The color of your mosaic tile is gorgeous and would play nicely with your other elements. As far as whether it's too much sparkle -- well, I think this is a decision that only YOU can make. Sparkle seems to be a very love/hate thing depending on the eye of the beholder. Based on what you've chosen so far, I'm guessing you love a bit 'o bling and could live quite happily with more iridescence. Many could not, because it simply isn't their personal style.

To answer your question more directly, I think your original choice could work, but I'd think very carefully about whether adding more bling will detract from your other gorgeous design elements.

Some sparkle (with your lovely MOP!) should be carried over to that part of the kitchen, too, but maybe as accent rather than the entire surface? Or, any chance the island could be honed to allow a MOP backsplash to be the main sparkle?

Your light fixture's also lovely, BTW.

The sparkle on the island is why we paid an arm and a leg for it so that really isnt an option. I agree with having it just as an accent, I am just not sure how to do it. I would like ot have it mixed in with something else because i dont want to just do a few rows because it would look odd for the space above the stove. If anyone has any ideas on how, i am all ears!

I think it might be a little too much, and I say that as a sparkle-lover! I only say it might be too much because then you won't have a standout piece, you know? Maybe you can do MOP over the stove area backsplash (like between the stove and hood) and then regular tiles everywhere else?

Dang, that is a beautiful light fixture. If you want MOP on your backsplash, perhaps use it as an accent tile. You have lotsa bling already. : o)

P.S. We're doing tumbled cream Durango 4x4s in a brick pattern with a two inch stripe of mini subway MOP tiles. From the bottom of the splash on up, picture one row of 4x4 tiles, then the MOP stripe, then three rows of 4x4s.

Do you have hardware picked out yet? Have you seen the Maitland Smith Mother of Pearl stuff? The stuff is obscenely expensive but would be gorgeous with your cabinets and kitchen and could let you bring the MOP sparkle over and then you could pick a very simple backsplash

Adrienne - what are you doing above the stove and do you have a free standing hood??? Also, any pics to share and where did you find your MOP tile?? These ones are damn exp so trying to see if I can find something a little less expensive.

My original thought was to do like white subway tiles with the MOP as an accent but I am fearful of having the white on white with the counters. Do you think it would look odd with green????

Maybe a picture of the whole kitchen would help too. I wanted to wait until I had it done with the nice camera pics but here goes.. Ignore the mess! the toaster will come off the counter, there is an appliance garage where the microwave is, the tv will be mounted, and there is crown molding above the cabinets and glass inserts in the missing doors.

here is some of the sample tile. the little 9 squares taped on the wall is the mop tile.

I think you will lose the impact of the island for which you paid an arm and a leg for if you use the MOP for the backsplash. Your island is a small pattern and then you are going to put a small square tile backsplash with small patterns of colour on top. It's fine to have bling but this is going to be chaos of busy pattern to your eyes. IMHO
What is the perimeter counter and is there a colour in your lighting fixture that would work tying everything together. - your cabinets, counters, and lighting fixture.
Do remember about scale when picking patterns to work together. the patterns should be different sizes and the edges of tiles can be a pattern.

Here is an idea of the accent tile too...I was also think about it as a 4 square diamond accent

I'm one who loves sparkle, and I think some sparkle in your backsplash will tie everything together. That MOP is gorgeous, and while it would be overwhelming as the whole BS, it would be awesome as an accent. Since your counters under the BS are different, I think the MOP is appropriate in the BS.

If you want to use it, I think it will be a less is more situation. The single tile accent above or a single row used as a liner -- a touch to tie the kitchenand that light fixture together without making the backsplash the only thing you see in the kitchen. I'm not sure I'd like even the 4 tile diamond when looking at the 9 taped on the wall. At the cooktop, you can continue a liner or the simple random pattern above, create an accent panel or border, break the tile and put in a stainless splash -- lots of options, but you have a lot of pretty things to look at and I wouldn't take away from them. Keep it simple.

If that is a Minera island, would you please vote on my bathroom countertop in the bath forum? I've narrowed it down to Minera and Nougat. If you have Minera, then you are an expert on it!

