Neutral small-square tub surround

The tile starts at the tub edge, wraps around a wide sliding window and runs across the shower end wall. The small squares mix cream, beige and light gray, which gives the wall texture without a strong pattern. Pale yellow-beige paint takes over above the tile line.

The first photo shows the window wall and the tub corner. The second looks down the length of the tub toward the shower controls, with the toilet beside it. The white tub and toilet keep the small room light.

Small square tile suits a tub alcove like this. It turns the window return and fits around the valve without big cuts, and the extra grout lines hide small variations in the wall that large tile would show.

In a tub-and-shower area, the window is where most of the planning goes. On a similar job we wrap the window opening in waterproofing membrane, tile the sill with a slight slope back toward the tub, and seal the joint where tile meets the window frame with silicone instead of grout. Small tile comes on mesh sheets, so we line the sheets up across the whole wall to keep the grid straight from the tub to the top row.