Wow - thank you so much for your helpful responses! I just love this website :-) I've decided to go with the white hex and the Laticrete Silver Shadow grout - I looked online and saw several pictures and I really like it! (is it darker or lighter than the Mapei Warm Gray Bill V? I think they are very close according to this website - http://www.grout-aide.com/colors2.html) I actually really like the black/white example Bill V shared as it doesn't over-do the black flowers but after a bit more thought, I think that the all white hex will give us more options if we decide to change the paint later or the next homeowner has all boys :-) I'll have to save my idea of having black honed granite for our kitchen remodel next summer! * Side note, this will just be the girls' bathroom - we are currently adding a master upstairs as well and a powder downstairs for guests - you will certainly be seeing many more questions from me as we get closer to making final decisions in both of those spaces as well ;) Thanks for all the responses re: grout not matching between the two spaces. Bill V, I'm definitely giving consideration to both being the same as you suggest but going to leave that up to my husband to decide. I saw a picture on this forum that has the grout you suggested as their surround and it looks lovely with the chrome!!! alku05, yes, please share pictures! Does your granite have the garnet speckles? I read online that some of these slabs do and some don't - obviously with any of the paint options I'm looking at the red garnet speckles won't work ;) I also read that this slab resembles marble but without as much worry about staining - certainly something I'm going to look more into! - On that note, do you think the space will look balanced if I picked a granite like this one (with grey and/or white tones) if we go with all white and just the lighter grey grout? Thanks to all who responded - if there are any other suggestions or pictures you could share with me, I'm all ears and of course appreciate all the help!

Why not take samples of your cupboard finishes and counter material, and go shopping? When I did my kitchen, I was overwhelmed (in a good way) by the choices available in any of the local tile shops available to me. Don't try to confine your options by presuming there is only ONE PERFECT backsplash that will work in your kitchen. There are probably hundreds, or thousands, although you will want to pare down those numbers pretty quickly. So go shopping, and see what's out there. Some will turn you off immediately, while some will stick in your memory, or even "sing" to you.

nik, Welcome! A couple of thoughts: if you love absolute black but are worried about maintenance, look at a leathered finish. It is much more forgiving than the polished finish to smudges, etc. There might be a reason you aren't seeing a lot of pictures with your color cabs and white tile - you might be right and it might be too bright. Try to get some sample tiles and bring them home and tape them to the wall to get an idea. You might find the answer really fast! Check the Finished Kitchen blog and Backsplash slideshow (link to FKB below, backsplash slideshow at FKB) for more pics to see if anyone else has done it - there are lots of successful rule breakers here! Maybe consider an off-white subway. Again checking a sample in your kitchen with your cabs and counter will help. If you both love the glass mosaic you might be able to incorporate it in a small area - like behind the backsplash or as an accent with 2 or 3 rows of mosaic between rows of subway - there are some examples in the finished backsplashes. Finally, congrats on making it this far! Here is a link that might be useful: Finished Kitchens

Ah, a topic I may be able to help out with. We recently installed off the shelf (Lowe's) white subway tile. The brand is American Olean (not sure about the spelling!). I remember reading in a magazine that in a white kitchen there should be varying shades of white to keep it from looking sterile, just as someone mentioned above. When my husband installed it he and my mom both liked how it looked: as if it had been grouted with gray grout. I knew I didn't like this look but was almost talked into it. I mention this because of your previous statement "i have always loved the white subway with white grout look, but i donno, with the different shades, i might have to try something else, and that really worries me because i am detouring from what i originally like. " Stick to what you like or you won't be happy. I almost went with gray grout. Perhaps it may look better or more appealing but it is not the look I'm going for. And since you've mentioned that you are worried about the shade of white you've chosen change it now before it's too late. I personally think it will look great but being that you are questioning it makes me think it is not really what you want and are hoping to be talked into liking it. But if you stick with your tile I wouldn't go with a cream grout but rather one that matches the tile and blends nicely. To answer your question In my opinion the color of the grout makes a difference. Just look at kitchens with white subway with gray grout vs white grout and you'll see what I mean. I don't think an off white grout will make it blend with the cabinets better, it could make it look soiled. White will make it look whiter but IMO cleaner. I say keep the backdrop (backsplash) simple. As someone mentioned above you will have things on the counter to break it up. I plan on putting more items on our counters and the gray grout for me would be too busy. Not to mention I'm not the tidiest-so I need everything else to be simple. I sure hope I did't confuse you! Here are pics of our off white cabinet, BM moonlight white, though not quite as creamy as yours, with white subway tile and bright white grout. Below is a link to segbrowns kitchen. I think the pewter grout in this kitchen looks great because of all the other elements. But with such creamy cabinets as yours I'm not sure about gray/pewter grout. Gray grout look (before grouted). My cabinets look quite stark here but are really creamier in person. Hopefully you can see a difference in the shade of the cabinets compared to the white subway-it is hard to capture in a pic! Here is a link that might be useful: segbrowns kitchen