The samples above of the travertine and stainless steel tiles are the wrong size but correct for color purposes!

Ok here's our granite and kitchen.

Thanks again,

Kate

We had considered travertine initially. Our kitchen has similar colors/materials as yours. After we brought the samples home, it just didn't seem to work. While the coloring was complementary, even the slight variations appeared busy when against our busier granite.
Your granite is beautiful, and I feel like the backsplash tile would be competing with it. We ended up with Crossville porcelain tile in a creamy white subway style (not installed yet in the photo included here).

If you are leery of being too plain, consider a plainer tile with an accent strip. I really like A2gemini's- hoping she'll respond to this with a pic!

Labbie-your granite is gorgeous! What is it called?

We've had a lot of suggestions for a cream subway tile but DH worries it is something meant for bathrooms , rather than kitchens. Not sure where he got that idea as I have seen it in many kitchens and it looks nice. Would love to see pics of yours if you have any!

It's sooo hard to find a suitable backsplash when granite has lots of movement, isn't it!?!

Both kitchens are beautiful! I don't know if this photo helps or not. I love how the stainless is over the cooktop with the travertine framing it. I have a light travertine backsplash, 4by6 tiles, with busy, almost angry at times granite, mascarello! So I understand your concerns.

Thanks stacieann63, that's the kind of pic I'm looking for. The stainless over the range is very pretty! Makes me wish I had a showpiece range to highlight too!

Is the accent row under the cabinets also stainless steel? It's hard to tell from the angle of the picture. If it is, that's very similar to what I'm thinking about doing!

Your granite is beautiful and I think the varying colors of the travertine may be too busy for it. Also, it seems that sometimes travertine can end up having a pinkish tint to it. Have you seen this post?

Here is a link that might be useful: Unhappy with travertine backsplash

Yes, the accent tile is stainless also. Here is a pic of my backsplash, it is a Turkish travertine in pearl by Portsan. As you can see my granite is very busy. My cabinets are old and I did not replace them as they are solid. Of course, I would have liked to replace them, but had to do a roof, new windows and our eldest daughters wedding last year. Oh well, I can still come on garden web to dream and drool! Good luck to you. Your kitchen is lovely.

The travertine that you show is too pink for your tan and black granite and orangey oak. The stainless and glass could work, but only if that's all you used. What would really work well is a black tile with a bit of stainless thrown into it. With extra under counter lighting. Maybe black glass, or black porcelain with a subtle texture. You just need to stay far away from the pink though.

Juliet11-thanks for the link. before we built the house we are now living in, we bought a house where everything was a peachy-pink color (it was back in the 90's). I definitely want to avoid that look again! The couple samples we've seen of the Mexican Noce appears to have more of a brown undertone than a peachy/pink undertone. I hope it runs true to that, especially if we opt to go that route!

stacieann63-your granite is dramatic! very pretty and a real focal point of your kitchen! I also like the size of your backsplash tiles, something other than the typical 3x6 size most people seem to have if they go with a rectangular shape rather than square.

We built our house in 2000-so it's not that old. Unfortunately, our front sidewalk sank this past summer so we had to replace it. In the meantime, we redid all the landscaping in the front yard (we have 5 acres total so it was a huge project in terms of time and money). So like you, something had to fall by the wayside in the kitchen re-do-and that was our hickory cabinets!

thanks for responding, hollysprings. If I had my way, I wouldn't go with any travertine but DH really likes it a lot. So a stainless and glass only backsplash is out unfortunately . I've never thought about a black tile-might be dramatic! We do have under cabinet lighting but not a lot of natural light in our kitchen so it may be too dark.

I don't see any relationship between the travertine and the cabs and the granite. Please don't let him win this one!

Take a good look at your granite. Do you really think it's traditional? If he gets his way, you'll have traditional cabinets and contemporary granite topped off with Old World/Tuscan travertine. And you do need to consider your floor if that's going to change.

Your granite just went in last month. Slow down!

The easiest way to dissuade anyone from using a travertine bs is to do a search for it on this site. SO many regrets surrounding this choice, and as Holly says, it's not a great choice with the materials you already have. The concept of the "accent" tile is a little dated as well. I know many, many kitchens on this site feature field and accent combos that their owners think are awesome, but choosing a single tile that harmonizes with your other elements is a more contemporary look. You already have so much going on with the granite.

Stainless could work on its own, as you have plenty of it in the space already. Have you considered copper bs tile?

Or a brown or cream glass tile that isn't a shape that your husband thinks belongs in a bathroom?

No pink travertine in this kitchen! Duct tape your husband's hands to keep him from ordering it if you have to! It's totally the wrong look.

Mikewood, our granite is called Golden Crystal. I don't have photos of our backsplash installed, but was inspired by Kellienoelle's (link attached to her reveal post).
It's Crossville RetroActive in empress white- unpolished (so no sheen, a very matte finish), in the longer rectangular shape to set it apart from traditional subway. It's also not a stark white, but almost an antique white, even a tad gray in some light, both coordinate with our counter.

My DH too was convinced we needed travertine because he "liked the way it looks." And he was leery of a white tile in subway shape for fear of it seeming like a bathroom. I love travertine, but not with our granite. It sometimes takes a lot of convincing to get someone out of their preconceived notions.

While the backsplash may be considered boring by some, it offsets our beautiful granite and cabinets perfectly. It's the perfect backdrop, and our granite's the star.

Here is a link that might be useful: busy granite with plain backsplash