Here is a link that might be useful: vote on countertop in bath forum

I agree with blfelton. I think the counter is such a nice focal point. And to now add another large focal point with the backsplash, might be too much and too busy. I can't quite tell about the color of the perimeter counter either. On my monitor it looks creamish. The bottom left tile looks too gray to go with the island and the perimeter counter and the one on the right looks too white toned. It could be the lighting or the angle. Can you do a closer shot of the tile options with that back counter and your cabinets in the shot too? That might help.

Just wanted to say your kitchen's looking wonderful so far, and your accent idea picture is...very, very nice, and very elegant. How about getting some graph paper and playing with some designs? That picture has a very strongly horizontal pattern. If you liked that you could try bringing in just a bit more bling with such things as little horizontal riffs of 5-9 tiles, or...

I'll weigh in - I like sparkle and I think you might be able to pull it off. I would, however, like to know the color of the perimeter counter top and also see a picture of just it and another photo that shows the counter top, some cabinet and the backsplash area. I think it might work b/c your sparkle is spread out - none of it is right on top of each other, all together. If the island counter top was on the perimeter, no way or if the MOP was on the pendant lights above the island, again too much but it's NOT. The three elements are a bit spread out. That being the case, I think you can have sparkle in your backsplash but I don't know if the small mosaic is the right one. The MOP mosaic is beautiful but I think something of a larger scale/pattern would work better. Does it come in larger squares perhaps? I'll be excited to see what you end up with. It's beautiful so far.

I bought my tile at Beaver Tile, which is located in Michigan. I think I paid about 24 bucks per square foot.

This particular image always gives me a hard time when I try to embed it, but I posted the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

We are not getting a hood, and I never really loved the idea of a tile mosaic behind the range. So... just the stripe will be good enough for me. I don't know if the MOP I bought would be a good choice for your counters, because I think your counters may have a platinum look to them.

That light fixture is adjacent to the space, not in the space, right? The long white fixtures are in the kitchen?

You have already announced that sparkle is the a part of the theme: Countertops and light fixture. More sparkle but not overwhelming sparkle will not detract unless it is assertive. You might also want a new secondary theme, perhaps pewter? or dulled shiny black? or a mix of light and dark Mother of Pearl within a larger matrix of non-sparkle? I feel the need for some deeper notes to counteract the whites.

Azlee, I love the BS tile in the pic you posted and think the mother-of-pearl as your accent tiles would be GORGEOUS. The white on white would look sleek, I think, and tie in the white in your island CT. Love your whole kitchen.

Thanks for those of you that weighed in.

The light fixture is above the eat in kitchen table so whether that is considered in the space or not, I am not sure.

There permiter counters are a white quartzite called White Eternity. I have been looking for other people on the forum with it but no one seems to talk about it. Here is a closer picture.

I am really drawn to long linear BS like 1x4s and I am drawn to greens and blues but just not sure how to tie it all in.

With 2 patterned counter top materials, I'd do a solid tone for the bs. You could do a stainless bs if you want a little sheen with a solid color....

I think you should repeat the small MOP mosaic that is on the main light fixture somewhere in the kitchen to tie the two spaces together and b/c it's beautiful. I just don't know where exactly. But doing it on the entire backsplash it would be too overwhelming (IMO, I always find the small mosaics busy covering an entire backsplash regardless of how beautiful the individual tiles are or how well it matches.)
Any chance you'd want to do it behind the stove? And/or this might sound crazy, but what if it were above and below the window? Kind of crazy, I know.

What about a glass subway tile? the glass will give you a bit of bling because of the way light will bounce of off it without being obvious in your face eye-grabbing. Your countertops are on the modern side (I think) and rather than going with a 1x4 which I think will be too busy, keep the theme of the elongated look but use a 4x12 or 2x8 subway tile. It has the more modern look but because there are fewer tile edges and therefore fewer grout lines it won't appear to be a really busy pattern.

