charlesp210
New Member
I'm building a replacement shower bath around a Kohler Bellwether in Almond. Having lived all my life with small white tile with thick grout lines, I hate that. I've always loved the look of marble in upscale showers, but I want porcelain for low maintenance (that's more important than the look). Now it looks like I can select from a wide variety of porcelain tiles that look like any kind of stone, marble, travertine, whatever. I'm not that picky about authenticity I just want something pleasing to the eye. For that matter it could be some sort of pattern or scene. I want two tones lower and upper with a border, or at least two tones, and one acceptable possibility is just two plain tones, light brown and beige on top, for example. But I'm still thinking a stone look, either marble or travertine, also with two tones and a border in between, might be nicer.
But many of the porcelain marble tiles I've looked at have a 3D effect, with ridges, cracks, or other raised features deliberately put into the tile. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do for a floor tile where you want greater coefficient of friction. But for a shower wall tile? It would seem to me that something perfectly flat and smooth would be preferred.
Is a 3D effect tile suitable for a shower wall, or will it tend to accumulate dirt around the raised portion? Can tiles with 3D effect also be obtained perfectly flat? How can I search for and find the perfectly flat marble look porcelain tiles? Some tiles seem to have a "polished" option but when I select that the picture still shows the ridges, cracks, etc. It just looks shinier.
A clear example of a 3D effect tile is the Crema Marfil by Takla. It also looks like most of the stone look tiles I've seen online have a 3D effect of some kind. I like the look of many Takla tiles I've looped at (except for the 3D aspect) but would be happy to hear other suggestions. It looks like there's a big world of stone look porcelain out there. In plain colors, I might like Takla Milky Way over Desert Sun--but those tiles look slightly and uniformly textured also, is that OK for shower wall?
I think the pursuit of accuracy through duplication of imperfections has gotten out of hand, and I'd be happy with unnaturally perfect imitations whenever I get something imitation.
But many of the porcelain marble tiles I've looked at have a 3D effect, with ridges, cracks, or other raised features deliberately put into the tile. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do for a floor tile where you want greater coefficient of friction. But for a shower wall tile? It would seem to me that something perfectly flat and smooth would be preferred.
Is a 3D effect tile suitable for a shower wall, or will it tend to accumulate dirt around the raised portion? Can tiles with 3D effect also be obtained perfectly flat? How can I search for and find the perfectly flat marble look porcelain tiles? Some tiles seem to have a "polished" option but when I select that the picture still shows the ridges, cracks, etc. It just looks shinier.
A clear example of a 3D effect tile is the Crema Marfil by Takla. It also looks like most of the stone look tiles I've seen online have a 3D effect of some kind. I like the look of many Takla tiles I've looped at (except for the 3D aspect) but would be happy to hear other suggestions. It looks like there's a big world of stone look porcelain out there. In plain colors, I might like Takla Milky Way over Desert Sun--but those tiles look slightly and uniformly textured also, is that OK for shower wall?
I think the pursuit of accuracy through duplication of imperfections has gotten out of hand, and I'd be happy with unnaturally perfect imitations whenever I get something imitation.