I don't think mine fits what you have in mind, but here is what I did:

Thanks rhome410! I'm happy to have any examples. Are the borders on each side of the range wood to match your cabinets? I like the mix of materials and styles of the backsplash in your kitchen but I don't think I'm brave enough to attempt that! Right now I'm almost ready to just pick one tile and tell the contractor to just put it everywhere, including behind the range with no particular pattern. It's that time in the project when you just want it done and have very little energy left to care about it :)

Here is ours. Again probably not what you are looking for.

Thanks grendal_fly! I like the stainless steel shelf. I've also been toying with the idea of using a big sheet of stainless steel behind the range, but I know my husband won't go for it. I feel as if I should do something more interesting but am tired of thinking about it!

Are the borders on each side of the range wood to match your cabinets?

The borders between the two types of tile are place holders until the corbels that are supposed to be there get finished. :-) They will be gray to match the rangetop area cabinets. I will probably just paint the wood that's there now and attach the corbels to it.

Maybe you can tell what it's supposed to look like from this rendering:

Have you seen Alku05's kitchen? Hers isn't a 48" range, but she does have the small marble bricks and didn't do anything different behind her 36" range. It's a pretty great looking kitchen, and the tile is so interesting and beautiful that it isn't really necessary to change it behind the range.

Heres mine, over my 48 inch range

{{gwi:1581557}}{{gwi:1537172}}

Rhome410 - that's so funny that the wood is just there temporarily! I think it looks just fine the way it is, but will be even more beautiful once the corbels are in :) Thanks for the photo of Alku05's kitchen. I do love that tile. I remember seeing the kitchen at one time, but had completely forgotten about it. I also really love WillaDecor's backsplash tile (I think it was her kitchen that used the Calacatta marble). It appears that it could be Calacatta gold but I'm definitely not the expert, so not sure.

Marciab10 - thanks for the photo! That is very similar to what I was envisioning for behind the range, but I'm not sure I can pull it off. Did you use a KD? If so, did she sketch out the design or did you do it? I'm not sure how to estimate the tile needed for each area and exactly where the borders should be without the range in yet - not sure exactly how low the vent hood will be. I'm not the best at visualizing things without being able to actually see everything together. I suppose I should have used a KD, but too late now!

Traci,

We did have a designers help with the kitchen layout, but for the backsplash my DH, DIY'D. He likes doing tilework, and is pretty good at it(just completed a fireplace surround yesterday) anyway..he had an idea.. but I needed to see it before it went up.

Re: estimating how much you need, thats pretty easy just figuring square footage, buy a little extra, and any reputable store will take back what you don't use,(full boxes, or sheets). We weren't quite sure about the layout, and bought too many medalions, saved a few extra, but took the rest back for credit, no problem.

We took all the tiles home,then he played with the layout on the counter for a few days... until we agreed on what we both liked. No sketching.. I too had to see the tiles in front of me, before on the wall. I think thats the best way to do it.. And if you don't like it, just take it back for something else..

{{!gwi}}

We installed after the range and all the cabinets were in. Since we were General Contractors for our build, I'm not sure if thats how its always done, but it seems to make sense.

Spend some time going through more pictures, find a few you really like, bring them a good stone/tile place and I'm sure the salespeople there would be willing to help lay some tiles out for you to see. We used The Tile Shop, they were very helpful, even though we had a good idea of what we wanted. They have stores located all over the midwest and out east.

Good Luck!

Are you hiring a tile contractor to do your backsplash? I'm wondering if talking to the tile installer and showing that person photos of the look you're after would be better than a KD designing it anyway. I'd think they'd be best at making suggestions for your particular space. If you're doing it yourself, there's nothing better than some graph paper and careful measuring (remember to figure in grout lines) to map out possibilities to choose from...Then to double check, do a 'dry run' with the actual tile once it arrives.

OH! Another option: When I visited different tile showrooms, there were knowledgeable people there to help find and suggest the right tile for certain looks, and some were helping customers with their designs. Most I went to sell only to contractors, but the public is welcome to come to look at tiles and ask any questions they need to. United Tile and Statements both had people that were very knowledgeable in design. Maybe you can find a place like that in your area of the country?

Marciab10 - that's great that your husband was able to do that! Neither my husband or I are DIYer's and I sure don't want to ruin this kitchen as I never want to remodel again after it's finished :) I like your suggestion of getting the tile and playing around with it - I didn't realize that stores would take tile back! I was stressing over figuring out exactly what I needed and either not having enough or having way too much. Thanks!

Rhome410 - Our GC does all his own tile work and from the examples we've seen is pretty good, so we're having him do it. It's amazing how limited we are in a large city (Atlanta) as far as comprehensive tile stores. There are specialty places like Walker Zanger and Ann Sacks, but I want to see a broader range, so there are just a few choices that sell to the public - I'll try looking for those that don't and see if I can still visit and ask questions though. We were planning on using the place where we got the tile for our bathroom but they aren't very helpful when it comes to actual design - it's fine if you know exactly what you want, but other than that, too bad! Their prices were good though, so maybe I'll give them another try once I narrow my options down a bit more. Thanks again!