That tile post I told you about

I told you I was having a bit of a time finding the tile I really want for our master bathroom. Usually my problem is not being able to make a choice. Though the living conditions I currently find myself in seem to testify otherwise, I can be a bit of a perfectionist... and when it's time to choose permanent things like TILE, my brain gets hogtied into a state of indecision.

But this time, I know what I want!

I just can't find it. (At least not affordably.)

The parameters are thus:

• Tiles need to be on the smaller side per S's request. No large slabs. 
• Need to look older/vintage/timeless/a little bit country. We can't do glass mosaics or anything very modern. Just won't work in this ramshackle old place. 
• Need to fit into our budget. (No marble.) 
• Must coordinate with rustic details and a wood floor. The master bedroom will have exposed log walls, and the wood floor will continue into part of the bathroom. I painstakingly crafted this little drawing for your edification. 

©Thirtyeight20, 2012. All rights reserved and then some.

This drawing very artfully shows you that the part with all the dots is where we will be putting floor tile. We'll be putting tile on the walls highlighted in blue. (Note there is a dividing step between the shower area and toilet area.) The rest of the bathroom will have a wood floor, probably coated with a marine sealer just to safeguard against the effects of any extra-vigorous showering.

OK back to the tile stuff. (Remember: floor tile in the speckled area, wall tile in the blue area.) I have pretty much determined that I like subway tile for the walls, but not necessarily in bright white as is the popular thing these days. In my hunt for tile ideas, I've seen lots of people hating on the concept of off-white or beige tile. People like their WHITE! But bright white is maybe too mid-century for our house, or perhaps just too stark for both floor and wall. I want something a little more aged looking. Something creamy, or even biscuity. Something like one of these:

I found this long before I realized I needed to save sources. Sorry.

Image from Lonnymag

Luckily, finding off-white tile is easy. Lots of companies make subway tile in a variety of biscuity colors I'm sure S and I can agree on. The problem is finding a coordinating hex tile for the floor. (Because what looks old and goes with subway tile better than hex tile? I dare you to tell me, because I really would like to know in case I overlooked something.) When I've found nice subway tile, there's no good 2" hex to match.

Conversely, I have found the perfect hex floor tile at my friendly neighborhood Home Depot, but they don't make a subway tile that matches! It's one or the other with these tile makers! In this case, they don't even make a bullnose or corner cap piece to match. They basically don't make anything else that matches. What you see here is all that they offer, even if you call the manufacturer and grill the salesperson...  (Why can't I just prefer bright white? Then all my troubles would be over.)

Anyway, this is the tile I want:

Merola Old World 2" Hex Tile, $4.95 per square foot at Home Depot

It's kind of a creamy grey-beige ('greige' in fancy decor-speak) in a matte finish. They aren't bleached or glazed or overly messed with. They're just sort of like natural. If my brain were Goldilocks, she'd be saying, "Ahhh, that's just right."

But... how to proceed when there's no wall tile to match?

Then I looked at this photo from my "Master Bathroom Inspiration" Pinterest board, and I had an idea. I am not sure where the tile pictured here is from, but this is pretty much what my favorite Merola tile looks like in person. 

Image found here (but looking for original source)

The biscuity floor and the white painted wall got me thinking. Does the floor tile and wall tile have to match exactly? Can they be different shades? If a white painted wall looks good with a biscuit floor, could a white tile wall look okay too?

So, my question is, could I pair my ideal biscuity floor tile with a white wall tile? (I just might be willing to do that pure white subway tile on the walls if that's the case.)

What about this next photo? This is nice, yes? The off-white paint around the window mirrors the off-white flooring quite well. Could I -- a regular person without any formal training in interior design -- pull this off in my house? After all, creamy off-white walls with bright white trim is my go-to color scheme. 

Image from Country Living

This non-matching tile idea is intriguing, and I've been noodling over it for a day or two now. Sometimes, I've even starting think that floor and wall tile that matches perfectly would just be too much of the same color. Other times the idea seems risky. SO, all of this roundabout tile monologuing to say, here I am, back at indecision.

Any opinions? Anyone?