subway tile, consider four or six inch square tiles. Another option is beadboard. I used it on my (damaged) bathroom walls with hex tile on the floor and it works well. Good luck with your project.

If you're going for farmhouse, modern or otherwise, then a plain white tile is classic and works well with the hexagons. Just because you see something a lot in other bathrooms doesn't seem to be a very good reason not to have it in your bathroom, but I digress.

A plain white square, set in a staggered pattern would work well.

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Or a stacked pattern, but this looks more modern to me than farmhouse.

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I like the square white tile with the offset pattern. Thank you for the examples.

And just to clarify for others, we definitely do NOT plan to use hexagon tile on the walls, only on floors.

We did this in our bathroom. I am not a designer. We found it not to be an easy decision just because of all the choices. We are very happy with it!

This style of wainscot feels like a modern version of farmhouse style and could compliment your fancy faucet without taking too much attention away from it. A little softer look than tile on top of tile.

When you say you like the look of wainscotting, do you mean beadboard? If so, there are beadboard-look tiles that would give you the water resistance you want in a bathroom but will still have that farmhouse look.

Wow, koenighome! We have the same floor tile! It's nice to see other photos of it installed. Your combination looks great!

Thank you, ours is a curbless shower with dry off space so we wanted something that could get wet.

The faucet and pretty floor tiles have a timeless feel. How about a coordinating tile behind the tub, going only partway up the wall?

PS it was hard to tell from the photo whether the lines in your tile were blue or gray… My example may be glass tiles, but I would go for porcelain tiles.

We have hex tiles on floor with 5” square white tiles on walls stacked (not offset) and it looks great.

Here is gray porcelain

Thanks, nanitamalia. The photo I shared of our floor tile is another installation, not ours. I just used the image to show what it will look like. We will likely use dark grey grout.

My photo did not post above for some reason. I meant this style (flat panel) wainscot has a modern feel and a nice backdrop for your tub rather than tile.

I would not use the pennyrounds on the wall with a hexagon on the floor--too busy.

Depends on the grout.

A grout the same color as the tile would disguise the pattern somewhat. However, a small hexagon in the same room as a small circle tile is not a good look. They are too close in scale and compete with each other.

The tile is beautiful. I like that you tiled up the walls a bit. I would think about keeping the walls a little subdued to compliment the floor. You might consider wall paint a light gray color to match the grout (or just a little lighter) and white trim to match the tile. Good luck!

Love the tile

Diana Bier, I disagree. The scale of the two tile designs is quite different. The hex tiles are quite large, as hex tiles go. I also think it depends on what style period the homeowner wants to evoke. These two tiles are farmhouse with a modern edge, and the oversized hex tiles would work well with a complementary color, smaller scale wall tile. And as I said, the penny tile can be made less “busy” by the choice of grout. From a short distance, with a grout color that is close in color and value, it will read as a field of color, not as a field of dots.

C F,

You have a statement tub and faucet fixture. Note: will there be no shower?

Back on topic: Regardless of whether the rest of the house has a plain aesthetic, its OK to go big in a single room, as long as you aren't trying to recreate Versailles in the middle of a Cape Cod or a Venetian palace in an economic ranch. Depending on your region and the home type, wainscoting is a great surface treatment. It may look out of place in some regional home types like AZ, CA or Las Vegas. It will quickly humble a decorative feature without detracting or overshadowing it like I think your hexagonal floor tile would on the wall. Otherwise, there have been so many recent takes on subway tile which also could dress down the tub appropriately. The correct grout would be part of that solution.

I think what you are hoping for is a room that doesn't look overly ornate in a somewhat plain or at least unadorned home that has a bold and effective statement piece. From what I have seen, that is relatively where Farmhouse Modern is pointing, so you could finish the room with lighting that is less bold than the hex tile but also has modern lines, a toilet that has contemporary lines, and a cabinet set with Shaker doors or doors that are a bit dressier, but not more than the tub/faucet. Let the tub be the star.

nanitamalia, didn't the OP state that they are 2" hex tiles? That is quite small, and the photo of the tiles shows quite a busy pattern. Penny tiles are usually the size of a penny (!) and about 1" in diameter. Now you can do whatever you want, and suggest whatever you want, but I'm offering my opinion as a design professional, which the OP is free to accept or not.

Thank you all so much for your comments and suggestions

To address briandbec, we will not have a shower in this bathroom but a hand shower on the faucet. We do have a shower in the second bathroom so we have options.

After all of the suggestions and discussing costs, my husband we will either go with and square tile staggered with a low contrast grout or we will forgo the tile all together and stick with mildly textured walls with a high quality paint that is appro for wet areas. Our tub will not be sitting directly on the wall so there will be nowhere for water to rest against the paint.

thank you all once again!

Good luck with your project, CF, and post photos when you are finished!

I agree with your husband. I feel like classic subway is overdone. How about an elongated vertical subway. Or an elongated hexagonal subways style?

Hi flutterby5678. I was just looking at the elongated hex tiles! I like them and might use them for another bathroom. Possibly the shower walls.