With these colors you might do better with debris gloss with engobe. Here's crater lake

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in 4 x 4

Have you considered their Crush glass tile?
This is island flower
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Forget me not
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I get that you want blue (it's my favorite color). Instead of a single color tile, I think you should consider a stronger bs look, one that incorporates some browns for a more pulled together look.

If you don't like the size of the mosaic tiles, you can get a similar look incorporating brown tiles below with your blue choices using the larger format Fireclay debris with engobe, or glass.

Fireclay Debris gloss with engobe in Adobe

Fireclay Crush in Willow
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Camelia
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that more muted pencil tile with multi colors[2nd one in above post] is a nice look. More nuanced-a nice polished look for your upgraded kitchen.

Love the 1st and 3rd mosaic tile options. While I like the plain blue color, I too think the backsplash could shine with a mosaic option.

I'm trying to keep an open mind...I dismissed glass mosaics initially for two reasons - 1) I'm kind of a minimalist, and don't like visually busy things and 2) I kind of think they're overdone. I think I mostly think the 1" square mosaics are overdone.

That said, that second one is speaking to me. If it were more blue instead of tan, I would be really tempted.

What about these?

1:

2:

3:

4:

5:

I prefer #2 of the ones you posted. If you want BLUE, here's a suggestion. =) I actually think it is very pretty, but it's looks loud. 8o)

From a line called Groovy Stiix, and this one is Nocturnal Sea. Not as fun a name as the others in the line, like "Moody Blues," "Stairway to Heaven," and "Love Shack," (seems somebody was having a 60's flashback when they named them) but here ya go...

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I really liked this one, but the color didn't work for me. I think it appears a bit more gray-blue in the pics than it did in person (Eclipse Tile in Marina). Would bring in your white also, and the gray/stainless...

I love the linear BS glass. So many pretty options... which makes it so hard to decide!

Youngdeb, I like that #3 tile mosaic that you posted, the one that is a bit of a hex shape. I like it because there is not so much variation in color and the shape is modern, to me, in the way it is used. You've got one hot kitchen. The #1 is very pretty in its periwinkle way, but I like the clarity and straight forwardness of your kitchen and # 1 might be a little too dreamy.

the cobalt blue shade can potentially dominate your kitchen.I'd be careful with anything in that blue family....the cabinets look really good...I'd want that nice shade and grain to talk,rather than the busy nature of some of these tiles. Easy does it.

I posted the cobalt herb and I totally agree it is very BLUE! Was just putting it out there because while I think that line of tile is fun, I haven't seen a place where they really work yet. But they do make everything else look tame, don't they?

I do like the second one I posted. I think it ties things together well and like many of those you posted also youngdeb. Good luck!

Beeps, I like that second one you posted too. I'm trying to keep it a little light, there's no way that cobalt will work. Cobalt is one of my favorite colors, though. It needs a white painted kitchen.

I think right now it's between my #3, Beeps' #2, and the fireclay 2 x 8's in some combination.

I can't clip the address for some reason, but this example on the fireclay site gives an example of something we could do, maybe without the ecru and cobalt tiles...

http://www.fireclaytile.com/gallery/Sandhill_100_Recycled_Glass_Tile_Kitchen_Backsplash_Blue_Blend

Keep em coming!

I LOVE the #3 from glasstileoasis- the shape is unexpected and the color is gorgeous!

Hmm... I feel I've led you down the wrong path.

The only reason to go with mosaic tile (whether glass or ceramic, sheet mosaic or one you construct yourself out of 2" x 8" tiles) is to help incorporate some browns into your blues so the blue belongs there, so that it has some context.

None of your choices, pretty though they are, serves that purpose, so if you don't even like glass mosaic tiles, go back to what you like. With the ceramic tiles you could do something like the image below, from the Fireclay gallery using your colors.

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Whatever you do, it should be what you love, even field tile. If you don't love it, don't use it.

Hmm... This is kind of fun.

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Where do you guys find all these gorgeous tiles? I look online and find nothing like these. (and I'm glad I'm not deciding- I like the fireclay, but the glass seems to fit more with a modern, clean kitchen like yours.)

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These are all Sumi-e large brick tile from Stone and Pewter Accents

You are so smart to paint... I am unable to visualize how a tile will look without photoshopping it. So here goes :)

Crater lake

Mosaic...

Blue...oh I like this...

Soothing...

I do love Fireclay tiles BTW.... but admittedly had a very hard time photoshopping the colors from the samples provided on the website. Here is "Light Camel Matte"

OB2B that's awesome. It makes it it easier to visualize.

Somehow I think square ceramic tile plays best with the overall feel I am picking up from the kitchen.

If you're a minimalist and you don't like busy, don't do any of those mosaics. I agree that they are very pretty, but I don't like how they look in your photoshopped kitchen. The fireclay would be a better pick I think.

One more - Heath tile. Have you considered anything grey?

I like that last OB2B the best!!

Nancy

OB2B, that is amazing!! Thank you so much!! I can really see how much more finished it will look with a backsplash. So motivating!!

I haven't considered gray because I felt like we needed some color in the room. Am I wrong? I'm trying to use your pics to visualize the Heath pattern in the crater lake color, and I'm liking that a lot. Although that "soothing" one is really gorgeous too. Very tempting.

I also still like the wave glass mosaic. So many good choices!!

One of the things I'm trying to do is relate to the pool outside, which you can see from the window and three huge windows to the left of the sink run. That's one of the reasons for the blue.

I'm not sure I'm feeling the lure of putting brown in the backsplash, EAM. I feel like it muddies things a bit. Maybe it's the miminalist in me, I like things to be very clean, and so tend to either use color or pattern, but not both.

I need to noodle this a bit!

With re to the pool tie in and your original color... this is very pretty. Oops. Can't post the pic. I posted the link below because it wouldn't allow me to post the actual pic - but go to the second and third pics and you will see a blue very close to what you are going for.

They actually have glass called "pool." You might look at the blues on that site a little.

I see why this is the hardest for most people - it seems to me like there are more awesome options for a BS than any other part of the kitchen! (That may not be the case, but it seems like it to me.) Too many options = really difficult decisions. Good luck with the noodling! :) Let us know what you decide.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sorry couldn't post pic...