Why not just give in and buy a chanticleer and be done with it? The harlequins sound pretty!

To tone down the Frenchiness of the backsplash, go more modern. A Transitional style should have some more modern elements and your door styles (if that's the real ones in your samples) are more traditional than a true shaker style. I'd recommend a hand made glass.

Lunada Bay makes some great ones. I'm not sure about this color, but here are samples.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Thanks plllog, I'm on my way over to at Lunada now because I think I like that bottom one.

My doors are shaker, but I couldn't find a color sample to post in my door style.

Love the Lunada Bay tiles.

Here's Trikeenan tiles in random white blend:

Mix of white, cream, and gray so goes beautifully with your uppers, counter, and stainless. Doesn't look particularly French. :)

Choose an unexpected accent color to stand out against the gray, the warm yellowypeach floor and the reds and creams of the cupboards. Turquoise? blue-purple? screaming green? shrimp? or some kind of distinctive print? Try to interpret the red of the lower cupboards in its brownness instead of its redness.

Will there be a window in the kitchen? Choose a fabric for Roman Shades which is decidedly un-French. Right now, in photos of kitchens I see a lot of plain or modest print fabrics used with a vertical trim piece running parallel along each of the two sides and sometimes perpendicular across the bottom. Depending on your choice of fabrics and colors, this can be very classic or painfully modern or, of course, very French. The choices are endless. A local person can probably beat the cost of custom-order at a franchise shop. Or can you sew? These are not hard, only time consuming to figure out how to do it and to sew the rings up the back for the cords.

If you have extra fabric, make aprons or stool cushions or appliance covers to match roman shade.

Choose classy, attractive but un-French graphic items--a painting? stencil? linens? A landscape photo of icebergs? Framed family photos in a wonderful layout? A Grant Wood print? Hula girls? An abstract?

Seek out hardware for the cupboards that has a more modern, more edgy feeling. If the light fixture is sort of a golden gray, can you find something to compliment it in the hardware dept? Try the Great Indoors Online, for example, for some interesting choices.

Choose a glass for the cupboard doors that is not cute or romantic; personally, I'm going for something on the order of Italia Glass (a Finnish glassware company) if I can work it out in cabinet glass, otherwise I'm going to buy some kind of a cross-reeded textured glass which will have lots of sparkle when doors move, but my kitchen will be more modern in feeling than yours, I suspect. Do NOT buy cabinet glass with any kind of metallic grid in it, especially not a diamond one.

I am leaning toward doing a 4-inch square slightly peasantish not quite terracotta red tile under the cabinets, but recently found a horizontal trim piece that has pseudo-metal angular modern figures which will suck all the old-fashioned right out of that wall. (if I can figure how to afford it, cough, cough.) Is the gray "mumbi" a backsplash tile? Maybe you can find some kind of trim or way to make the gray tile look less earthy and more classic or more arty?

Avoid corbels on your cupboardry, gew-gaws on your faucets, and any fleur-de-lis patterns. Put plants into planters that don't have flower motifs on them. Avoid all visual allusions to wine bottles, bread, vegetables and herbs, sun, or cooking tools. Also avoid showy gilt trimmings, cherubs, and nostalgic items.

Here is a link that might be useful: Great Indoors cabinet hardware, a place to start for ideas

florantha, I painted this for the kitchen wall a few years ago...does it look french? Hehehe! Maybe that a clor out of that?

Alors! C'est un problème énorme. Fichu Français décorant.

Embrace your doors.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oldie but goodie - real french kitchens

Is is the fridge? Is it committing mutiny or planning a coup...Maybe a French(door) Revolution? I know I'm being lame, but I'm exhausted and not responsible for my lack of respectable humor! But this has to be the funniest subject title I've seen.

I love the sound of the color of your uppers. It's one of my favorite variations on a 'white' kitchen.

I'm sorry that I'm no help with the backsplash...but I think the glass you've gone to look for would be cool, even though I'm not usually into chevron designs...and the Trikeenan blends like Pickle2 showed are my favorites.

Merci beaucoup! Now I know why IÂm having such a hard time. I think I was French in a past life but husband says he thinks I was a Jewish princess but in reality IÂm an American mutt...American Indian, German, Irish, French and who know what else.

