I did a front hallway and kitchen a few years ago. Not really that bad. No cracks in tile or mortar/grout yet.
The worst part was breaking up the builders wire mesh and thinset and pulling all the staples. Dirt and dust everywhere.
I agree with Ollie, the 1/2 inch cement backer board is the way to go, with the special backer board screws every 8- 10 inches. (solid foundation)
I centered the tiles in my hallway, so a seam was right in the middle of the doorway to the kitchen. The far end of the kitchen was under cabinets and stove, so no need to worry about how the far edge of the kitchen tile looked.
Tip, when you lay down the tile in the thinset, be sure to remove all thinset from between the tiles while it is wet. You need that space clean so the grout will fill it. I left some mortar between the tiles and the light colored grout did not cover it. (very difficult to remove once it dries)
I have never done a shower stall, and don't know if I would, but a kitchen, bathroom, or hallway floor, I would do again. (be sure to keep your cut edges to the wall)
also, I used a cheap wet saw, don't feed the tile too fast, and it works fine.
You can see from the first pic, I installed all the 'full sized' tiles first, and once they were dry/set, I went back to cut all the edge pieces.
Good luck with the project.
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