I believe the reason the tiles work well with the cabinetry is because the tile is lite in color and flat, its not rustic unlike most terracotta. The expensive cabinets work fine with the floors because of the smooth finish. The floor here is the focal point of this room. The Interior Designer or whoever did this room, did a very nice job, keeping it very simple.

First be okay with the fact the bathroom tiles might need to be replaced. All of them. Replacing them in the bathroom will have the least impact on the rest of the house and whatever comes out in one piece, can be stored for future cracks. Maybe you can find a similar color but a different size, so it won't look too awkward, just an idea. Taking out a cracked tile is quite easy. Put on some gloves and safety glasses and (carefully) smash the broken tile with a hammer. An old screwdriver or chisel will help you tilt the pieces out. Work from the hole outwards to remove the other tiles. Removing a good tile is nearly impossible. Assuming it is still glued firmly, I'd say impossible. But, if you want to try anyway, you'll need to mill out the grout and then figure out a way to lift the tile..

Something to take into cosideration would be the amount of light you have coming into the bathroom. Obviously if you have considerable light and air the tile shade wouldn't be too much of an issue. On the other hand if the room is small and not very light filled, then the lighter shades would be preferable giving the illusion of making the room appear bigger and lighter.

House in process of build. Dilemma about what to use instead of tiling walls. Came across a thread which suggested running the floor tiles up the vanity wall to create a feature. However I am not having a tiled floor but laminate planks with the label claiming100% waterproof flooring. Has anyone done this with flooring? I definitely do not want tiled walls. A number of queries..... 1. would the flooring still be affixed on the wall as the floor? 2. Would I take it to the ceiling...... so below and above wall hung vanity and above mirror? 3. Since I would not use this to feature the bath in the same room. What do you suggest I put here? The bath is a 1700 long btw/corner. I have never seen baths without some form of splash back? But I don’t want tiles.