The white, because the cabinets are white, and ya can't really go wrong with white.
The far left color because it matches the countertop. And, I LIKE IT BETTER!

LOL...I'm just no help at all.

I like the taupe, especially since you have the gap between the counter and bar.

Has the counter grown on you? I really like it.

Oooh, I love the smoked glass on the left. Love it! It tones down the starkness of the white and granite and blends them so nicely. Much more welcoming feel.

The smoke glass on the left looks great with your counters and will set off your cabinets nicely without too much contrast. Go for it! Your granite is beautiful. Can't wait to see the whole room finished.

Love the granite but the tiles seem too plain to me.
You may want to think about a mosaic pattern in the appropriate colors of course.
Here's a sample of what I mean.

Gosh they are both beautiful.
White would go with anything if later you change the wall
color.
Taupe (left tile) looks stunning with the granite.
How does it look with the wall paint?

If a vote is what you need, I vote taupe. It is so pretty.
I am truly glad you are feeling more confident about
that marvelous granite.
~boxer

Thanks everyone! Boxer, I think the taupe will blend with the wall just fine if we decide to keep the brown walls. Unfortunately I just called to order it and it is on back order until the beginning of April. I am so ready for this project to be done!

The granite is definitely growing on me. I do think it is a beautiful stone, just still a little overwhelming in the kitchen. But as I said earlier this week, I think that's because of the current disheveled state of the kitchen. For the first time, with the taupe glass tile next to it, I can visualize a finished product that looks good to me. Thanks again for your help!

I also vote for the taupe. It is much warmer looking and I think would pull your whole kitchen together.

Loving the "smoke" color glass tile. Looks great with everything and the shine will give it some bling. Good choice!

I love the smoke too. I think it would add some contrast and interest while tying everything together beautifully.

I prefer the taupe but have to ask about the ss tiles nearby. What is the plan for those? I think they also could be cool....
BTW - I love the dramatic part of your stone near where you placed your samples. It has such character!

We originally used a very similar taupe backsplash, and our granite is also somewhat close to yours. The colors in the picture seem off but in real life the tile was the exact same color as the taupe in the granite. Here's a photo to show you how they looked together.

And another similar kitchen. Granite is not the same once again but gives you an idea. :)

I like the smoke color too. It looks so nice with your granite.
Renee

Xc60 thanks so much for posting those. That is incredibly helpful. It looks great and makes me feel confident about the taupe. You mentioned you originally had those tiles...did you switch them out because you didn't like it? Your kitchen is gorgeous.

Dianolo, it was the swirls in the granite that really drew us to it. We worked hard with the templating to get the swirl to match up with the corner of the peninsula. It is perfect there. Thanks for the compliment!

Namarie, thank you so much and your so welcome. I loved the tiles but due to a very bad install that you can't see in that photo it all had to come down. The tiler was horrible at cutting glass tile and the second time I just was too scared to go through that again and choose a split-faced travertine that matching our fireplace in the adjoining room instead.

I'm sure the tiles with work wonderfully in your kitchen, please keep us updated and post finished photos. :)

xc60, that is very worrisome! My tile guy has great reviews from everyone I've talked to and I have seen his work. I know he has installed glass before, but don't think he has installed the glass subways. Should I be looking for someone else? The people who did our counters also have a tile guy who will charge several hundred more than the guy we have, but he has definitely done glass subways, so perhaps I should just pay the extra?

We ordered the tile today. We ended up going with a different one from the one posted above because it was on backorder. The color is very similar, just slightly lighter, and goes perfectly with the lighter colors in the granite. I really think I am going to love it once the pretty polished tile goes in.

I'm sure you will have no problems with a professional tiler. I think the real problem with my bad tile install was with my builder's "so-called" tiler. He is good friends with my builder so my builder hires him to do all kinds of things he's not trained for and has zero interest on learning how to do properly. :(

Your kitcen look beautiful, I too like the one on the left, even thoug the white one would look good too.

Another vote for the "smoke". On my monitor it has a nice grey-taupe look that blends really nicely with your granite IMHO.

And your granite is really pretty! Glad you're warming up to it. Let us know how it goes!

mmhmm