Master Bathroom

A Bad Week For Progress, A Good Week For Clarity

Last Updated on November 19, 2021 by Kristi Linauer

Well, I didn’t meant to be away for most of this week. Truth be told, I was so frustrated with how the work on the bathroom was going, and I just couldn’t bring myself to come here and talk about tile again. I’m so sick of tile. I’m tired of talking about it, photographing it, blogging about it, installing it…everything. I came so close to calling a pro in to finish it up for me, but I’m really determined at this point to finish the tile myself. I don’t know why, but the more I get frustrated with it, the more determined I become.

But what happened this week is that I had a vision in my mind for how I wanted to use the glass tile in the shower, and it just didn’t work out like it looked in my mind. So I spend yesterday undoing everything I had done on Monday and Tuesday.

The last time I showed you the shower tile progress, it looked like this…

tiling the bottom of shower walls with a sloped shower floor - 7

My idea was to do one horizontal stripe of the glass tile around the whole shower. But as I explained last time, there was no way I could precisely line up a stripe of glass tiles inside the shower to perfectly match the glass tile in the wainscoting on the bathroom walls. So I decided to make them drastically and intentionally offset.

So I added a few more rows of the white tiles, and then added a row of the glass tiles outlined with the brushed brass Schluter strips…

At first, I was unsure about it, but I thought that was just because it wasn’t grouted. The appearance of tile can change pretty drastically once it’s grouted.

So after letting the mortar dry for 24+ hours, I grouted it to see if that would make a huge difference. This is how it looked right after I grouted it, so the glass tiles were still hazy.

So here’s the deal. I really did love how it looked up close. As in, when I’m standing in the shower, I loved that stripe, I loved the brushed brass accent, and I loved the shiny glass. Up close.

But when I stood back in the room and looked at it, I didn’t love it. It just didn’t seem to add anything. If I’m going to go to the trouble of doing that in the rest of the shower, it needs to add a spectacular accent, but this just didn’t.

shower wall tile progress - 2

So I spent all of yesterday removing all of the tiles down to the row below that accent stripe. And that was NOT an easy job. Let’s just say that the mortar I used is very good mortar. 😀 And once I had the tiles removed, I had to use my grinder to get all of the mortar off of the wall. And in the process, it also removed the waterproofing membrane that was on the wall. So now I need to recoat that part of the wall with the waterproofing membrane before retiling. Thank goodness I had only done one wall before realizing I didn’t really want that design on the walls!!

So after yesterday, it looks like this…

shower wall tile progress - 1

So basically, my progress for the whole week is that I finished up three rows of tiles and added seven new rows of tiles on one wall of the shower. I also grouted those tiles because I was tired of looking at dark grout lines. Oh, and I did get the “baseboard” tiles installed on the two other long walls. I just have one more wall (the short wall on the other side of the mural wall) to finish up with the “baseboard” tiles. So that’s my whole week’s worth of progress. At this rate, I may have this shower done by March 2022, and the bathroom done by August 2022. 😀

Hopefully not, though. Now that I’m just going with solid white in the shower (yes, I know some of you are saying, “I told you so!” right now 😀 ), I think I can get the rest done much faster. I hope. I know we’re all getting tired of hearing about shower tile (and I’m so tired of working with it), and ready to move on to something else!!

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31 Comments

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  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Chrissy
    November 5, 2021 at 10:35 am

    The accent penny-tile is beautiful but I think you’re making the right choice to omit it in this project. Your focal point is the mural. The accent distracts, from the angles you’ve provided, from the mural. Less is more in a lot of cases.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Hannah
    November 5, 2021 at 10:45 am

    What about a thick vertical stripe where the showerhead will be? It would only be visible in the shower, and you’d still get to use the pretty tiles as an accent

    https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQRCLiLwpHK9lBpCWt8MIuwUx0AJzD5tlhvkQ&usqp=CAU

    https://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2015/2/4/0/Designs-by-BSB_Harman-Master-Bathroom_Showerhead.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.1449.suffix/1423075774685.jpeg

    • Reply To This Comment ↓
      CathyR
      November 5, 2021 at 11:11 am

      What a shame you ripped out all your nice work! I thought the glass band was beautiful

      • Reply To This Comment ↓
        Rebecca Neustel
        November 5, 2021 at 7:31 pm

        I did, too! The brass really makes the glass tiles stand out. This is another time I have to strongly remind myself that this isn’t my house. lol

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Peggy
    November 5, 2021 at 11:12 am

    Good call, Kristi! I think with everything else you have going on in the bathroom, having the shower tile fade a little into the background may be a good thing.

    • Reply To This Comment ↓
      Debbie
      November 5, 2021 at 1:10 pm

      I don’t get a wow from the penny tile to be beating yourself up over. Good choice to do without. Main focus is in the main area. Shower is yours & Matt’s private area so more important is function.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Karen
    November 5, 2021 at 11:16 am

    I’m sorry this is and was so much hassle, but I think your decision is right, as the mural gets more attention with only white tiles on that wall! (I’m pretty sure that the shower will be easier to clean like this, too, but this might only become relevant in the long run :)) I keep my fingers crossed that you have enough power to get this done and move onto a project that makes you happy again!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Susan
    November 5, 2021 at 11:34 am

    I like your decision. There will be symmetry with the “toilet room” that will balance with the shower and that will make a really nice background to your main area. I know how hard it is to edit a look because there are so many great choices now with everything but I think you are going in the right direction with the main room being the focal area. Hang in there, girl, you’ve got this!!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Krikit
    November 5, 2021 at 11:43 am

    I’m sorry for your frustrated week. It’s a bummer when a project doesn’t cross the vision’s finish line.

