How did you actually come up with tiles? Usually, when you think of a wall, you first think of wallpaper or paint if you want to make a change, and not directly tiles.
I also have to say that it looks better than expected. In your first photo, the tiles appeared much darker and grayer.
Thanks! I travel quite a bit for work and therefore stay from time to time in fancier "design hotels." Especially before the construction phase, I always specifically booked into something like that (The hotel chain van der Valk in Holland is always a design highlight!) You learn a lot here about traffic flow, color combinations, lighting planning, and materials. For example, you can see well here which materials are low-maintenance, scratch-resistant, etc., after constant and rather careless use by hotel guests (carpet flooring, fixtures, tiles, wooden furniture, etc.).
If I liked something, I took a photo of it. Here are a few examples just from the van der Valk hotels:
Fireplace with leather cover!
Fireplace with slate cladding
Illuminated hallway wall
I always wanted to highlight the staircase. First with moss, then also with leather (but that was too dark), and finally with tiles --> low-maintenance, no smudges from the kids, and more elegant than decorative plaster, wallpaper, or paint.