I think it is because if the tap handle doesn’t overhang the sink then wet hands drip water over the bench behind the sink. I have an undermount sink with same issue due to required setback from sink and we are learning to shake hands before turning off tap. Pro for wall mount no gunk around base of tap Negative according to my husband who refused to have wall mounted is the tap connections are in wall so if you get any leaks it’s hard to fix. But this goes same for shower I guess. We did have a faulty basin tap that leaked inside the handle area and down into cabinet so had to get replaced so I didn’t-push for wall mounted again.

Ignore this. I've search and found a similar post recently so I'll steal their ideas :)

If you're wanting to recolour tile do NOT do this yourself. If that's the way you want to go get the pro's in. They do not use paint, they use an acrylic resin and chemically etch the tile before hand. It is applied with a spray gun for a nice finish. It won't last forever but you will probably be satisfied with the results for long enough.

I really like that floor. I hope you are able to keep it once the complexities of waterproofing are revealed. Really large tiles would not be era appropriate. And they were moving away from subway tiles by then. Perhaps 20-25cm square in running bond for that decade? Colour will be easier to pick when the green is gone. I think bright whites could be useful accents but were not really available back then, except whitewash. So depends on how true to the age you want to be or if you’d prefer to have your own blend of the best of two eras.