I think it is avery bad idea and for floor never a mosaic IMO . I use 12 x24 porcelain tile on both bathroom floors and shower walls very often. I keeps the roomm from being too busy visually , keeps grout lines to a min so easier to keep cleand If you want a mosaic accent I like a nive vertical strip not centered and use that same mosaic for the backsplash on the vanity . I use a stacked pattern for the 12 x24 that make the install easier and aslo the fit get matching grout and do not use white .

What you're describing sounds very busy. Can you post a picture of the room and tell us more about what you mean by a tile size issue? I'm not sure what's driving the need for a whole wall of mosiac. Usually mosiac is way more expensive than regular tile, that's why it's usually only used as an accent. Accent bands as a rule are now out of fashion, that's why Patricia referred to a vertical accent.

Greenwich, CT · More Info

We have a vertical accent band of mosaic in our shower, grouted in a soft gray. I don't find it that hard to keep clean. BUT, I do think it would look very busy if the whole wall was in mosaic.

Thank you! I don't have a picture because it is a new construction and I am away from the site on summer trip with the kids. But the main problem is because we have 3 walls, with 1 niche wall in the middle. The other two walls have large format tiles (12x24 or 24x48, TBD), and I want all the seams to align across the three walls. The niche has been framed, and the framing is such that is likely to not align with the other two walls, due us thinking of having mosaic accent WALL and thus not planning the niche location to be aligned with the seams of the other two walls. I hope this make sense? The mosaic that we are thinking of using look like natural stones and it won't look busy (similar to Hallett's), but I am concerned that I might sign myself up for a lifetime of cleaning that wall, and also my kids mosaic. I am working on getting rid of the mosaic floor from my kids' baths design, and it is not that hard. The dilemma though is the master bath. What do I do with the niche that is not aligned? I will try to figure out the alignment but I suspect it is not aligned. I can post some drawing once I have that figured out,

Relocate the niche, then repair the waterproofing. Then do whatever tile you want. Simple.

You dilemma seems to be cleaning the tile. Do what you planned; you are going to clean the shower grout, regardless. Have the installer use epoxy grout.

Yes it is about cleaning the tile, so many grouts. It seems that most people put mosaics on low traffic wall like the vanity wall, for that reason. I'm tempted to either move the niche or go without a niche, so that I don't need a vanity there. Maybe not a good idea to put mosaic in high traffic floor also.

I did a whole shower in Sonoma Vihara mosaic, but it was in our guest house and the shower was rarely used. The guest house functioned more as game, music and hobby areas and guests stayed in the main house. It looked really pretty with the iridescent mosaic.

A dream bath for me would be covered in mosaic tile. I love that look. Well sealed, I don’t think it would be a problem maintaining it.

Chispa, one of the baths is in the basement next to the rec room, so it is the same use case as yours. Where do you put the mosaics, is it on the wet floor, wet walls, dry floor and dry wall? I am trying to move my mosaics in the high traffic baths to the vanity/dry walls, but thinking that maybe they can stay on the floor in this one bathroom. It does have a shower that gets used maybe once a year. I think maybe the entire floor can be in 1x1 mosaic (wet floor and shower floor). Thank you!

Hello All-

I am confused, what do you mean by mosaic?

Does mosaic mean smaller tile?

Or does mosaic here mean an artistic design?

On another thread, someone said it is a good idea to use small tiles, like penny rounds in the shower to reduce falling, especially for an older person.

IMO an accent wall in the shower of mosaic or feature tile can be quite effective. Discuss with the tile setter about what type of grout to minimize collecting water stains or mildew. A swipe with a rubber squeegee can go along way to minimize cleaning issues.

Aesthetically it can be gorgeous or hideous depending on the tile. When I was looking at bathrooms for inspiration, I saved several all mosaic bathrooms that were gorgeous but ultimately went with a 3" x 6" hand fired ceramic tile for the walls and marble basket weave tile for the floors.

I don't find cleaning it to be an issue. My bathroom is extremely well ventilated and has a Panasonic fan that runs based on ambient humidity levels so there is no issue with any kind of mold or mildew.

I did choose grout that doesn't show every bit of shmootz and so after about 3 1/2 years of use it still looks fine. Worst case scenario is that I hire a professional to clean the grout - my building does this periodically for the limestone floors in the common area and the grout and tiles look pristine after almost 25 years of installation.

Beverly showed you large shower walls with mosaic tiles. None have a niche. Keep,that in mind.
Why not use the large format tiles everywhere and the inside of the niche with mosaic? You will have less grout in the shower and a little bit of mosaic to break it up.

I didn't realize until RedRyder pointed out that none of those mosaic walls have niches. Maybe mosaic doesn't make niche tiling easier afterall? I will look into using larger format tiles i that shower. I initially wanted either 12x24 or 24x48, when I realized the niche might not align with the seams. I will check the alignment tomorrow. Another option is using medium sized format, such as 6x12.

Verbo is right. Choose the large format tiles you want. Make a tiling plan that places the niche where it needs to be for aesthetics. If that spot is not where the niche currently is, move/resize the niche.

Alternatively, you might want to rethink having a niche at all. They tend to be one of the more difficult areas of the shower to keep clean since that's where all your products live (and drip). I'm choosing to install a sleek grab bar/shelf combo in my new shower. The solid surface shelf is easily removable for cleaning and has no grout. https://www.healthcraftproducts.com/product/invisia-shampoo-shelf/

Thanks, Jennifer! I think you and Verbo are right, maybe I should either move or do away with the niche. I feel the niche makes my life too hard, it is just too many features in one shower. I deal with the same issue in another bathroom, that has a niche AND window in the wet area... Maybe we should just have a shelf everywhere. That grab bar/shelf combo is genius! I want it!