Have you thought of large format vitrified tiles with very small grout lines, with dark grout?

Thank you C P for the link I will take a look at it tonight - got a dinner party and cooking up a storm Thank you too, Gallifrey a couple of years ago I might have toyed with the idea but today grout is my arch enemy. I have had cleaners leave in tears ........ !!! Will post some before and after pics once the project is complete. Enjoy the weekend

Thanks for the pics Sammy and Lesley. I love the clean lines and the sparkle of your showers. Now my wise beloved partner has thrown a spanner in the works by pointing out that it could be hard yakka getting maintaining that sparkle that I so dearly love in your images. So to avoid a heated "discussion" on the pros and cons I will take comments pon board and research the Corion option. And any other options that houzz-ers can suggest. Thanks again for everyone's help so far

Took a couple of pics of our shower this morning for you to share with your hubby, no cleaning before the pics were taken and no filters on the images.... colours look different because of the led light globes.

Another option is one of the composite products such as Caesarstone. Some of the range (not all) comes in 13mm thickness so it can be used in showers & as splashback, without joins.

Thanks how2girl but wouldn't there be a "porous" issue? I do like the thought though

Hi Sweets, we are going through a similar situation...We want a low maintenance bathroom, which, to me, means tile free. Have tried to source fibreglass/acrylic shower alcoves (with built in seats/shelves) but this is tricky in Australia (I'm from America and they are the norm). We have also looked at SpaPanel. http://www.spapanel.info/colours/ - and may decide to go with the glass splashback if we can't get the alcove. Good luck!

Sammy Elder - love your concrete shower floor. I would like the entire house to have concrete flooring, but was told that we may have an issue with the wet areas, and may need to go with tile or vinyl flooring. Did you have an issue with your concrete floors in the bathroom, or is this just a South Australian thing?

No, it's promoted as "non porous". "Caesarstone's non-porous nature provides maximum resistance to staining and fully eliminates the need for any sealing"

This link will take you to the bathroom surfaces area of the Caesarstone site

http://www.caesarstone.com.au/bathrooms

Wow! So many previously unexplored options for me to think about. Sammy, thank you for the pictures of your shower. Looks bloody awesome. And to micasirena, how2girl thanks for the great links. Now my head is spinning, my mojo is in full gear and I can't wait to share the results of this and other projects we are working on.

Hi micasirena, we added a 12 x 12m extension to the rear of our Federation home to create an open plan kitchen, living and dining and turned the original laundry into our main bathroom. Essentially we kept the double brick walls & roof for the bathroom space but excavated the floor and laid new concrete flooring as part of the slab that went in for the extension (if that makes sense). The floors were polished (lightly) and sealed with a satin finish sealing product which we were advised 'would last a lifetime'. All the floors were treated the same whether wet area or not. We have since re-sealed some of the floor in the shower as the original sealer lifted and chipped around the drain, we did this about 3 and 1/2 years after the initial install and are happy with it now it's been resealed. My biggest recommendation would be to make sure the fall in your shower area is spot on, we have one corner that is lower and often sits with water in it and we've had to reseal that corner twice because it is often has water sitting on it. Also make sure you use a sealer that has 'grip' so the area is not slippery. Apologies for hijacking your post sweetsofparadise2659.

Hello again LesleyH - we are going to have concrete floors throughout our new house and have been looking at 'acid washed' with a not too shiny finish- we like the cloudy sky effect. What type of finish do your floors have? Is the satin sealer glossy, or more on the matte side?

No, sorry I'm not sure what sealer was initially used on our floors nor what hubby resealed the shower with. The product we resealed with was a soak in concrete sealer which recommended two coats but we kept re-coating until the concrete couldn't absorb any more. If doing again from scratch I would be looking to use Crommelin products, specifically with the micro beads included for non-slip.

So what did you end up doing Sweets and are you happy with it?

Ok. So here's what I did. Sorry for the delay in updating. In the end I chickened out and went with tiles. Would love to receive feedback.

Double Vanity

Toilet and Walk in seamless shower

Double vanity with night light

Floor to roof tiles

Toilet and Bathroom

Thanks to everyone for a great exchange of ideas!

It does look seamless. The shower recess reflects the feature wall which is good. Well done on your choice. I do hope you are happy with it. It is a minefield making these decisions. I'm going with tiles too, similar size to yours.

Thank you for your kind words Poppy. I will be commencing work on the second bathroom shortly. Will post results when completed!

Love your bathroom and choice of tiles and fixtures! Classic and beautiful! Is that paint on the wall behind vanity? And can I ask you what your floor tile is and where you got it?

Sorry to keep you waiting. Busy as crazy doing another bathroom in the house. Hopefully the last for a while. Yes it is paint behind the vanity. After much deliberation I went ahead and painted it. It is easily wiped down for any accidental splash back but unless your bathing in your washbasin there’s hardly ever any The floor tiles, and in fact all the tiles are from Moorabbin Tiles. Polished porcelain. Thank you for your kind feedback

check out spapanel by wet area solutions youll be amazed by the grout free bathroom walls