Glad I found this thread. I'm having my kitchen redone almost exactly like WillTV's, though I'm eschewing the black subway tile and having all-white. Yes, it's safe, but I live in a one-bedroom apartment in NYC and don't plan on being there more than three more years, so I want to appeal to myself and as many other people as possible. I personally love the clean look. Thanks, WillTV, for posting pictures -- I'm also going to copy right off of you for your floor!

It is difficult to perceive true colors on a computer monitor - so you ill need to make the final choice. Here are some basket weave floors. There a several companies that make it and in some different color tone variations, so be sure that the wall tile and floor are working well together. You might want to get a sample of the SW Sea Salt and paint a large piece of foam board to set your samples on and look at it in different lighting. The Sea Salt can change colors in different lighting. I think you are thinking of the white ice up the walls, like a wainscot: I have mosaic tile floors, though not the basket weave as it wasn't out when I did mine, and white subway tile walls in two of my bathrooms and plan to do the same in my master someday. They remain more timeless looking than my master, done in early 2000's. I did a decorative trim in one bathroom, and a simple bullnose in the other. I wish I had not done the decorative trim piece, tough it is a bit more ornate than what you are considering.

Ultra white in appropriate finish

I am not a designer and am just a person with an opinion. I like any of the three floor patterns, but each has a different “vibe.” The stacked one is very modern. The running bond (yes, 50/50 staggered) is classic, but in a large format tile it will seem modern, too. The horizontal/vertical layout resembles a zig-zag a bit and I think it can break up the length, but at 7 ft wide and with fixtures like a vanity and tub, I wonder if the pattern will look apparent or simply random in your bathroom. You may want to get some graph paper, draw the floor of the room with the fixtures in place, then “lay out” your “tile” on the drawing’s floor to see where the individual tiles will go and if you like the pattern it makes. Try starting the layout of the tile from both ends and see if it makes a difference. Don’t bother with spacing in grout lines, just draw each individual tile. See what the floor would look like. I agree that a simple white counter will be best. Or gray. But look for solid color or minimal veins so that you do not have to compete with patterns elsewhere.