Hi again, Cj47! I'm sorry for the confusion, but in my previous reply, I didn't mean to imply that I was "voting" for you to use the first stone in your photos--only that I think that using a natural stone on the backspash could look great,(as evidenced in my friend's kitchen) even though you have "faux" stone and granite elsewhere. Also, when I said that I loved the stack stone in the photo, I meant that I personally loved the stone, and was interested in finding out where I could get that, for MY KITCHEN, LOL, as I have been looking for a slate or quartzite stack stone for MY kitchen! (Can you tell me where it is from or what the name of it is?) I actually was thinking about your "dilemma" this morning, and here is some "food for thought", fwiw. I was trying to imagine what I would do- so bear with me here: Pretend you "rolled back" the clock, and you hadn't yet installed the floor or counter yet. Imagine that you were in a tile design showroom, and had just picked out your granite (which happens to look just like your existing laminate), and had just selected your floor tile, which was a REAL, NATURAL SLATE TILE (in a color and pattern that just happened to look exactly like your existing vinyl!) Now, if you then decided that you wanted to go with a natural stone for the backsplash, too, wouldn't you obviously select a stone tile that was the same type and color of slate as you had just selected for the floor, though not necessarily the same pattern? You would definitely NOT go over to the sample racks and pick out another completely different type of stone or different color of slate, now would you? And I don't think that you would, after having just picked out a strong pattern for the floor, such as your "versailles" pattern, decide to go with another strong, but completely different and unrelated tile pattern (such as the stacked stone)that used stones of completely different sizes and shapes, either. You would probably either use the same "Versailles" pattern on the wall, or pick out one of the sizes of tiles used in the floor pattern, such as a 2 x 2 or 4 x 4, for example, and use one of those in a simple pattern on the wall. For an accent and some contrast, maybe you would include a small border of glass mosaic tiles, for example. My point is, if you think of your floor as if it was a real slate tile, it might help you in your decision making process for the backsplash- especially if you are thinking of stone tile for the backsplash. I hope this helps. Perhaps your designer was trying to get a close match to your floor, but on my computer the stones she picked don't look like they are even the same color or even the same type of stone as your floor is trying to emulate. The last option you showed us (with the same pattern as your floor,) would be a specially poor choice since the comparision between the two would be obvious, and the colors appear very different. It would look like you tried to match the floor, but didn't quite get it right (or vice versa!) However, you may have a hard time matching the floor's vinyl with a real slate. I have no idea how realistic your floor "slate" is in real life. In that case, I think using a totally different material, such as a ceramic tile (not one trying to look like stone, though!)or glass is probably a "safer" option. If you went that route, you could tie it in with the floor perhaps by using a small slate border (and maybe a slate accent feature above the range). If it is used in small quatities, the slate's comparision to the floor would be minimized. If the color was very close, it could work well, imho. I think that the mixed mosaic tile that Drainbead picked out looks like it might work for you--it looks like it has some slate mixed with glass. It is very pretty, though it might look more contemporary than craftsman, however. I don't think the gold color of the walker zanger tile you posted is very flattering to your cabinets, though perhaps it is just that the photo's color is off, or my computer's color! I think you are wise to examine all the elements/colors of your space together when deciding---just like a designer's project board! Best wishes on your project. Let us know what you decide. (And please post the info on the stacked stone, thanks!)

The way you describe your kitchen, it sounds just like mine. I just agonized over the backsplash, and finally decided on Oceanside Glasstile, Geologie series, in Sandstone color, 1x2 offset brick pattern. It is a glass and slate combination. The runner up was a falling water honed slate by Stone & Pewter accents in the "Prairie" color. Tan Brown granite is going to look great. We went with Tropical Brown, but Tan Brown was a top choice too.

I don't think we'll ever fully redo this kitchen. We'll probably only be in this house for another 2-5 years, and we're really just looking to make the space more enjoyable for us and up the resale value a bit. Our kitchen is very small, especially for a 4 bedroom house. So without knocking down walls and changing the whole layout of the 1st floor, we're not going to have a gourmet kitchen. And we're just not prepared to put that kind of money in the house given the state of the market, and I don't think our neighboorhood can support the kind of increase in price that we'd want to see to make it worth it. Sorry for all that rambling! Long story short, I think we're going to try to keep it simple for now, and save all these beautiful kitchen ideas for our next house.

How about laminated sheet glass? It is a modern look but I think could look great with soapstone. Large 18 inch rectified tile (cut so accurate and straight so that grout lines are minimal) You would only have 1 tile per 18 inches of countertop. This would be minimal grout. Slab marble Semi gloss paint (easier cleaning) Stainless steel sheeting (not sure with copper accents?) I only have a backsplash behind my range (marble mosaic). The rest of my kitchen is painted sheetrock (highly scrubbable BM Aura paint) with soapstone countertops. It has been 3 years and looks as good as new. Also, keep in mind that you don't have to rush the backspash. It is one of the few things that can easily be done at a later date. You can have your outlets set for sheetrock depth and just paint the walls while you figure it out. When you decide on a backsplash material, it is easy to add the outlet extenders to bring them to the proper depth. The outlet extenders come in different depths for different tile dpeths and take only a few minutes per outlet to install (You may need longer screws). I am going on 3 years and still can't decide on the rest of the backsplash. By the time I decide, it will be time to redo the rest of the kitchen again. Good luck!