have you considered a quartzite slate? It's not really slate, doesn't flake or chip the way slate can. We're installing it in our kitchen because I fell in love with the natural colors it has. Our granite is Verde Peacock, very simular to the butterfly. Here is a sample of the slate I'm referring to, it's called Baoding Creme & you can find it at www.tileship.com. The price they have on their site is 25-30% higher than what we ended up paying at the store & if you enhance it with sealer, it is gorgeous! It also comes in lots of tile sizes as well as a mosaic:
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We are doing Verde Peacock with Chocolate Cherry cabinets (not in yet). We haven't made it to the backsplash yet, so I'm in the same boat here.

tileship.com isn't an active website. Do you have any better link to this backsplash you used?

The tiles in your picture might be a little too dark for us.

The site is www.tileshop.com

I really like the marble backsplash in smilingjudy's kitchen. I picked up a whole box (about 4 sq ft) and took it home and layed it out on the counter. There's a lot of variation and I don't know if it competes with the verde butterfly. Also, it is all light colors--white, beige, and some gray. The verde butterfly has various shades of green (some really dark that appear black), some beige-ish gold, small chunks of white (some have a hint of beige, some have a slight hint of gray) and chunks of garnet that look black unless light is shining directly on it. The marble has some of the light colors from the granite, but nothing dark. Does it need to have more dark to tie in? Here's a picture of the marble installed in smilingjudy's kitchen. Do you think it would go with my granite, or should I go with something more uniform and not so much variation?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/75956245@N00/3323890926/in/set-72157606827035296/

I'm thinking of getting the verde butterfly granite as well, and have been considering backsplash... The marble blacksplash is lovely, and I think it would go quite well with the verde butterfly. Since your cabs are or will be white, though, I'm wondering if maybe you shouldn't go for something more in between the white of the cabs and the dark granite -- just a slightly darker shade than this marble. On the other hand, they would create a nice monochromatic effect with your cabs, if that's what you're going for.

Can you post a pic of the actual slab? That would be really helpful

I'm not sure how to post my own pictures here. I know I need to upload to photobucket or the like. I will work on that tomorrow. I took a picture today of the granite with the marble laid out on it. But in the meantime, this stock photo is very close to what my granite looks like:

http://www.granitestock.com/eis-cgi-bin/8180/gran?color=Verde%20Butterfly&templ=granite_csearch_color.html

Thanks for the help!

The cabinets aren't white, but I do believe this was verde butterfly granite for the countertop:

That's bottocino tumbled marble.

Or what about this ming green marble?

http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Classic.Tile.And.Marble.inc.718-331-2615/picture/view/1383839

I saw something at the tile store that was similar, though I don't think it was marble, and when the salesman who had been helping me saw me looking at it, he laughed and said, "I hope you aren't selling your house any time soon, and if you are, you better hope a leprechaun buys it." Yeah, I know, not the best salesman. We aren't selling our house any time soon, probably in about 2 years, so I do want something that is pretty neutral or universally appealing. This doesn't seem like a crazy color to me (and I am a little color shy)--it seems like a pretty neutral green, no? Anyone have this marble, or an opinion on how it goes with verde butterfly? I hope I'm not being too much of a pain with all these questions. I'm just so anxious to get this decision made, and I really appreciate how helpful everyone on this forum is.

I think the ming green is beautiful. I would love to see it up against your granite. I think it could make a very sophisticated kitchen.

Wow, that Ming Green in the basket weave is really beautiful and different. Love that.

Sorry I had a typo in my website post, as Harriet helpfully pointed out it's www.tileshop.com. thanks Harriet. :c)

I like the ming green, too. I do wonder about resale, though. This green does read as a neutral (to me anyway) but I wonder if all potential buyers would see it as a neutral. Maybe a more solid beige? I don't know. Beige is safe. But I can really see both working for you. Maybe others have an opinion on the ming green, and how green it actually appears. I've never actually seen it in person...

Ruby, I feel almost the same as you. Our floor is a neutral beige and we'll have Verde Butterfly granite with Chocolate Cherry cabinets. In the pictures, the ming green does look fairly neutral, but I do worry about putting something that might look very green on the walls.

Hi mybrowneyedgirls,

We are getting Verde Butterfly granite for our kitchen countertop next week and we have not pick out the tiles for the backsplash, yet.. It's tough.. What tile did you end up using? Do you like it? I would love to see a picture of it if it's available! Thank you!