I have a house built in the 1950s with plaster walls. The kitchen has
yellow tile on the walls that extends from the countertop to the
bottom of the cabinets. The wife wants something different. The tile
guy says the old tile has to be removed before anything new can be put
up.

Any advice on how to do this without destroying more of the wall than
necessary?

Would something like this work? http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=32940