Just my 1/2 cent. I would tile the entire wall, shower and behind toilet. It is the visual entry wall from your door entrance. I realize a curtain needs to be closed for the most part to dry, but i open mine for the rest of the day because it opens up the room, and i like my tile. It goes all the way up to a post and beam ceiling. I'm not sure why it bugs me to see so many breaks and jags in tile these days, up down and across, even stair stepping...shower steam and moisture does effect the wall above eventually and the wall towards the toilet just by the direction of your shower head. But more to the point is when this trend started. Having been in hundreds of NYC bathrooms original build from the turn of the century thru the 60's, they do not jog tile up down and around in some decorative way. Stopping at the division before your sink area is fine as that division makes sense. A friend of mine stopped the tile like your last post, but it was a budget concern, so maybe that is the reasoning? The recent 'modernists' in bath design seem to do a great job with many of these issues by taking tile all the way around at the shower curtain/glass door line...the entire room, or tiling one entire wall. In the first pic above, the nice traditional bath with vintage fixtures, i would have stopped the tile just above, by one or two tiles, the window hardware, all the way around clean. That would fall just below the sconces. Just a thought, probably just me...

Honestly, I don't think you, us, or anyone can make that call without putting the actual materials together and looking at them. In general, I certainly don't think that classy white tile will look "cheap" with a taupe-y room. If it's nice tile. But believe me, EVERY white tile, subway, square, whichever, looks different in real life. I've now had to choose subways for two kitchens and white field tile for two bathrooms, and the difference in appearance between them is amazing. In the last bathroom, I was on a super tight budget and tiling all the walls, so I had to choose a cheap tile. The two cheapest (Lowes and HD's subways and 4x4s, by American Olean and, I think, Daltile, but their low-end, big-box-only lines) are very uniform and have glazes that lack any sort of depth or lustre. I just couldn't do it. Interestingly, just a few cents more per tile buys the American Olean field tile with a different surface texture (ever so slightly wavy, which creates a bit of sparkle in the room) and slightly different colored glaze. The "richness" in the look between these 3 tiles, all of which were the same size, shape, and bright white... was incredible. All that is just to illustrate the point that you really gotta see it in person :) That particular bathroom, by the way, has grey-beige walls and a beige, limestone-look tile on the floor. White fixtures, and white tile. I think it looks quite elegant ;) If you want to add a masculine touch, and you want to use the dark medicine cabinet, would you consider doing white tile with a black (or dark brown- whatever matches the cab) accent? You could even run the tile around the walls of the room as wainscotting. Like this, sort of? Or some other way to bring that dark accent in... otherwise I think I would go with the white medicine cabinet... I also agree with you on preferring recessed medicine cabinets!

Thanks to everyone for their concern. They are measuring today. Plumber thought it would be okay but he hadn't actually measured. I'll feel more secure when they have actual numbers. Luckily the toilet and tub are on site so they can measure. I remember from our previous remodel being worried about the inspectors catching that the toilet was too close to the tub, but no one seems to think it's a problem here (inspectors have been in and out twice and never mentioned it, so I think it must be different here). Anne, thanks! I love how it's coming along. How long did it take you to do that pattern? I love it and have easy access to dal tile, but I'm worried about committing the time to doing the design myself. I'm already doing the builtins and a bunch of other small projects. Lundy, I took a look and there are a couple of possibilities there - don't love them as much the swirly one, but definitely doable. There is so much beautiful tile on your site.. If I had more time, I'm sure I would eventually find something in the imperfects that would work.

Contractors do not design. They build. You need an actual K&B designer. You have a very restrictive space to get all that you want without turning it into a wet room. You, and your husband especially, need to educate yourself on modern waterproofing systems and how a wet room is properly created. The Schluter system will offer a lifetime warranty if their products are used from start to finish, including their thinset. Look at their YouTube channel. And don’t be so sure that your choice tractor can actually do this properly. Especially if he hasn’t had the wetroom and waterproofing conversation with you. Read below, and have a tough conversation with him on all points raised. https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer