If they use bar soap at all, and if you have hard water, there is going to be a lot of white soap scum (shower gel doesn't seem to cause this) and mineral deposits on that black tile. It will require a higher level of maintenance to look good. You will need good lighting in the shower. I would suggest some kind of long narrow shelf on one side rather than a niche.

bar soap is the worse. always use a shower gel.

go w/porcelain.

do you have hard water? if so, dark grout will turn very light over time because of the minerals.

I have a black marble shower floor. the parts that get all the water have lightened. doesn't matter how much I clean.

I have the white marble floors, black shower floor, black vanity (black marble in the water closet area) and black and white cement tiles for my 'plant wall'. also did black oak trim and vanity.

do they want something darker?

do keep the room from being too dark, do black w/some white, and some wood tones to warm it up a bit

this has a black floor and wall, but the rest of it keeps it from looking like a cave

Tilebar has these larger 24x24 porcelain tiles in black with a subtle brass inlay

or go for more of a matte surface (won't show the water spots as much) w/your shower tiles.

Basalt is a good option (has to be sealed prior to install) or a porcelain look alike will work.

matte, dark gray tiles paired here w/the white on the side walls

same here except these are a larger hex

if you really want some black, try something like this. I love the large niche w/whatever cool looking quartz or terrazzo inset that is.

If you like this tile, check out Bedrosians Makoto line in the black, the Cloe tile in the black, or something similar to these tiles I found at my tile place

And, if you pair it w/something like these timeless, modern terrazzo tiles for the floor outside, it would blend in perfectly. (these are porcelain, so not as expensive. and that black on in the back would be killer in that niche above!) you could do any type of mosaic for the niches

for my niche I did this black/white chevron mosaic. the floor is 3" black marble hex.

ON another project:

I also used this porcelain herringbone tile on a shower floor w/larger charcoal tiles on the outside

The curb is a solid piece of quartz that matched.

I can show tons of tiles to use, but you need to narrow things down to what you want to see.

instead of a gray vanity (with all the black) look into a white oak or walnut, or even a white. The gray w/all the black is a little too drab and cold.

imagine how a gray vanity would look in this room and you'll understand why the wood brings in depth

Thank you! This is great advice! And great options. The dark tile I believe is porcelain and luckily no one uses bar soap! Great feedback on the grout! We are trying to keep the grout to a minimum! No vanity has been purchased yet so still some time to decide on that!

I added two more vanity pictures up above.

here are some other vanity choices, but notice what they've done around them. (even in my bathroom I did the wood ceiling w/all the black. if you click on my name you can view the entire room. master bath redo)

black vanity w/the white top, gold, black / white floor

white vanity, love the black herringbone behind

a lot of black, but all of the white balances the dark, and the wood floor gives it warmth.

if you like the charcoal gray, consider doing it as a wall color. again, a lot of black, but the white keeps it from looking like a cave.

This is a marble type of herringbone floor, and a gorgeous smokey blue wall.

don't forget some greenery if doing all black/white.

Excellent points! I’m not convinced on the black but wouldn’t mind it as an accent. I’m not sure about the whole shower though.

Well it is your bathroom they’re just using it right now. They may be in college soon and not home much sooooo….

Black tile/stone/paint looks great but I wouldn't want to have to keep it clean!

Are the kids going to clean their bathroom? Black shows every water drop.

Sandi, here's that makoto tile I mentioned earlier. it's a matte tile in a 2x10 size.

You could do a light gray grout to get this look. love the niche too. edge it out w/a black Schluter Jolly trim piece.

https://www.bedrosians.com/en/product/detail/makoto-tile/?itemNo=DECMAKKUB2510M

pair it w/the terrazzo tile like this Emser version (comes in a 24x24 size too) https://www.build.com/product/summary/1512947

comes in the Bianco color too. I love this stuff.

HDepot also carries it

https://www.homedepot.com/p/EMSER-TILE-Terazio-Nero-Matte-11-81-in-x-23-62-in-Porcelain-Floor-and-Wall-Tile-11-628-sq-ft-Case-1602417/310289580

Then I would do something like this white oak vanity. (shown here w/the white terrazzo floor tile, but against the black this would look really good.

