• Slate has a large variety of colors and patterns.abstract on slate image by marilyn barbone from Fotolia.com
  
  Slate comes from ancient ocean beds where clay, silt and other materials collected and later got compressed under high heat. Quartz, mica, iron and chlorite mixed in with the materials to give slate its different color tones and created the mottling and streaks common in many slate products. Slate comes in many colors and when getting multicolored slate be sure to do a test layout to match one to the next before installing.
  
  

Frame It

• Use slate tiles to frame features in your bathroom. Place 3-inch by 9-inch slate tiles as a border around a frameless mirror. Put the long side of the tile next to the mirror so the frame scales appropriately for the application. Consider using dark slate for this such as black, green, or purple to enhance the mirror's natural light reflectance.
  
  Cut 6-inch by 6-inch slate tiles in half and use them to frame the bathroom window. This is ideal for windows that are not trimmed in wood. When the wood trim is deteriorated and due for replacement, then consider using slate.
  
  

Floor It

• Slate has natural slip resistance so using it on bathroom floors can help improve the safety of your home. Slate is also extremely durable but when you use it in wet locations be sure to seal it. There are many options for using slate on the bathroom floor. Install it in a normal pattern using all the same sized tiles placed in evenly spaced and aligned rows. You can also lay it out in other patterns and this is where your math skills will come in handy. Use a 12-inch by 12-inch tile as the center piece. Then frame that by using two 6-inch by 6-inch, four 6-inch by 9-inch, one 9-inch by 9-inch and one 9-inch by 12-inch turned in different directions so the succeeding tiles have perfectly matched places to fit. Other options include a herringbone pattern, running bond or parquet.
  
  

Accent It

• Use slate for the vanity's backsplash. Choose your color wisely so the splash blends with the vanity top to avoid three colors forced together in a small space. For example, if the walls are light pastel green and the vanity top is beige, use slate with browns and tans.
  
  Carry your slate tile floors up a wall. Many bathrooms have half walls and divider walls that extend into the space and then end, leaving a 4-inch-wide surface that wants to be decorated. Run a strip of the same slate floor tile right up one of these surfaces to carry the floor's color and variety vertically in the room.