When I bought tile recently I asked the saleswoman if there was a rule of thumb on what height looked best and she said there really isn't. Midcentury, when bathrooms pretty much all had 4" tile half way up then wallpaper to the ceiling, 48" was the rule of thumb, but today it's whatever you think looks best. I would take into account things like wi-sailorgirl's issues (where do you want it to be in relation to the vanity or other objects in the room?) and also the size of the tiles. For instance, people generally feel that, if possible, it looks better if you don't cut tiles. So if you're doing 12 x 12 tiles set horizontally (rather than diagonally) and you'd want to do 3 or 4 complete tiles and then you'd end up with whatever height you end up with, taking into account whatever you might be doing with trim and/or accents. I keep reading 15% for "fluff" but it makes sense to me that you'd need more for diagonals settings. I've also been told to go higher if you're buying from some place like Home Depot where you're likely to get a larger number of poorer quality tiles, that one of the ways their suppliers respond to the pressure to keep prices down is by not being quite so fussy about the quality of things like the glaze on pieces that leave the factory, so you end up tossing more pieces. 5% seems generally really, really risky.

Well it's been a very busy couple of days so I didn't get a chance to thank you for relaxing my fears. Of course the tile came in completely wrong, so the job got put on hold. There is another shipment arriving on Monday and if it doesn't look the way it's supposed to, I'll be going with the small tiles which are already in stock in the correct color/texture. If the small tiles are being used, the height will be a little bit lower, but still functional. I guess it's all being left up to fate!

ACM - treasure trove of new ideas. Binging on placement of grab bars and grab bars with double lives now! Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Also I have decided on a white subway tile for the shower walls with the handmade whooshy look to the texture. Finally to the silly question that isn’t silly at all - the room in the bottom right of the floor plan which is cut off - we planned it as a bedroom with a wall of reach in closets + a spread of wall between two windows big enough for a queen bed. For now, though, we will use it as a flex room = office den and guest room. We’ll have a built In desk situation in lieu of the closet, a pull out or at least very large couch in lieu of a bed, and a media spot for den life. So A less mobile guest could stay at our house a little more easily as a result of this planning. Not ADA but something. On our urban lot size around here, you would often find the equivalent of this space used for a formal (no doors) living room or an office too small to accommodate a closet or a substantial bed so these trades are significant nods to thinking ahead. Since I added a good 3-4 feet to the typical size of this front room, finding another 5 feet for an en suite bathroom would really push the boundaries of the available configurations. So nothing is perfect but I will have more rather than fewer options if and when the time comes. I’ve heard others complain of the lack of this type of first floor options in typical configurations around here so these small considerations may set us apart for future buyers as well. Thank you all!

I like suggestions of chocolate brown, linen, and less likely but possibly fab companions as fuchsia. While blue will look great too, I'd take into account how I'd look against blue background. Kids and some handsome people with flawless complexion look good against anything; but as I myself stopped being a) a kid b) a handsome person with flawless complexion, but unfortunately stayed shallow and vain..:) I'd make sure I like myself there. It's also a powder room, place where guests check themselves out and all, and I'd consider it too. Having said that-chocolate + accents of turquoise AND fuchsia (or orher blues and pinks) is a combo I dream of using someday. It can be incredibly beautiful