Hi mattmunee. We are doing our first bathroom too. It's hard to give an opinion without some visuals, but a back splash is not a necessity. You can throw up some semi-gloss paint and it would be fine (given that you caulk well behind the sink).

However, if the bathroom is going to get a lot of use, a back splash is not a bad idea. I am not a fan of a random 4-6" mosaic/ceramic stone back splash that is just hanging out around the sink. It seems a little odd (to me). I would suggest that if you are going to do it, tile from the floor and end above the sink. That was our plan, but we ended up taking the tile all the way to the ceiling on the sink wall. Good luck!

Thanks for the photos xand83! I agree that the 4" backsplash is a bit odd looking. Our color scheme is similar to yours. We will be using a grey ceramic (Happy Floors Bambu Nero 12x24) on the floor and 4x12 white subway tile as a tub surround. We are not planning to take the subway tile all the way around the room as you did. Our mosaic is the long rectangle type with light green and light blue glass and bright white stone accents. Whereas your vanity was built into a nook, ours would not be, and the vanity would sit right beside the toilet. Below is a link to our basic bathroom layout. I'm considering bringing the floor tile up to the top of the vanity and using the mosaic to go up and around the mirror, or maybe halfway up the mirror. Would it look weird to have all of this tile only on half of the wall (only behind the vanity and not behind the toilet) and not on the side wall?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1391437}}

My first thought is that it would likely look strange. Especially given the roughly 2 feet of horizontal mosaic. But I'll be the last one to say it can't be done.

I would be sure to maybe sketch it out using google sketchup or something similar.