When we remodeled our home, I had champagne tastes and a kool-aid budget. My ceramic artist sensibilities wanted gorgeous tile, with complex glazes, and intricate designs. My father-in-law, who was doing most of the work, providing most of the expertise, and a veteran of his share of ridiculous clients, wanted no-fuss tile that would be easy to go in with a minimum of cuts and frustration. Our budget wanted everything to be free, as in beer.
The compromise we ended up with made all of us pretty happy. The field tile was Big Box Store mass-production, easy and inexpensive. We purchased a few square feet of special designer tile to accent every room. The accents were easy to install and yet made every location with tile extra fun. Nearly a decade later, I’m still thrilled with the choices we made and people comment all the time on how much they like it.