#7, the dark antiqued finish most visible in the second picture, looks best IMO out of what you've shown, although you don't tell us anything else about your kitchen except that you have sparkly black granite counters. With dark cabinets, dark floors, a drab wall color and insufficient lighting it might be a complete disaster. #2 looks downright orange on my monitor, #6 is much too bright and lacks depth, and I've never liked the verdigris look such as in #4 and #5 because it just looks neglected to me - verdigris is a fancy name for corrosion. Fine for the Statue of Liberty maybe, not so much for a kitchen. I like this pattern a LOT though, it's quite different from most I've seen - do you have information such as manufacturer, style name/number, etc.? Our old Victorian's ceilings are trashed now and will be even worse after some other work is done, and DH would really go for this pattern. Not to mention its undoubtedly being a LOT cheaper than either the metal or plastic embossed panels.

Why would those options be any more or less monotonous than other choices? The good thing about the corkcorc wallpaper is that they are so inexpensive and easy to change out is that if/when you tire of them, you won't cry in your wallet when you put something else up. I saw a boat recently where they bought the cheap cork underlayment that comes in rolls at HD, glued it on their counters, and finished with a couple coats of polyurethane. Looks fabulous. Cost about $60.

Exactly what Lily's mom said. How all of the space will look like? How you imagine it to be? Maybe what you really like less about the kitchen-are the floors? Or maybe you'll decide to change your carpet in the future-and all the colors will look slightly different? Don't hurry to invest in something as costly/permanent(relative to other things) as backsplash tile. Especially in the kitchen where you do have some movement in the floor(I mean color of course)), and some, even though very subtle, in the countertops. It's a nice kitchen. It really is. I'd live with it some more time before rushing into anything semi-permanent. You'll know so much more about space and yourself in it when you're there for a little longer..your decisions will be much better considered simply because you'll know more what your needs and wants are. The lighter countertops actually provide a good contrast with the cabinets. You might not like these exact countrertops-but don't be in a rush about this too. Maybe you'd rather paint the cabinets, in a couple years or so? Maybe you need time to figure out what countertops you'd rather see there? Don't let one element dictate the rest of the decisions for you. You really need to see the space as a whole-and it takes time. To summarize it-I'll go for paint. I'd pick something more saturated. Even if it's neutral( and I'd go for neutral here, at least for now until other things get figured out). More saturated color will take the certain blandness away, and will make you happier..I think. Wallpaper can be cool decision, under acrylic sheets for example..or painted glass might be cool too. But I wouldn't wrap it around..just the backsplash, not the sidesplash..so you'll need to consider it too. Where will it stop? What to do with the existing sidesplash? Etc, etc. And if in the future you do decide to keep everything-the cabinets stain, the floors, the countertop, everything- the same and just add the backsplash-the last thing I would do for the backsplash would be glass mosaics. Just my humble opinion.

I realized I never updated you all on what we went with! We got a peel and stick fake tile and love it. It's still holding up so well after 2 years, and everyone who comes over has to touch it to believe it isn't glass. I know fake stuff like this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's a nice pop of color in our kitchen until we can afford to upgrade the whole thing. This was the one we got: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B077H4M3X6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WUHiFbKCQ89B8