If you are looking to keep the "period" look, then I say no. My place is from 1916 & had a gross 1980's reno. I ripped out all the ugly vinyl floor & cheap Sears sink & went with a black hex floor, white subway, dark grey grout on both. Toilet & tub were original, but I got an old "Standard" wall mount sink with chrome legs & towel bars & an antique medicine chest, light fixtures & glass shelving & towel bar off Ebay. My total job...about $5k. Help my tile guy is my neighbor, but those 10, 15, 20k bathrooms were out of the question.

Excuse my duh-ness but i'm having difficulty trying to follow whats going on here. Are these two photos an exact replica of your house and pool ? If not a hasty sketch with dimensions could help a lot. By kitchen wall do you mean the wall behind the bar ? And where is the pool wall ? Are you considering the covered area as being "inside" ? Sorry for all those questions lol Sometimes when you have a design problem you need to turn it inside out or on it's head. If you can't beat it maybe embrace it by making a feature of it : i.e. contrast by having the lightest colored pool surround and a great blue or tile inside and under the overhang, something that will echo the water color ? If you have a great covered area as in photo you'll most likely be spending a lot of time there and it could be soothing to be able to sometimes retire into a darker inside. In my book, 10M isn't small and also contrasting two floor colors doesn't necessarily make a space seem smaller and confined and may in fact even open it up. Could it be that you've thought yourself into a box here ? Sometimes one needs to give it all a good shake up and see how it resettles.

If you are seeking a truly open feel to the floor plan you have shared, then using one material in the mail living area is the best approach to making this space feel truly open. Using a variety of materials on flooring chops up the space and decreases the visual footprint. I would suggest using wood, tile, or if you are on a tight budget laminated flooring for the living/dining/kitchen. Then use carpet in the more intimate spaces; bedrooms and possibly hallway. Save the tile for the bathrooms.

Thank you. My husband and I chose the tile (per recommendation at the tile store) and used a professional tiler (per recommendation at the tile store) for the install. It isn't a flip. This is a family home that we purchased and spent a year renovating—not DIY but with all professional hired help and a contractor to oversee the job. This tile person wasn't hired by him, though, as he was happy to use the person that we were told was very good by the tile store…. My heart is sinking. I absolutely hate the idea of retiling the shower as there is matching tile on all walls, including shower. I'm hoping there is some other idea out there that will help. I do personally think the tiler should have informed us if the tiles we supplied to him weren't suited to be mitered…we discussed it even before tiles were purchased and he didn't mention any specifications. I'm just worried now that if we put it on him to fix it, we'll end up with a bigger mess...