Thirdstone - excellent input about the high gloss panels. I think this is an exciting line for both the kitchen and for the bathroom. They are easy to work with for a DIY'er (they can be drilled and cut with normal woodworking tools), come in a variety of colors and are waterproof (and less costly than backpainted glass).

You make some good points about not being able to use them where the heat is too high though. I'll include some images below as well as a link that provides more info on this material:

http://innovatebuildingsolutions.com/products/bathrooms/high-gloss-acrylic-wall-panels