Bought and paid for and functional, I'd use it. Back splash choice (the tile) is nice but not terribly dynamic (probably one the reasons you chose it) so adding the stainless back splash will add a little tension with the other more retro aspects of your kitchen. It will give it a bit of contrast.

Thanks everyone. I'm all smiley and giddy hearing your kind comments. It melts me heart. I'm glad to hear people like the backsplash tile. It is pretty bold. I was also THRILLED with how the stain on the island turned out. Interestingly, lots of people say the kitchen has a peaceful look and feel to it and that wasn't necessarily something I was aiming for but my kitchen mission statement did include "casual but sophisticated/elegant" which might boil down to "peaceful or tranquil". We feel very blessed to have been able to do such a large scale kitchen remodel and are thrilled with how everything turned out. It also means we won't be moving for the next 15+ years! I can't wait until the bar stools are in and I can start serving snacks to my kids there. We are borrowing one bar stool right now and it gets a lot of use. clarygrace and others - I'm glad to hear you think the colors are coordinate b/c I was in a quandary about that at one point. I can't wait to see your kitchen and island. We love the shape of ours but did it b/c it worked within our constraints. We didn't want to mess with the existing deck outside the bay windows and we couldn't push right much more either b/c of the powder room. And speaking of the powder room - here are pictures of that which was also part of this remodel: tea4all - the pantry is pretty small as far as walk-in pantries go. Finished dimensions are 5.5' long by 46'' wide. We weren't originally going to do a pantry but it made sense with the rest of the layout (it brought the oven closer to the rest of the kitchen) and I am really glad we did! It was actually framed larger and had to be redone b/c large aisles were more important to me than a few more inches in the pantry. The other detail I forgot to include - the grout color on the backsplash is Custom Grout Light Smoke and on the floor it is Lacrete Parchment (just in case someone really wants to know - ha!)

Definitely not behind the fridge, just a waste of money as it will never be seen. For the range, are you talking about the whole wall behind the range, down to the floor and up to the vent hood? I would not put backsplash tile down to the floor, again just a waste of money but from countertop height up to vent hood, yes.

Our GE Profile has a vent at the back too. But I can't say I have ever had a bunch of smoke or anything coming out of it. It almost doesn't seem to emit smells from back there. The oven seems so air tight that you can only smell what is baking once you open the door. And we have had to adjust to being careful not to get our faces too close when we open the door as the heat and moisture blast could singe eyebrows! So I am not sure what that part actually vents but it is an open vent. I do use this (see link) spatter guard when I am frying or making a tomato based sauce to prevent excess splattering all over everything. But I have still gotten tomato and grease on the backsplash and it has just wiped off. I don't leave it there and clean up as soon as I can. The product I used was recommended by our tile supplier. It is called aqua Mix Rapid Cure (Sealer's Choice Gold) Good for granite, marble, limestone, travertine,porous tile and grout. I only used it on our tile backsplash. Not on our granite countertops. This is it: Aqua Mix But I would test it on a scrap or clear it with your fabricator.