I can see why it might be advisable to remove the left/rt portions of tile, but I would be inclined to wait until ithe kitchen is completed before deciding. If, as your gut tells you, it "needs" to come down, nothing is really lost except a little more time with it up. Perhaps knowing you are not "locked-in" or committed to it, will help give the perspective to view it more objectively while deciding for sure. This way you will not only have the chance to see it with everything else in place, but you will also have the opportunity to get used to it, before deciding if you truly dislike it, or just haven't gotten used to it being there. As subtle (in color) as our tile is, after months of looking at white painted Sheetrock, it still looked "different" and stood out when we looked at our kitchen. Once we became accustomed to it, we couldn't imagine our walls without it. That's how I am with many things--after living with a blank wall or empty space for any period of time, even a long awaited piece of furniture or decor item jumps out at me, and almost seems like too much, until I get used to the vacant space being filled. Thanks for the compliments on our backsplash Laura and andreak100! It's the Opera Glass tile from Artistic Tile (Stilatto pattern) in Wolfgang White. It does read greenish-blue(-grey) in certain lights or times of day. We had to think about that one while deciding if we wanted to use it, and obviously decided to go for it! Good luck Laura! Honestly, whatever you decide will look terrific!

I would cut away the drywall (do it carefully, if you think you want to reuse it- but I would start again with fresh drywall). We took down the brick from an old fireplace, and just by happenstance removed the insulation and lo and behold, mold had practically eaten away the wood studs- the wood looked like it was burnt- it had rotted away so badly. I removed all of the affected wood and sprayed it with a mold killer- let everything dry out before we redid the insulation and put up new walls. We spent over $1000.00 on trying to find the source of the leak- still aren't sure, so in the meantime, our brick chimney is tarped over- it will probably have to be rebuilt this summer. Check behind there- if there's nothing, it will only have cost you the price of a sheet of drywall, and you'll have gained peace of mind. If you discover more mold, then you can deal with it. This is the best and really only time you can do this!

Did you look at the Cambria edge profiles? They are available in different thicknesses. Another alternative would be to do a mitered edge. Probably more expensive than the plywood, but a more finished look?

I meant to write Formica "Sea Salt" previously. The top cabinets remain Olympic Witch Hazel D10-2. The bottom are now Sherwin Williams Quietude. And, the backsplash remains. The tiles were removed from the countertops; they were adhered to laminate with mastic about twenty years ago. If you choose to comment, keep in mind that the goal was to keep the backsplash and to minimize demolition.