a border tile sounds great, but I would not highlight the perimeter of the room.

Use the black in the floor, like a traditional hex with black and white in a border pattern.

Sell the rose colored fixtures. Or reuse the sink and toilet and see if you can find a rose colored pencil liner tile instead of black. If possible.

Traditionally the tile would usually stop short of the ceiling even in the shower and the border would wrap horizontally and vertically all around the perimeter. If you tile to the ceiling in the shower I would run the border vertically at the shower and die into the ceiling without a border at the ceiling.

Another more subtle option would be to run a black pencil liner on the edge of the field tile and then use a white bullnose tile next to the pencil liner to finish the perimeter.

I know some people love these old pink, mint green, and other candy-colored fixtures from the 40s and 50s, but I just think they look pretty bad. Unless you live in Palm Springs in an MCM home, just re-do the bathroom and put in white fixtures. Here are some loviely Art Deco-inspired black and white bathrooms:

Chicago Condo Remodel · More Info

Black and White Art Deco Bathroom · More Info

Black and White · More Info

The look like American Standard Rose du Barry fixtures that pre-date the 1950s era of that wall and floor tile. The shape and height of the toilet tank and the cabriole legs on the sink say c. early 1930s, I think.

Rose du Barry was introduced in 1929.

They are not junk, and there are vintage plumbing places you can find online who would be interested in having them.

These are not particularly complemented by yellow wall tile and olive green text patterned mosaic floor.

But even the sink as a standalone in an otherwise white and black bathroom would be much more interesting than the generic white with black pastiche "vintage" bathroom al a pictured. There's nothing the matter with them, in a brand new house.

Whether these are "pretty bad" or not is purely a matter of personal taste.

I don't know what your plan is exactly for the shower, you'd need to post more picture or sketch out your plan for the shower so that I can comment. However, I think a painted wood frame around the stained glass window would look better than done in tiles like it presently looks.

you need to sell those two items if you remove them, especially the sink, that can get a good dollar!

The rose sink is really great. It would perk up a boring black and white bathroom, like Sabrina Alfin posted.

Shower rings, like the one around your tub are pricey in salvage stores, too.

We, so many helpful ideas and suggestions! I’m very grateful.
@LynNielson: We do plan to do a black and white tile floor with a hex border. You’re suggesting no black tile border on the wall?

@palimpsest I have been researching, but didn’t realize the tile stopped short of the ceiling in the shower! So maybe we do that, and run the border along the top of it in the shower. Would we border all the walls? Or just stop on that second wall?

@Sabrina Alvin Interiors: those photos are lovely. The last two are definitely our style, what we’re aiming for. The corner black border is intriguing!

@palimpsest I would love to keep the pink sink! My husband, well let’s just say he’s not into it. You taught me something! The Rose Du Barry Bathroom. Fascinating.

@Sigrid, The more I think of it, I totally agree! My husband doesn’t like it, though…

@Kendrah — Palimpsest said the same thing about now going totally to the ceiling in the vintage period. I’m thankful to know that! I love the sink, too. But I’m pretty sure my husband wants something different. I did find this at a salvage shop, might look good? Also, it’s interesting to see the black border. I like the idea of a double trim…

Actually pink was considered a "male" color, because it is a stronger color and was considered to have more vitality than pale blue, which was considered a more female color and manufactured, color coded children's clothing in the early 20th century was frequently pink for boys and blue for girls. Red was considered a masculine color, and pink was like a "younger" version of red. In Catholic countries in Europe pale blue was considered a feminine color because of it's association with the color of clothing traditionally depicted on the Virgin Mary.

It wasn't until 1940 or so that the rule for gendered children's clothing became pink for girls, and blue for boys. But pink was not considered universally feminine, and pink bathrooms and pink cars had their day in the mid-century. The actually almost visceral dislike that some people have against pink seems to be a much more recent thing.

@palimpsest that’s fascinating!! It’s all made up, how we perceive everything, isn’t it! By the way, the other bathroom is blue porcelain sink & toilet…with pink tile.

I would use the other white vintage sink rather than destroying by reglazing a relatively rare Rose du Barry sink in good condition that people actually seek out for restoration projects.

Perhaps you can onsider a pivoting mirror since you sink in in front of the window with a natural fibre roman shade for the window.

I would run the border through the shower as well so that it ties the room together. The other reason you may not want to go to the ceiling is that your house may not be entirely square--our 1915 house definitely isn't, and it would become very evident if we ran tile to the ceiling.

This is what ours looks like going to about 7', though we sadly don't have tile on the walls (and apparently I have no photos after it was completely finished that show all of the border!):

These were my two inspiration bathrooms, which both have wall tile but have different approaches to tying in the border:

Helena 1 · More Info

Vintage apothecary bathroom · More Info

@artimes78– thank you! I love the border tile! And these tiles. That comment about the walls being uneven is brilliant! Our walls (and floor) definitely have shifted.

I should also add, on behalf our tilesetter (who was great), that the funky break in the border at the top corner was not his doing—we had originally intended to stop one row short of this, but it meant the pencil liner landed in the middle of the shower outlet and I didn't like the visual effect, so we asked him to add one more row. He'd already mapped out the border to end cleanly at the corner, so that last square had to be added. I really like the final height relative to the glass, the shower head, and the tile pattern, but one of these years I will get around to taking a grout pen to that little line!