I used polished carrara on my last bathroom remodel and it does, indeed, etch pretty badly. There's a polish powder you can buy online but I never used it. At any rate ... HONED ;)

If you're doing a polished granite counter I think the honed splash looks better. Also, the honed won't show etching from wayward squirts of lemon and other citrus, or tomato sauce splattering as much.

Thanks everyone, my BOS is starting to clear up! I do love the look of charlie 123's kitchen and I think his counters are honed? rmkitchen, coming from you (LUUUUV your gorgeous kitchen), I will take it as a green light to go for it and I promise to post pictures when we are done - hopefully by then I will have figured out how to do that!

Hi Kateskouros, I think it's a lovely idea as the honed tends to lose some of it's drama of the veining and the backsplash would be a great place to show it off! I think I saw early pics of your slabs and they are beautiful! One thing to think about, our polished countertops have been in now for 5 months and still look fabulous, even have stood up to spills that I thought it wouldn't. Now, we have an etch or two, but they are small and nearly impossible to find. We used a polished marble backsplash tile - Thassos and I put a different sealer on it than is on the counters. Remember, on the backsplash, you can use something that is more durable and not necessarily food safe because you aren't going to prepare your food right on it. The sealer we used sits a bit on the surface, I would not have liked on the counters because it takes away a bit of the glorious marble feel. I don't care on the backsplash a bit and it makes everything wipe off beautifully! As for stains or etching on the backsplash, we don't have either. Good luck! I can't wait to see your end result because so far your selections sound lovely!