    A new start will be a new finish.👍🏻😊

    • Reply To This Comment ↓
      Francine
      November 5, 2021 at 3:04 pm

      I agree, keep being you for keeping on…it will be beautiful when finished.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    DI
    November 5, 2021 at 11:49 am

    The right call. Those glass tiles did nothing. Hard work removing them all, etc. but at least now you are sure before the project goes any further. Keep at it girl!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    El
    November 5, 2021 at 11:55 am

    Although a lot of work I think you made the right decision. I wonder though if maybe you want to consider doing the same at the top with the vertical tiles as you did on the bottom. That way it has sort of a trim on top and the bottom.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    KB
    November 5, 2021 at 12:00 pm

    The penny tile is cute, but agree it didn’t have the wow factor and didn’t really compliment all the other choices you’ve made. Have you thought about custom tile like you did for your pantry? I would just love to see an alcohol ink accent tile that pulls in the teals, pinks & gold of the rest of the room.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Jeanne
    November 5, 2021 at 12:50 pm

    I really like the bottom row, baseboard, treatment. Good choice to remove accent band. It was ok, but this is better.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Lori Ball
    November 5, 2021 at 1:00 pm

    I loved the glass rows between the white tiles!! But a solid white shower will be lovely also!!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Guerrina
    November 5, 2021 at 1:29 pm

    Well done, Kristi! I love the all-white tile version!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    jenw
    November 5, 2021 at 1:54 pm

    Oof, that’s a rough week for you! I hope things smooth out for you and you feel settled in the new direction.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Angie S.
    November 5, 2021 at 2:07 pm

    So much work but I like the clean look without the band of accent tile. I’m trying to remember… do you plan to use the penny tile or another accent tile in a niche in your shower? If you liked the look “up close” you could see it in the niche but not have it in the everyday sight line.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Joan Hornung
    November 5, 2021 at 2:09 pm

    Sorry to hear about your very frustrating week – BUT, although the strip looked nice, I think you will be happy with the simple finish, and I think it all comes back to that mural. It is so beautiful and THE focal point – everything else just competes. Perhaps the plain finish was exactly what the shower needed. And now you will have it! I like someone’s idea of using it near the shower handle/head end, but that is just an option. I think the walls that show from the room…plain, is perfect! It looks wonderful just the way it is! Now that THAT decision is out of the way -it’s onward and you will be seeing some great progress.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Karen H
    November 5, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    Kristi, I thought the penny tile looked beautiful, but I love the plain white tiles better That’s actually what I did in my master bathroom as well. Ultimately, I think you made a great choice! Looking forward to seeing your finished bathroom, whenever that is. Go easy on yourself. You are only one person. xo

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    elle
    November 5, 2021 at 3:18 pm

    Good decision, in my opinion, as frustrating as this has been. However, once all done, I think you will like it all much better and will be SO glad you took it out and re-did everything. And you will be thanking yourself every time you look at the shower and every time you use the shower. Great title for the post — the clarity you arrived at is awesome, but even more awesome is the determination you have demonstrated to do what you think is best.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Kim
    November 5, 2021 at 3:26 pm

    I think you are so cool because when you don’t like how something looks, you put in the time and effort to make it right.! You did a ton of work this week!I respect you so much for fixing it and not just living with it! A+ in my book!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Caroline Elliot
    November 5, 2021 at 3:42 pm

    Definitely think you made the right call. I loved the idea of the glass tile, but it seemed like whatever option you showed, it just didn’t have that wow factor. I admire you so much for being willing to try things and then rip it out and try something else if you’re not satisfied. Such a good life lesson!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Carol
    November 5, 2021 at 4:28 pm

    Oh Man! I so would have been tempted to just leave that! I so admire you for putting in the work to make it exactly like you want. Very impressive!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Rebecca Neustel
    November 5, 2021 at 7:39 pm

    As someone else mentioned, couldn’t you use your glass tile and the brass strips for a vertical tile stripe behind the shower head? You would see it up close but ‘privately’ while you’re showering. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/09/1e/72/091e72e31fd9f4f6942cf41400c52db3.jpg

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Vivian
    November 6, 2021 at 12:30 am

    The way you arranged those penny tiles looked beautiful close up but I agree that the view standing back doesn’t look quite as good. I think it is the height at which they’re placed.
    In the area of accomplishments, you continuously amaze me with your tenacity – being willing to take the time and effort to undo the “imperfections” and redo things to get them just right should be applauded. Even though your net progress may seem small, you left “perfection” in your wake. Your an inspiration to me of stick-to-it-iveness. Nice job!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Denise Hueth
    November 6, 2021 at 8:29 am

    While in art class, at the end of the time I take a picture of what I’ve done. It’s amazing what the camera sees and what I saw. What i saw in my head isn’t neccessarily what is on the canvas. Perhaps that may help you in the future when indesicion is creeping in your mind……take a picture

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Lucinda S
    November 6, 2021 at 9:17 am

    Please give yourself a break. It’s ok. I was much more concerned that something major had happened. This news is actually a relief. Very wise to finish the one wall and divert to a new direction rather than be future along. Keep up the progress one day at a time do something which is what I tell my husband.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Melissa
    November 6, 2021 at 10:54 am

    Thank you for sharing this shower journey. I love that you are willing to take a chance, admit when it isn’t working for you, and plowing ahead to try something else. I know how frustrated you must be, but I love your courage and determination. Keep going – you’ve got this!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Brenda
    November 8, 2021 at 2:06 pm

    I would love the penny tile just inside the shampoo niche, perhaps with the gold Schluter edge surrounding the niche, as long as there is other gold somewhere