$1200 worth of tile really is not that much when it is exactly what you want. But, your thing about texture suggest that this wouldn't be what you wanted to live with either.

Sorry, but for a 3 x 3 shower stall, I think $1200 is a lot and it's not in my budget. I do like the texture of the Japanese slot, I'm sorry if I was not clear that's what I am trying to replicate. The 3-D wavy tile pictured was a problem.

Actually, the approved budget for the whole project is $10,000, the tile labor is nowhere near $5000!! it is a tiny tiny bathroom. The whole entire bathroom including the shower is 32 ft.². With shipping this tile would be almost $1500. Not a huge amount. True, I'm just looking to see if there's a cheaper option someone knows of that might be in a similar style.

As a matter of fact, I've never heard of Ottimo ceramics, and I googled it and found this gorgeous Millerighe tile that is half the price of the ribbon slat tile. So that was very helpful!

Thanks, but you don't have enough information to comment on my job. The bathroom is tiny, there are a lot of things already in place. Some of the work we are doing ourselves such as demo and paint. Electrical and plumbing are already up to code from a previous remodel and nothing is being moved from its current location. There will be purple, waterproof, wallboard, the man who's doing the work is family and he is a licensed contractor who is insured and also holds electrical and plumbing licenses. Everything will be permitted and inspected. This is not my first rodeo. We did a gorgeous remodel of the kitchen a few years ago with top-of-the-line everything, for $18,000. I came here looking for opinions on tiles. Just because I like to save money where I can does not mean I don't appreciate quality and understand what needs to happen. Thank you.

" There will be purple, waterproof, wallboard, the man who's doing the work is family and he is a licensed contractor "

Not in the shower stall I hope..................

I'm sorry that something about my post made everyone think that I'm some kind of moron. I used to be able to depend on these forums to get helpful advice, but as goes the nation, so goes houzz. The bullying spirit is here now. Have a nice day.

Here's a couple of photos of the work my contractor did for another family member. It came out beautifully, less than half the cost of the next lowest bid. But I'm sure you will find something to complain about.

Thank you to the one person who made a tile recommendation.

Elizabeth, if you haven't, maybe take a look at Mercury Mosaics tile. Sorry, I didn't do the math for your budget but I used their tile in my kitchen refresh about 7 years ago.

https://mercurymosaics.com/collections/handmade-tiles-patterns

Thank you! I will check them out!

Using that purple wallboard product is an automatic failure for the near future. No gypsum based materials are allowed anywhere in a wet area.

Have you looked at tilebar's dimensioned tile?

Make sure your contractor family member does correct waterproofing of the shower. Tile and grout are not waterproof. Whatever products they use, make sure to read the manufacturer’s instructions. And not a bad idea to buy an online version of the TCNA handbook. You’d only have to read the intro and the shower chapters.

@barncatz yes that second photo is the same tile in my photo, same price. The difficulty with it is that there's a lot of waste due to the size and pieces can't be reused. I like the first one and will check it out! Thanks.

Thanks @AJCN he is a licensed contractor and this is his business. He does great work, I am just fortunate to get a discount for being in the family! The purple wallboard is mold and mildew resistant and goes in the areas that are not wet, but wet adjacent. This is common practice, and I don't know why the poster above seems to think that purple wall board does not belong in a bathroom. It is absolutely what it is made for. Obviously cement board and waterproofing for the walls in the shower itself. I am not diving that deep down into it, I trust my contractor knows what he is doing! I am simply looking for ribbon tile/slat tile look-alikes potentially in smaller slabs.

I don't think anyone is taking you for a moron Elizabeth. But you are asking about tile for inside your shower, and said purple board- it's not that far out of the realm to think perhaps you meant purple board in the shower. You didn't seem to mention what kind of waterproofing was going to be used in the shower. So a poster hoped purple wasn't being used in the shower. They didn't suggest purple did not belong in a bathroom in general.

Sometimes people don't know about different materials and waterproofings in bathrooms and showers, and end up learning about it when simply asking about tile. Sometimes contractors are doing things wrong and people don't know what they don't know till later. So it seems pretty common to comment on waterproofing in the shower when folks are asking about shower tiles now. It's not meant to be bullying or offensive.

Thanks @beesneeds but one poster above literally said that gypsum-based wallboard should be used nowhere near any wet area, implying not in the bathroom at all. He made this comment after I had clarified it would not be in the shower stall itself, but in the adjacent area of the bathroom. I should never have made that comment, it is not relevant to my quest for tiles, and has taken over the thread!