Or this one from Tilebar, Or look at home depot IvyHill. they carry it too

other vanity options against black and white

the white is nice too w/this blck herringbone, but I'd do a suede finish black quartz countertop, or a honed black granite. w/the white, I think the black top OR a black/white marble top would look better. black frame mirrors too

What about something more timeless? Black and white but with easily changed elements once they have flown the coop.

Black and whtie

Easily changed by painting the vanity changing mirror and sconces........

black and white bath · More Info

This may not be in line with your home but the point is keep it clean and simple and use the black with smaller accents. Any color could be added in the future. A vanity can be painted , a light fixture can be easily changed as can a mirror but tile is an investment in labor and materials and you want it to be able to easily transition over the next 10, 15, 20 years.

Beth - thank you for your detailed advice. Really appreciate all the options.
Design Interior South - this is sort of where my head was going too. Something timeless with interchangeable pieces. That’s what brought me here in the first place.
Thank you everyone- much appreciated!

My kids were in middle/high school when I remodeled their bathrooms and they got no say. They knew nothing about design, keeping a cohesive style throughout the house and about resale values. They did have a say when I decorated their bedrooms.

Agree the “hard to clean” tiles in a shower need to be what you can live with when they leave and what you can clean while they’re there. Black and white is so classic, you can do so many elements in black but keep the shower area easy on yourself. Beth always has great ideas and you now have a ton of photos from several people so you can edit the ones you want to show the family. I think it’s great they even CARE about how the bathroom looks, but ultimately, it’s your house. Have fun with this family project! Let us know the final choices.

Thank you again everyone! Really appreciate the advice!

I have 2 kids still with me. I designed both baths keeping in mind what they liked. My daughters bath is light and bright and my sons is a beautiful navy (floors and side shower walls) with a beautiful white wall looking into his shower. The white really sets off the blue and brightens the bathroom. i dont know that id use black but it really could look modern, clean and beautiful. My real advice to you is make sure they keep up with the cleaning. I keep one of those dollar store dish cleaners with a scrubby sponge on one end and a fillable handle in all of my showers A squirt of dawn, a squirt of dish washer rinse aid and the rest is vinegar. Have them scrub and rinse between cleanings and it will all stay clean. there is nothing worse than scrubbing build up lol post the afters

Heck no. Did I just say that out loud?

I applaud you for letting your kids have a say in their bathroom renovatiin. You have received good advice here.

I like the ideas of black and white.

Personally I would figure out how to give them black walls. Something that can be painted over down the road.

Side story. Oldest DD bought co-op in her 20’s. A tiny studio, but certainly a big accomplishment.

Our gift to her was helping her renovate. When it came to the bathroom, she was all over place with ideas. It gave me a headache. I stepped in and picked something neutral. This was not her forever place. It just sold for quickly and I attribute that to the neutral kitchen and bath. New owners can get as wacky as they want with decor and paint.

Since this is your home, I agree with everyone who says that it should also be to your liking.

I think that’s where I’m leaning too! I may compromise and invest in the LED mirror they like but opt for a more neutral tile.

I have led mirrors in all of our baths, easy to clean, add beautiful light for makeup or whatever (you still need additional lighting overhead) and no dusting sconces or lighting fixtures over the mirror. Simplicity the key for keeping thing cleaner, easier.

You do realize that teenagers don't have fully developed brains. Never give them unlimited choices.

However, this can be an opportunity to show them how an adult brain makes good decisions. The bathroom has to fit with the overall design of the home. The expensive, hard to change features are chosen to fit within the overall design. The inexpensive, easy to change design elements are where you can experiment, do your own thing, express your personality.

Since you already opened Pandora's box and didn't limit their choices and they have picked something that is not your ideal, you can offer a compromise.

Explain how expensive tile work is. Explain that you fear you will need to do this all over again in a few years and that you don't have the money to do the work twice.

Offer to go ahead as planned, with all of their choices, but explain that this money is going to have to come out of the next few Christmas budgets, so you can reserve enough money to redo the tile in a few years. You will still buy a few Christmas gifts, but you won't be able to do anything expensive till this money is pulled together.

Give them the choice on how the dollars should be spent. Double the cost of the bathroom renovation or do it once and use the other money towards other things they may want.

How do you feel about the black tile? Does this room get much natural light? The black might soak up all the natural light. You might be able to use some of the black as perhaps a trim with the same floor tile as the majority. Do keep in mind how long the kids will be using that bathroom on a daily basis - how long will they continue to live there. Compromise might be in order.

