We did not tile the side walls in any of our bathrooms because we aren't overly fond of that look, though I have seen bathrooms here and elsewhere with tiled side-splashes that look terrific. We made sure to use good quality, scrubbable paint in our bathrooms (we used BM Aura Bath and Spa paint; matte finish), and it seems to be holding up well*. Over the sink in the guest bathroom, we used our border tiles from the shower as a backsplash (3" high?). In our MB and hall bathroom, we tiled up to the ceilings--that decision was more for aesthetics than necessity. *I did end up scrubbing and touching-up (re-rolled) one small section of the wall between the vanity and the doorway molding in our MB after an unnoticed splatter of benzoyl peroxide gel/cream left permanent light colored spots on the wall. The section of wall next the sink/counter has been fine.

Lighter beige or grey would be pretty. I would do either the riverrock or the small tiles that are in the shower, for the backsplash. I too though was thinking of doing nothing for the backsplash because it does look so pretty already. As for the Weird Wall I suggest three, say 12x12, framed pics of nature. White mats with wood frame to match the mirror frame. I would do sepia colored pics of leaves or trees. You could save a bundle by going outside and taking some pics yourself, get readymade frames if you can get color to match. I like the idea of a simple plant on the vanity. Maybe a white, ceramic pot. I would cover the "dirt" in the pot with small river rocks. You can get them at the dollar or craft store pretty cheap. Or to save even more you can get some out of the yard, like pea gravel, and shine them up with spray on sealant or I think when I was a kid we used glue.

I ended up switching my mirrors to square ones because of this. I think if the tile went behind the mirror, instead of around, it might work with just a straight line stopping point but I really don't know. Seems like no one else did either!

I just had my shower/bath area in the primary bathroom retiled. The tilesetter put up the tile probably Wednesday. He grouted it the next day. It has not been sealed yet. It's quite obvious that the thinset has not dried behind the tile - especially obvious where the accent mosaic has been placed. Some of it had dried by the next day but you can see where it has not dried - the white marble looks gray. It is now Monday the following week and this is how it looks. Since it has already been grouted, I am wondering if this will ever dry. The floor area looks a little odd also and I am wondering what's up with that. There are also two tiles on the edge of the window by the bath where he sanded the edges. I don't understand why that was done - it seems to me that it would open up the marble to moisture. The tilesetter also put up cracked marble mosaic tile in my kitchen backsplash. Since the marble has little veins, it is very hard to tell it's cracked. It's been filled with grout and sealed. Am I going to have any staining problems from it being cracked? Should I have him replace those tiles? Any input would be appreciated.