I should have mentioned that the granite folks recommended doing the backsplash in 12" tropic brown tile cut 3x6 and placed like offset brick. Even though our light kitchen could probably handle the darkness of it, I thought that would look way too busy. They're now offering us the option of paying $125 to have a designer come up with a backsplash design so we don't have to go out shopping and getting ideas. But I'm hoping someone on this forum will help us come up with something. :-)

Without a photo to go on, have you looked at travertine tiles? It would pick-up the creme and tan of your counters and look really well against the brown of your cabinets.

I like glass tiles and tumbled: I believe it all depends on the look you are going for in your house: also: budget! Glass is expensive: But I love it! I would rather have the granite I want: and have that stand out: and not my splash. I would want all eyes on my granite. That is my opinion. With Tan brown granite: I can see that the splash could stand out more vs. the granite. Picture posted looks great! That splash is way more eye catching vs the Tan brown granite Best wishes!

. 'ATTA GIRL Kay!!! { & sorry such a long post} Puppy cuteness overload!! A rescue from a racetrack?? As I mentioned I have a very spoiled and loved Maltese dog 'my son'! Funny that your color inspiration is also your dog! Coincidentally our insparation was too, he is white with a black nose and eyes, and our kitchen is white, black and gray! Can't wait to look at the photos of tiles to chose from! I'll get back to you on that. And on the subject of 'pink' tile, if your were still considering it at all I do think you were on the right track looking for the 'palest' of pinks, or something 'pink-ish' as you called it if you were to do pink. I think that would be the only sort of shade to work, anything brighter would have looked overwhelming and not good in my opinion paired with your very pale ,earthy, natural looking kitchen. I like other earthy colors for your kitchen too, hard to pinpoint exactly precisely which tile though because tan and gray can vary so much and deviate from what they really are on a computer screen. so ultimately I suggest 'trusting your gut' about what looks best with your materials, opinions of the people who have seen the subtleties of your materials in person would also be valuable. Sometimes I think it can be even more fun when doing a project and working with what you already have because it's more of a challenge and very rewarding in the end. We had to do close to what your doing in our main bathroom, and the challenges we faced are very similar to yours. It wasn't in our budget to redo our kitchen and all 2 1/2 baths in our house, so we had to pick and choose which we did. In our main bathroom our original 1979 tile, and bathtub is in excellent condition. But in the beginning at first I hated the color called 'Mexican Sand' which is a coffee color with very strong 'PINK' tones in it {sounding familiar Kay? lol!}. Our tub and tile could have read entirely pink depending on what I chose to pair with it. So I took my time and very carefully picked a wall paint in a warm sandy color with yellow tones in it, this paint color brought out the 'brown' in the tile instead of the 'pink'. We also chose to replace the small formica countertop which holds a single sink and replaced with a quartz top, which looks like actual sand on a beach. So in our case we got rid of the counter and kept the tile, opposite of what you are doing. We also added a new toilet, and a new undermount sink in the same color as the existing bathroom tile ---Kohler still makes 'Mexican Sand' {thankfully lol!}. I hated the tile in the beginning and now I actually LOVE my beachy looking Mexican sand tiled bathroom! And it was so rewarding to make it all work, I'm proud of it now. I hope you will have similar results and also be satisfied with the results of your finished project!!{I too have a huge collection of crystals, geodes, various rocks, sea shells & sea glass. } P.S. Update: I just took a look at all of your tile samples, and I think you will do fine picking something that works! I see a lot of possibilities which look as though they could work from the samples you have chosen, your choosing well. It would be helpful if you post some photos of the tiles in the kitchen while standing far back from them & including the wall & cabinet color in the whole picture. I am better at telling how a tile would look when seeing it with the rest of the kitchen. Looks like you are on the right track! I had not considered a matt tile, but that also looks great and will be a nice contrast to the shiny countertops. Is it easy to clean? Might be something to consider if you are an avid cook. --Sorry about the long post, hard for me to say everything and keep it short!