However, those French kitchen pictures were helpful and purdy. I think I should somehow bring soft touches of that that teal/blue color in the backsplash with some other color or two. I have all colors in my house but there is a little of that teal/blue color in every room. So, we are getting closer but need something maybe transitional/classic or ???

J'aime tout les choses Français.

And now here are some beautiful backsplashes.
Apprécier,
~boxer

Trikeen Tile

Giorbello Tile

Green Tile BS

Fine Lines Blog

Giorbello Glass

amazingkitchens.com

Boxerpups, those are to die for!
Ok, I'm going to try this picture posting again and I have included some pictures of the rest of the house. Nothing matches but they are things I like. Keep in mind the kitchen cabinet door style is shaker and not those in the door paint/stain sample. Also, for some reason the teal/blue colors are not showing up and those that are seem to be reading green (don't want green) but I do like teal/blue...well I like most colors but need this backsplash to blend.
http://s1004.photobucket.com/albums/af170/jterrilynn/kitchen%20picks/?action=view&current=p1010045-1.jpg"; target="_blank">

Okay, Okay, I see what you mean...
how about these...

Design Lines LTD.

Stone Impressions

Yes I know the "French" jester suit. : )

Daniel's Kitchen and Bath tiles

Boxer you are a GEM! I like both the Oregon live and the Daniels concepts...one is more contemporary and one is...well I don't know . I just bite at picking backsplashs! I'm so torn between styles and I must have an image of over all look before I go on vacation or I'll be haunted and cut off my ear.

some random ideas:
glasstileoasis:
{{!gwi}}
marble and teal glass:
{{!gwi}}
No teal or harlequin... but I kinda like how it ties in the buttercream and color of your floors and dark cabs.:From Buy TIle
{{!gwi}}
vanilla frappe"
{{!gwi}}
blue/gold blend from buytile:

{{!gwi}}
and of course... Sonoma Tantrum tiles in a myriad of colors. THis is just a sample display board i could imbed.

Remodelfl, I think you found the tile, and right when I was getting discouraged. The BuyTile butter cream and translucent terra cotta glass tile I think will soften up the contrasts a bit, plus itÂs easy to get along with, goes well with other colors and brings in a little contemporary. I could always paint a picture with those colors plus a few more like teal/blue and frame in glass for under range, then I have the option of a color change in that area when I want it. I didnÂt show all the paintings on my walls but I do have a lot of vibrant color elsewhere. Think I will send for a sample...thank you one and all for all your help!!!

Mmmm, I think Remodelfla found it -- love those BuyTile colors and look for your space. They have the organic vibrancy of your other style choices without being all precious-Williams-Sonoma-Francophile.

Surefire way to get your kitchen to stop speaking French? Put some German appliances in it! ;-)

Gosh, I'm swooning over those from Buy Tile. Get them. I wish I had seen them months and months ago...alas, too late for me.

pup

bump

How about "Vintage Chanel" - doesn't get more French than that. This is from Susan Jablon Mosaics, which is my favorite place to drool over tile designs.

http://www.susanjablonmosaics.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=14473

jterrilynn, I'm using that Troy Harlequin lantern in my upstairs sitting room!
Love it!

This is pushing it a bit, but more french kitchen porn. No actual french language required - easy to guess what the buttons do.

Very personal kitchens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marie Claire Maison photo gallery

Thanks everyone for your help! RemodelFla, you picked the perfect glass tile in the BuyTile crystile cinnamon, my husband actually got excited for the first time over the kitchen remodel. On top of that when the sample came they also sent a 20% off coupon for the tile. Yeah to that because now I am closer to budget, however I have contacted an eBay seller on a tile in the same category & brand but different color to see if I can get it even cheaper.
Darbuka, love the harlequin light but that too is over my budget unless I find it on sale so I am exploring other possibilities. ButÂif it is cheaper somewhere I will find it. I may splurge though but not sure yet, I just know me and may want a slightly different look in two or three years so I donÂt like to waste money when I change things out.

What about doing the glass tiles but running them vertically?

Boxerpups--what is the Trikeen tile with the martini glasses in the picture? It might be perfect for my kitchen..