As for colour you say you like blues and greens but I don't see either of those in your MOP light.
What you might try though is almost a waterfall colour - you know - that pale green colour so that it almost disappears in a single tile but when combined with several tiles gives a very subtle hint of colour. You could try the same idea in a pale blue as well.

Just throwing out ideas.

No there arent any greens and blues yet. It was just always in my mind for the color I was going to use for the backsplash. The wall color is a a light green though.

I have been thinking aboout something similar as you suggested but with using this ceramic tile. It is 4x17 and I have a little sample in my houseso thinking maybe do 4 x 8 and just cut them in half. Then I can add a few accent lines of the MOP randomly.

When I just put one of the little tiles on the wall, you lose the effect of it so I am little worried about doing it as I showed in the example picture above.

maybe this, or maybe more random and not everyone????

Another option..

I love your counters and would not want to overwhelm them. I like the second option above, but would also look at doing a single line of 3 or 4 mosaics instead of 2.

OK - hipstress has just posted on Page 1 under "Seeking backsplash help-new homeowner" and Boxerpups has posted a bunch of great pics. Pic #11, when I saw it, reminded me of you and your kitchen. It is a basket-weave design set on the point. If you can, take a look at it. I would post it if I knew how. Maybe something like that?

Compared to the two layouts above I like another example you posted so very much more. I love this random layout using just one of the small tiles instead of groups of 8.

Sue...I have been looking at that picture for over 18 months and I always seem to come back to it as well. My only concern is that the one little tile by itself doesnt get much of the effect when I put up the sample. I am going to buy some sample of it and see what I can do...

Thanks for the info about the pictures on the other thread!

Seeing your wall color reminds me of a tile that caught my eye on this site. It's large-format and is ceramic but looks like pale green glass. Porcelanosa's Crystal Acido. It could be really pretty in you space. Quite different than the option you're considering above, though.

Scroll down to the photos of David Tay's kitchen on the link to see Crystal Acido used as a backsplash.

Here is a link that might be useful: Porcelanosa Crystal Acido

The porcelanosa crystal acido is the sort of thing I was thinking of when mentioning a green glass subway tile for your space. The bling comes from the light bouncing off of the glass.

I agree with Sue b, I really like the accent tile idea. I had a similar problem, took almost a year to decide. If one more person suggested white subway I was going to scream, just because it was essentially what I had just torn down! I got the same MOP sample as you have, (among others), but ended up with a linear stone backsplash to balance out my "blingy" granite. It provided the calming, organic balance I needed- it makes me happy!

Hang in there, you will find what you are looking for!

Calimama - do you have pics??? Id love to see.

So I got another MOP sample in the mail today but this one is small seamless rectangles instead of the small squares. I was also watching bang for your buck on HGTV and I saw a kitchen that had the tile backsplash only 4" high and then behind the freestanding hood went all the way up. That way I could get the tile I love and not have it everywhere to be too overwhelming.

I decided to go with what I posted last, 4" on the bottom and the long linear ones the rest of the way up and it started going in tonight. It looks AWESOME!!! I love it. It was just enough bling to make it pop plus the other design I love and yet not too overwhelming. My husband bought me some pink roses which we put in the kitchen and it just makes the whole thing come to life. Some pop of color is all it takes. So excited!!!!!

your kitchen is gorgeous! i love that you chose that 4" on the bottom.. do you have a picture with the roses?
i wanna see!!!

I agree with falling waters, we need to see pix of your spectacular backsplash! After all the opinions back and forth I'd love to see the finished product. Preferably with the pink roses ;)

Azlee - I am dying to see the finished backsplash. Are they done yet? I'm really trying to be patient but surely they are done by now if they started last Friday, right? Please post pictures when you can.

Did I miss finished backsplash pictures? I really want to see your sparkle please!

Did I miss it too? If so, can you link it here? OR just post backsplash pics here. Of course, if you are waiting to do a grand reveal, tell me that so I can stop stalking and start being patient again.

Azlee - where have you gone? Are you too busy cooking and enjoying that beautiful kitchen on yours to post your installed backsplash?