Laurie, We went with classic black & white ceramic subways for our recent kitchen remodel.
Our kitchen is 8'x12' so not a lot bigger than yours.
We couldn't be happier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Black & White Kitchen

I don't believe you have to worry about someone walking in your kitchen thinking you used bathroom tiles on your kitchen wall, all because you selected ceramic tiles. My suggestion is to go with your gut and your personal tastes. Additionally, check out our blog in regards to backsplash options, I believe you will find the information useful

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Cabinet Kings Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling Blog

Is the tile guy an interior decorator? Is he going to live with you? Even if both those are answered yes, he'd still be wrong, lol....
Personally, I am getting tired of stone bs' and think that their days as "hot" are numbered. They can be done nicely and fit a look, but they can also look "expected" nowadays in some kitchens.
Your tile guy is probably very familiar with the trav and so thinks that is the only way to go. He is wrong.

Your tile guy is really stupid.

Travertine is rather dated. Subways will be dated, too, someday, but ceramic tile in general will not be.

This is not a conversation you should be having with a salesman. He clearly is used to dealing with renovations in certain budget ranges, and clearly not the higher ones.

I think ceramic tile is a good option, and with a 50s bungalow you could even do 4x4 square tile. I have seen this in a lot of kitchens from pre-war to the 70s or 80s. You could also do a very large format tile with just a few seams. Like an 18x18 or 24x24 tile that would only have a few vertical seams that could be done with matching grout and it would look almost solid.

I think his opinion/advice isn't accurate at all. How annoying for him to unnecessarily give you doubt.

(FYI - I have dark wood floors, leathered black granite, white cabinets and white subways..... it definitely doesn't feel like too many materials to me, especially since the bs is neutral.)

I wouldn't listen to him either. If you want to get regular" tiles, then get them. You could put them up in a diagonal (pointed ends down) to be more "modern". I saw it somewhere. I think in a canadian house and home. I thought it looked really good.
Good luck!

Tile guy doesn't know what he's talking about. There was a wonderful finished kitchen in the last year that sounds just like yours--unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the posted (it was a small kitchen with white cabs, subways, and schoolhouse fixtures--very charming). I've searched the FKB and can't find it. However, take a look at natashak's, arlosmom's, and hmdennis' kitchens in the Latest Kitchens category of the FKB. I know there are many more similar to what you have in mind. The white or off-white subways you want will look lovely! Don't let the tile guy undermine your vision!

Sounds like he's not objecting to subways as I thought from the title -- he says ceramic is only for bathrooms? Does your salesman realize that ceramic tile is essentially a painted clay -- just as natural and no more incongruous than the painted wood cabinets?

Go with what YOU love, not with what the sales person wants to sell you. Also, his argumentation could be turned around, natural stone tiles make me think of bathrooms because nowadays you see a lot of bathrooms using natural stone tiles ;-)

I went with ceramic subways in my kitchen and it is one of the features that I really love, both in looks and functionality. HTH, Petra

Here is a link that might be useful: White kitchen in Southern Spain

Does he have the tile he is pushing "in stock" as opposed to ordering it? I ask this because we were recently shopping for ceramic subways for our shower and the tile salesman told us that "no one was doing that anymore". He steered us to a stone tile which was much more expensive and required more maintenance. (And as luck would have it, it was IN STOCK!)
My husband got major a case of "second guessing" and was worried the bathroom would look dated if we went with subway ceramic. I had him look at some of the bathrooms on gw and some magazines to show him that many of the bathroom renos were indeed done in ceramic :)
We ended up putting the project on hold, but when we are ready, we will get what we want.
Having said all of that, it may be that the travertine, which is gorgeous by the way, may be a better fit for your backsplash. Post a picture and the many helpful gardenwebbers here will give you some great advice :)

All you have to do is show that saleman the Finished Kitchen Blog here are GW. The majority are ceramic backsplashes and the subway is very, very popular. SO, ditto to all the post above.

Boy I hope not, I am doing a kitchen Reno now and my handmade ceramic subways are going In today. I have New Venetian granite ( similar to St. Cecilia ) and I wanted the granite to be the star of the show so I am doing white 4x4, bead detail , and subway tiles on my backsplash. I also have subways in my bathroom. When I went to the tile showrooms the sales woman congratulated me on not going with travertine, because it would not look right with the granite. Ultimately I would not be happy with it. She told me many people come in and ask for travertine because a carpenter suggested it and she has to have the discussion every time that maybe travertine may not be the best choice.

If you're wrong then I'm wrong...we just had white subway tiles installed in our new kitchen yesterday! We have white cabinets and white marble perimeter countertop & while I would have loved a slab of the same white marble for the backsplash, that was cost-prohibitive, and the marble tiles I looked at the tile store didn't go with the marble I selected for the perimeter countertop. So white subway tiles it is! And FWIW the lady at the tile store thought I was making the perfect decision.

White, cream, or pale grey subways would look really good with that granite.

Tell the tuile guy to stuff it and get what you want.

When I started researching kitchens with white cabinets (like mine) the #1 bs I found, popularity wise, was white subways. To me they're very classic, easy to maintain and made my galley kitchen look much bigger. Of course, I'm a HUGE fan now of them so I'm biased. Either way, your tile guy's an idiot.

Tileguy is just wrong-didalee-wrong-wrong-wrong. Go for it!

Look at the magazines... Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen and Bath editions all routinely showcase kitchens with white subway backsplashes! So there Mr. Salesman!! LOL!

I've seen a lot of ceramic tile in kitchens. In our renovation, we've just added this:

It sounds to me like the tile guy might be trying to upsell. I think marble and travertine tile looks beautiful (!), but ceramic tile does belong in the kitchen too. I wonder what the tile guy would say belongs in a bathroom?