Pretty! I would definitely do the corian top... Over time even in a lightly used bathroom, there would be water damage in my opinion. What about a vessel sink rather than a drop in? I'm not partial to the round ones, but the rectangular ones remind me of old farmhouse style sinks. Although I like the round ones that have vertical sides... just seem a bit more vintage/modern.

As far as the color of your tiles, you can go with bone and pick up the color of the vanity, or keep it more authentic and just do the standard white 3x6 subway tiles and match the white to the porcelain toilet, bathtub, sink etc.

I think 3x6 size looks nice in a bathroom (ours is very small and that is what we are doing---IMO it's the safest bet.) But I've seen 2x6 as kitchen backsplashes that look really nice too. I am doing the same thing with you---Tiling the shower, and then the room 1/2 way up as wainscotting. Good luck!

We used large(r) format tiles in our bathrooms (tub surrounds and floors), which are also small bathrooms. The tile in our hall bathroom tub surround is ~4x12", the tile in our MB tub surround is 8x20". They actually make the bathrooms look bigger rather than smaller.

A Corian, porcelain/fireclay, or natural stone counter or sinktop would look very nice on the dresser. If you can find a one-piece porcelain/fireclay sinktop in a similar, or complementary color (to your tub and toilet), I'll bet it would look smashing. A white/beige marble top would look gorgeous as well, depending on how tolerant you are with regards to the possibility (or probability of etching).