My teenage boys also wanted a black bathroom - I really prefer light and airy. We compromised and did black hex tile floor for them and white shower tile for me (we have an old house so the black/white combo made sense) but I feel your pain!

@la_la Girl, could you share a picture of your bathroom? Sounds really nice!

It is generous of you to give your children some say in the choices. And, I love the drama of some black but usually in a contemporary setting - which my 1955 house is not.

You've rec'd lots of good advice. I'll just add that several years ago my SIL included some black in her custom kitchen which had a statement piece black sink, enameled cast iron. It was beautiful - until the first time someone had a drink of water and all was spotted again ;) She replaced the sink after a few short years.

Hi I applaud your decision to involve your children in decisions regarding their bathroom. However, there is a difference between designing and decorating their bathroom. In my opinion designing is a no, decorating is a yes. Designing involves the structural permanent aspects of the bathroom such as the fixtures and tile, a very pricy affair. Decorating involves all the decor and furniture, paint in the bathroom, a much cheaper and temporary fix. Besides those tiles will be there for a long time. When the time comes for resale it may be a negative. I know I would not want to buy a house with black bathrooms. And as you know kids change their minds frequently. Design the bath you like and let them decorate it.

for sure! Here is my boys' bath, caveat: it is TINY (old house problems...) but it's very easy to keep clean. There is a large built in cabinet to the right (behind the door) that holds all the teen face/hair/teeth products, and that helps a lot - I have to admit the black floor has really grown on me

(they haven't noticed I snuck in a ruffle on the ticking curtain lol)

ETA - we ended up with smaller shower tiles that I originally thought per our installer as the larger format can be difficult on walls that are not level/plumb

I would flip the color - do the floor in a black or charcoal color and find tile in the white with the veins in a larger 24 x 48 tile ( much less grout lines ) . Do the vanity in white and paint the walls black or put a white wainscot panel with black on top.

I just finished a black and white bathroom - maybe this will help:

Good luck

Thanks everyone! You’ve helped me come to my senses! Going to stick with the original floor tile choice and find some neutrals to accompany. Black will be in accents. Very grateful for this community!!

Sounds like they have good taste! Assuming it won’t be totally out of place with the rest of your house, could you do a bright, saturated vanity (yellow, violet violet,etc.) rather than grey to keep it modern?

We did 3 full baths last year, 2 renos and 1 addition, all with black/charcoal/white as the tile colors. All have small format black/charcoal tile for the shower pan; two of the three have similar on the floor and one has a faux cement black and ivory tile. All has held up well to a year of usage and I much prefer the (matte) dark tile floors for creating an impression of cleanliness (as opposed to white tile floors, which show everything!)

Fwiw, my tween son chose the tiles for the kids' bathroom. I was planning on blue and had to drag him with me to the tile store and he decided to blow up the plan by insisting on a large-format porcelain tile that mimics basalt or something like that. What helped immensely was a sales rep at the tile store who had great suggestions on how to incorporate his pick into a nice design. I have to admit, the end result was better than what I had been planning! So sometimes the kids are alright!

Hello @smalloldhouse_gw. Could you kindly share pics of your three bathrooms? They sound amazing!

Here is my bathroom - black hex floor and white tile and shower. (Don’t mind the dirty floor, this was before they were finished).

I like that very much! Very classic!

My suggestion is for you to select the tile that will work with the rest of your home. Then paint the bathroom walls black and use white towels, rug, and black and white artwork to coordinate with it. Then when the kids leave the nest you can repaint the bathroom whatever colors suits you and the rest of the home and not have to worry about changing the tile. Good luck!

Here are my 3 black & white bathrooms. Caveat that I'm not a great photographer and I'm realizing that bathrooms are kind of tricky to get in the shot.

smalloldhouse. nice rooms. I really like the wall color on the first bathroom. what did you use? and your use of art for some color was nicely done.

If YOU like the idea of a black bathroom, run with it. But if you're not in love with the idea, or if YOU're concerned about keeping this stark color clean, do a white or light wood bathroom ... and give the kids all black floor mats and towels. Then decorate with artwork heavy on black.

Thanks so much Beth! The color is BM Gray 2121-10. It mainly functions as a powder room so I wanted the jewel box feel.

small,,,,I have that same color on my front door! looks a lot more gray though. it's nice in the bathroom.