Here's what the beveled tile looks like. I love this style. Island, the collection is called Victoria Ivory & shockingly the cabinets are from Cabinets To Go. I know CTG doesn't get much love here. To be honest, I was very nervous about ordering these cabinets just because of the reputation of Chinese cabinets but they really are a nice quality cabinet & finish. We didn't order through CTG but our kitchen contractor uses the products in his business. I've been very surprised & relieved when I've been taking the door sample into the tile showrooms the compliments I've received about the quality of the door. We have been able to customize some of our order by working w/ our kitchen contractor. I will post pics after kitchen is complete. This post was edited by kgolby on Wed, Feb 20, 13 at 15:54

From what I can tell, full tile backsplashes in kitchens are a fairly recent trend (with some exceptions -- see the 1928 bungalow thread -- though that was more a tiled room than a backsplash per se). When your corners aren't quite square, it makes countertop installation easier if there is a 1" thick backsplash to cover any gap between the countertop and wall. That said, I agree with the pp's that the short backsplash currently looks a bit dated. That might change in time. After all, I don't know anyone in real life who has put in a new kitchen with no backsplash at all, but I have seen some beautiful no-backsplash kitchens on this forum... maybe that will be the next trend. [grin] I haven't decided about the backsplash for when/if we redo our kitchen. We are old enough and have been in our house long enough to take the long view, so probably we will do something that's either relatively timeless (i.e. white tile) or easily changed.

Hi Chocolatebunny, I like the backsplash. I think it looks simple and lovely. I have the same simple white sq tile backsplash. And my granite counters were installed right up to them. I kept the backsplash because I could not find something I liked better. I thought about white subway but then my DH said. "Won't that be too similar to what you already have?" And so I kept the sq white. And 1 year later I am so glad I did. I like it. Granite or Quartz or Corian or even laminate can go right next to the old backsplash. And with new counters you won't even notice the backsplash. It will be simple skirt with the beautiful blouse. The simple side dish to the rich meal. I know there might be issues of height and having to cut. But this is what we did. We put plywood on top of the cabinets. It was a support system for the upgraded counters and it brought the level of the granite up to the space we wanted on the BS. I had ugly thick white tile with white grout before so there was a thick backing but still not high enough to meet the BS. There are many things you can do. I wanted to raise my counters as I am fairly tall and like it up 1/2 inch higher. Have you visited Dupont's site? Not to buy Corian or Quartz or even granite but to see the different colors available and how they match up to similar cab colors. I loved this little tool to play with while I searched for what I wanted in my own kitchen. I think an exotic granite might be different than your neighbors. Something with movement and yes leather them or honed the surface and get some fun. And lastly what about white Marble. Marble would look yummy with your cabinets. And white would match those tiles and go with any color. ~boxer A granite with great movement Copper Canyon Golden River Honed Granite with beautiful movement Eco Counters with great colors and this is NOT granite. Quartz white and pretty Copper might be a fun different counter... Marble

Sometimes you have to be willing to accept a mistake and take a monetary loss. Been there, done that, with a shower ceiling done in expensive glass tile with too many colors. I reordered the tile in a pale/muted color and it worked much better. Lesson learned.