Found the right search: "tile backsplash granite counter" and sure enough many people have asked. Here's one: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2696049/3-granite-backsplash-needed-if-plan-to-tile-backsplash-kitchen?n=5 Takeaway is that it is definitely not necessary and the majority of people don't like it with the extra granite piece. Someone observed that this probably ends up this way most often when the tile was added later over the original granite backsplash.

This is a freestanding fridge, so it does not affect the value of your house (or can be swapped out for the pictures if you have to sell). That care taken care of, measure carefully. Remember that many full depth fridges still need air circulation in the back, so make sure you're looking at the full footprint numbers, rather than the box depth. Draw it out on the floor with masking tape. If you're not in the space yet, do it where you are, and make tape versions of the nearby cabinets and island too. Fill with boxes. See if walking around the stick-outy fridge bugs you. See if you bump into it a lot. Because that wall is there, no matter what depth fridge you have, it's going to have to stick out so a left-of-picture hinged door can open completely or have a single door opening between you and the working part of the kitchen. This can actually be useful, because you can dump things on the island, but snack raiders and condiment snarfers can be more or less outside of the kitchen while they root around in the fridge. Play around with the possibilities and the tape and boxes, and you'll soon figure out which you want. There are pluses and minuses of each, but it's how you and your family with use it and what will please or annoy you that matters. That's different for everybody.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. We moved this past year and yes, it’s a terrible kitchen layout. Unfortunately I know that my husband will not ever do a total kitchen remodel. We just don’t know how long we will live here to make it worth it. We made the mistake of doing WAY to much to our last house and ended up moving after only 1.5 years. We will be rotating the cooktop so that it is still in the island but instead face the fridge. There’s no way to put it elsewhere without getting all new cabinets, I tried. I see what you are saying with the grey, and maybe I should have said lighter counter as I’m not tied to grey, just something a little brighter. Is there any lighter granite that works well with Ooba Tooba? My main question is still do I only do the island counter or do I do the entire kitchen’s counters to be uniform?

Thanks for input. Removing backsplash not an option & of course decisions are easier when replacing all! But, sounds like your idea is to tie new counter in to backsplash color. The backsplash & granite do look more color complementary to each other when seen in person! The granite background isn’t as white as appears & is warmer. It’s Santa Cecilia granite but the lightest example we’ve ever seen of it.