will share my experience. i went through a several month search for the perfect white backsplash tile. it took months, i ended up with THREE GROCERY BAGS full of sample tiles that did not work and in the end i was in the same spot - no tile backsplash. i did not want to consider special order tiles and wait the 6 weeks to get them.
aaahem....SIX MONTHS later i found my off the shelf tile... and i needed more than i thought and the tile cost more per foot than i would have preferred to pay. but by then if they would have said it was $100 a SF i would have paid it. kidding only slightly.

so..... search a bit but dont let it get you too crazy. if you find the perfect tile and it is a bit more than you want to spend, sometimes it is worth getting on with your life and just bite the bullet and spend it. just my opinion, after 6 months with no backsplash. but now it is in and i am sooooo glad, and it looks great! and yours will too!

here is a view to keep you inspired

IMHO backsplash is one of those areas where it's okay to splurge.

With only 42 sq feet your incremental price increase shouldn' be that much. While pricey tile can quickly go out of sight on a floor or big shower, backsplash is an area where spending a couple of hundred dollars more will be a huge return on your investment.

Plus you'll be paying the same to lay cheap tile as expensive!

You should be able to move in without backsplash so don't feel rushed.

I'm a tile enabler! :)

Have you looked at Grazia?

Here is a link that might be useful: Ceramiche Grazia

Spend the 1000! I am not a wasteful spender by any means but honestly unless you get a really good deal on something you don't really like anyway, it is likely you will spend around 700-800 anyway! Go with what you love- it really does change the overall aesthetic of your kitchen. That being said I have the same backsplash as Babushka cat and I adore it. (yes, everyone I am over my backsplash hatred!) Grazia does make a beautiful product and the lead time from my tile store is only a few days. Good luck!!!

I'm with CKGM and babushka_cat. I still have boxes of sample tiles in my garage, all gorgeous, but not quite right. I set an upper limit of $20/sq.ft. and told myself that I wouldn't let a couple hundred bucks stand between me and a nice backsplash. It's not like thousands. Think about the money you drop for dumb or passing things.

I also have Sonoma tile, the less expensive ($12) line. They make it just up the road from me. I like the crackle. In a backsplash you don't really see the lines but it gives the tile a little spark. If I had it to do over, I think I'd get something else, since I better understand the role backsplashes play, but it's nice anyway.

I'm going to at least look around and see what else there is. I would love to get it installed sooner than two months if possible.

If I don't see anything that will do, then I'll go back to the Sonoma. It's just that when building, the little splurges really start to add up! Plus we
thought we were finishing early and now we're not so we're not saving money there either.

I've heard Grazia mentioned but don't know where on earth to get it!!

Babushka, I am in love with your backsplash! You did a fabulous job on selecting it. It is perfect in your stunning kitchen!!

Amy

to OP- if you go to the ceramiche grazia link there is a link to
contact them by email. i am pretty sure they will respond and
let you know where to find their products.
here is the link with the email address.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.ceramichegrazia.it/index.php?lang=2&content=Contatti

The Tile Shop carries several lines of the Grazia tile.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grazia tile

Just continue the wall paint right across your backsplash for now, Babs. Really. Just look at Trailrunner's on the thread ''Did anyone NOT do a special backsplash design...' It looks so elegantly simple that you might even feel a little regretful when you move on to tile.

BTW, although I usually feel people really could do nicely without many of the indulgences they work themselves up to wanting so bad, I agree--be careful not to settle for something that leaves you shrugging. OTOH, after a few weeks of calming down time, you might just smile at the memory of the fever... One way or the other, by then you'll know if it's worth the price of another couple of trips to the market to you.

Thanks Amy! i had a ton of support from GW, cannot take all the credit! :)

For the Grazia - Best Tile sells it.
I'm about to put mine in. Got three boxes of square tiles at ReStore Habitat for Humanity "retail/donation store. Then I went and bought the Grazia subway at Best Tile. My contractor budgeted $4 sq foot. That part got busted even with the ReStore purchase.
Hahahahahahahahah

Here is a link that might be useful: Best Tile

I have been searching, hunting really for the right backsplash for our kitchen. The remodel was done over 3 years ago and I have held off until now. The search is endless and so far nothing is right. If you have found what will work for you, I think you should go for it!!

How much did you spend for the quartzite? (Don't really want to know...just making a point.) If you spent as much or more as the $1,000 needed for your favorite backsplash, then I don't think it's too out of line. Both should last a long time and the colors sound neutral enough to work for many years!

Appliances, cabinets, countertops...they're all expensive. Unless you've been able to bargain shop all the way through (and if so, share your secrets!) then I'd come up with the extra $200 or $300 that you're hoping to save with the far less perfect tile. Just my two cents.

I have very little knowledge about materials and such, but that tile from what I saw online looks pretty gray. Have you considered a tin-look ceiling tile? Some are described as suitable for backsplash use and they come in a ton of styles and finishes. There is also a roll of backsplash material with a nice pattern you can buy.

I'm with Pixe1: I have been in backsplash limbo for almost eight years if you count the original kitchen I couldn't figure out a backsplash for. We have been in this house for over five years, and completed the kitchen before we moved in....and I just got a backsplash (we grouted today and I Love it)!! I say this not as an ordinary human who would be fine with the four inch formica we all grew up with, but a full on Kitchen Forum TKO who couldn't find just the right thing to pass my own personal Sweeby test. So, even though you COULD move in without a splash, and it wouldn't be a big deal, if you have FOUND your tile you oughta just get it. Or wait a few weeks and see what else is out there, and then if there is nothing you love..Get it. Really. Just get it.

Sorry to hijack, but babushkacat, what is your beautiful tile?

grazia melange butter blend, 2.5 x 5" subway tile
while it is called butter it is not yellow like butter
link to a store that sells it

http://www.tile-shop.com/