"Timeless" bathroom tiles

[9GreenBottles]

If you had to choose between travertine tiles ( 450 x 301mm) and white metro tiles (200 x 100mm), which do you think would be less likely to date in an ensuite bathroom?

It will be probably three walls tiled and one painted white (certainly to start with). It does give some versatility. Above the sink and toilet will have a shelf and mirrored alcove. It will have a roof light rather than a window in the wall.

then id opt for the metro tiles in white and id not paint the other wall white - id go for a colour and tie it together with towels./accessories. i much prefer part tiled and painted but dp wont go for it! i learnt from my last house.

I don't see how a white tile can 'date'- surely they've been around forever and will always be used. Patterns will surely date more quickly.

Our house has metro with grey grout in the kitchen- love them. Grout stays clean looking. Downstairs loo has stone looking, similar to travertine- it's gloomy in there as they don't bounce the light around. I'd say they look more dated, but that's likely because of the trim tiles rather than the actual tiles which look like they belong in a Greek restaurant. Upstairs bathroom has large rectangular tiles, white, but laid sideways like metro tiles And white grout. They are perfectly acceptable, clean, bright- but no one is going to think they are amazing or beautiful, just functional. However, they won't date- in 10 years they'll still be exactly as acceptable and functional as they are today. (As a disclaimer, we didn't install any of the above, we have inherited all!)

Having thought about it, the white metro tiles might be the best bet as we would be able to fit them ourselves (but wouldn't touch stone cutting).

I did choose plain white tiles in a previous house in the kitchen and bathroom. Got fed up with the bathrooms but they were the perfect foil for other colours in the kitchen as you still and the article linked by Empress suggests. I think they could well be a bit boring and functional but if I'm not seeing them everyday then maybe I won't care enough to do anything about it