I love the orange of the island.

I'd go for something like pictured below for the backsplash and repaint the walls a navy blue or a deep brown.

This post was edited by Tibbrix on Sat, Sep 6, 14 at 16:41

Look at Daltile Natural Hues in "Spice" or "Birch" and Daltile Festiva in "Sienna".

If it helps at all, I went with caesarstone choc truffle which is fairly patterned. I went with a marble tile backsplash with metal accents...I also went with a still life behind the cooktop.

In the bar area, I made my own "tile" by sawing corks in half and applying them to the wall. You can see the pattern of the counter top better here.

I would go for something lighter, a cream or light beige that goes well with the countertop, and I might throw in random tiles in a brown or taupe that have flora or fauna as a bas relief design, like craftsman style tiles.

Pretty tones. How much area are you thinking of covering, e.g., just behind stove, up to ceiling, whole wall, etc.? Do you want to stay with a monochromatic/analogous color scheme, or do you want an accent color or contrast?

I would consider just the travertine marble/stone backsplash. The material comes in a variety of sizes and hues and will work well with your kitchen finishes.

This is Daltile Natural Hues Spice and Daltile Festiva Sienna, which look identical on my computer, with your granite:

How about one of "pearl" tiles from glasstilestore? I can't upload the pic right now but here is a link:

http://tilebar.com/serene-white-square-pearls-glass-pattern-tile.html

I think something a bit reflective will add some dimension without adding complexity.

Ooooh, I really like KS_Chicago's tiles. The South Seas version, I think, would be perfect.

What had you picked out before? I don't think you'll have much leeway in color choices, but it does read very beige and brown. I would pick a great arts and craft field tile that is a solid color but with some depth and variation. You could use pattern for interest, but otherwise I'd use 4 x 4" tiles. They are expensive, but you have very little area to tile. Sonoma Tilemakers and Fireclay are two with a a great selection of color. Sonoma has beautiful matte tiles.

I'll post a few ideas from Motawi Tile.

Here is a link that might be useful: sources for arts and craft tiles

Pattern, which I think would be great. You can't wimp out with that hood. The tile has to stand up to it! I wouldn't use motif tile though.

Tile with texture. Love how this gives the two shapes in one tile.

Some version of honey onyx?

Here is a link that might be useful: [A few versions found here[(https://www.houzz.com/products/honey-polished-pinwheel-pattern-mesh-mounted-onyx-tile-black-dot-inserts-prvw-vr~8108056)

Thanks everybody for all the great suggestions. Am heading out to the various tile stores tomorrow morning to pick get as many samples as I can. Still not sure whether to go with a very simple solid color 4" or 6" tiles or incorporate more pattern. My original plan had been 4" bathroom tiles that basically matched the frangipane paint color for the area under the bar and then a 2" tile border of the same tiles around some sort of picture for behind the stove (similar to AnnieD's but horizontal b/c I don't have as much space between my stove and hood). Will let you know what I settle on.