Thanks again everyone! I'm so happy with how the backsplash ties the cabinets and counter together - it's hard to really know what something will look like from just a few sample tiles. a2gemini- I got my tile from Best Tile. The link shows their locations - if you live on the east coast there may be one near you. susied3 - We're happy - the old cabinets do look new. We had them refaced so the doors, drawers and hardware are new and the old cabinet boxes were covered with 1/4" thick maple stained to match the new doors.

If your choice were only between to 2 you originally posted, I'd choose the one on the right--the cream one. From the photos it looks like it works very well with your quartzite. The gray one is "off" just enough not to look pleasing. However, as many have noted, either one is more difficult to clean than a smooth surface. What sort of cook are you--very neat or more devil-may-care? If you are very neat and do not splash much when you cook, then you may get away with the split-faced marble, but if you are a more exuberant cook, you may find it a challenge to clean. The mother of pearl is very formal and quite busy, so it's going to compete with the counter tops as well. Personally, I would use a smooth crackle tile in a tan/beige tone to work with your quartzite. Simple is always good.

When you look up Fantasy Brown granite here you will see many many examples of poorly chosen backsplashes. Many are very small scale and multi toned and when you see it you will have to agree it was not a good choice. There are a few safe subway choices but even then the color was off. It’s a tricky stone to work with. Even if you’ve purchased the tile shown it’s not too late to return it and keep looking. Try to get a few tiles in the tones you are looking at - I think that griege tile you were looking at was going to end up too ‘brown’. You can set your options up VERTICALLY at the back wall so you can step back and see if the overall tones are working together.

Yours looks nice! Also I notice with many professional photos, they lighten up / over expose the photo so much that the brightness is a bit unrealistic. (Your inspiration picture looks like it's been artificially brightened; see how everything on the left is almost a blur - the sconce, door trim, side of the cabinet. I'd guess it doesn't look the same in real life.) Your kitchen looks great!