We have seen a similar issue in the past. The problem occurred when the porcelain tile on the floor did not have 100% contact with the tile adhesive, this caused water to seep down though the grout join and hold in pockets under the tile in the areas where there was no direct contact. The water being trapped in the pockets under the tile does not evaporate and can leave the tiles looking stained. If this is the case with your floor tiles the bottom row of carrara marble tiles are simply acting like a sponge drawing water up. To fix the problem we would suggest that the bottom row of carrara marble and the porcelain tiles on the shower floor need to be removed and relayed ensuring full adhesive coverage. Unfortunately this may compromise your under tile heating and waterproof membrane. Proceed with caution.

Nicolafox, no we never did figure it out, but it has lessened over time, and some areas got lighter and others darker. The very distinct dark square areas are less defined now. We've just accepted it.

Hi M Tranter, we just finished our Blue Ivy house in Malvern, although more contemporary in style, we went bold with the blue in a very similar shade to yours! We actually fine-tuned the shade on site, as the blues will appear different depending on orientation and light. We never worry about 'trends' but choose material and colour palettes to suit each client, and the bold colours always balance out with the other elements in the space. Good Luck (and go for it!).

We're renovating our kitchen and are at decision time to decide on benchtops etc. I'd love any opinions or advice on the colour scheme we're considering as we're not sure if it will all go together and it's a big chunk of money, so we want to get it right! :-/ The kitchen is a smallish U shape with a breakfast bar which opens to the lounge room. There's limited natural light so we want it to be as light as poss. The cupboards will be all white poly, floorboards are white sand engineered bamboo, walls are quarter strength tranquil retreat. For the splashback we're looking at carrara marble hexagonal tiles, benchtop - caserstone intense white and cupboard colour lexicon half or quarter or possibly vivid white (satin finish). We like the pure white of the intense white benchtops but not sure if it will compete with the splashback tiles (although the texture is very fine). Any opinions/other ideas?? Also not sure on which white to go with for the cupboard doors - leaning towards Lexicon half. Photos below of the floorboards, carrara splashback tiles, caesarstone intense white benchtop and paint samples. If anyone can offer any opinion or advise on this selection or other alternatives we could consider it would be really appreciated!