Should marble floor tile be laid in the same direction or alternated? grain?

Question

The guy is laying the floor tile in the bathroom right now. It's ceramic tile, but it looks an awful lot like marble. I asked if they should be alternated because that's what I thought, but he said you want it to look like one big piece and lay them all in the same direction. I know there's probably no right or wrong answer and that I should get whatever I want, but just tell me if there's a standard practice here. I don't like the look of two tiles which are almost identical being laid right next to each other in the same direction.

Answer 1

you are correct, there is no right or wrong way. i would go with the installer's opinion: if you can get the veining in the marble to look like a solid sheet, with tight grout lines it will look more natural. otherwise, it tends to look like a 'quilt'

Hope that helps.