What are the "rules" for tiling around wash hand basins?

[MadameMattise]

I'm fine with the shower being fully tiled but don't really want tile round the entire room. We obviously need some around the wash hand basin but, how much? What are the Mumsnet guidelines?

Well, you don't necessarily - we've never bothered.

don't you get splashes all over the place?

Not really, but the back of our sink is quite deep. Bit similar to this one. Mind you, the sink in our old place was fairly standard and it didn't really get splashed either, or nothing a one second wipe down didn't fix.

We're putting a cloakroom under the stairs. It's tiny so the sink is going to be very small too. DH is going to use that sink in the morning to clean his teeth (sorry) and I can just imagine the mess behind the sink.

Since I've started looking I've noticed lots of two rows of tiles behind sinks. It just kind of looks a bit unfinished to me. What else could I do?

We have tiled surrounds in 4 bathrooms/cloakroom to a varying degree. Three are in fully tiled rooms. The 4th is tiled to about 300mm above the sink from the floor. We also have no tiling behind the sink in one guest bathroom, but have a fitted mirror, and painted wall boarding behind the sink in the "seaside" look bathroom. You have probably worked out, we have a lot of bathrooms! You need tiling behind the whole sink from the floor upwards. Trying to fit it around a sink can be difficult.

You could get a glass splashback cut to measure and in any colour you choose. Just glues onto the wall.

If the basin is on a short wall, you can tile that wall, or maybe just up to mirror height.

Small patches of tiling look mean.

I agree PigletJohn it does look "mean" and unfinished. Mmm not sure of glass splashbacks will investigate that more.