Sounds like you are ready for a cream tile. But, what color are your cabinets?
The backsplash is by far the hardest when you did not go into the kitchen reno with a vision of how you wanted your kitchen to turn out.
Take your time. As you and many of us here have found out, you CAN make a mistake with a backsplash. Not the end of the world but who wants the aggravation if you can avoid it?
Look through the Finished Kitchen Blog and the Backsplash Slide Show. You will see hundreds of kitchens and in most cases you will know the tile that was actually used.
Get a few examples and post them here along with your ideas of various sizes. Post your kitchen so we can get an idea of scale. When we narrow down the color and shape, you can creat a sample board and view it at all times of the day in your kitchen. This is good in deciding the grout color too.
You can paint the backsplash the color you are planning on and see if it works visually for you. This will give you extra time to decide.
Take your time. Some people here have waited years before deciding.
This kitchen forum loves a good backsplash challenge!

Hello!

I will say ditto to the above comment about taking your time! We didn't 5 years ago and basically let the tile guy design our backsplash. We just spent last weekend cutting the tile and drywall out. (tile wouldn't come off without destroying drywall, so we cut it out instead). We NEVER want to go through that mess again!
We are in the process of picking a new backsplash now. I am spending a lot of time looking at pictures online, looking at magazines, posting here and asking for suggestions. All of these references will help you to decide what you like and don't like. The posters on this wonderful board have been really great giving me feedback about my choices. I was heading in a direction, posted about it here, and from the responses I got, it led me to re-think my direction. I am grateful for that. Good luck on your search and enjoy the process!

Hello, I would wait until the cabs, countertops, and wall color are in. Then you can put your samples in your kitchen for a few days and be able to look at the samples at different times of day.

www.houzz.com is another great inspiration source.

I know someone who used 12x12 crema marfil, I think it was polished. She had the tile setter cut them to 6x12 and she installed them subway style, very pretty! The factory edges have to be very straight in order to cut them to 6x12. You don't want the cut edge to look different from the factory edges. You'll also have to consider if you'll need any trim pieces (where the backplash ends). She did not need any trim pieces since her backplash ended into cabinets on all ends so it looked very clean.

Good luck!

Take samples of your counter, cabs and flooring to the tile store. Pull samples and bring them home. Take pics and show them here.

I think a ceramic tile will give you the calmness you want. The larger sizes will also. You do not need to do what anyone else wants you to, (of course you and your dh need to agree lol) so go with what you like.
The pix I see of your stone online vary a lot. It seems like a gray, taupe, beige or cream would work depending on what your slab actually looks like. I may even be seeing a hint of green in a few of them. What color is the floor and what are your cabs? Do you have the wall color already? What color are the adjacent rooms and your overall scheme?

I know several people who were in the same dilemma and decided to wait, some as long as 2 years, before making their decision.
They haven't regretted it.
A backsplash is not a necessity, so there's no harm in living with your new kitchen before making your decision.

What about using the same granite as your counters? All the BS tile we liked was almost as expensive as the granite so we just decided to use granite instead..makes for a very cohesive look.

I agree with the others to take your time. Sometimes it's hard to visualize how the granite will look once it's installed. If you have a lot of movement in the granite,and a busy backsplash too - it can just be too much for the eye. Sometimes the movement in a natural stone backsplash competes with the movement in the granite - even a "calmer" stone like marble.

Looking at photos can help you figure out what direction you want to go. Some of the tile manufacturers have lots of beautiful photos, and can be a good place to get ideas. Sometimes you can even get a few samples to put out next to the granite to get a feel for it. Getting 10-12 tiles can really make a difference (rather than just one or two).

I went to the extreme step of drawing a mock-up of the backsplash on onion paper. (A little tedious, but not that difficult if you have a large ruler). It really helped me. Good Luck!