Sorry for the typos, I did edit but did not save the edit

No worries - typos happn. ;).

Can you tell us what type of look you ultimately want - modern, traditional, etc... and what your budget is in $/sf? Also, do you want to keep it neutral or were you hoping for color? Do you want to coordinate with other spaces?

Is quirky comfortable a look, I wish it was. I am a bit traditional but I love color. Somewhere in between traditional and modern, definitely not a county type. The house is all open. We really rushed on the design so we could get it and should have taken longer in planning. The house is all open. Here are pics of the adjoining family room, the couch is not in its final place yet
The paint is a brownish, I wanted teals and greys but only have that in the bedroom now. This seemed more neutral

Forgot to say budget. My husband is the installer so I save on labor. I have not set a budget. We have been building this house a somewhat of a tight budget but spending where quality is necessary. I know Decora is not the best, I loved this stain in Omega but it was a little out of the range. If I find a backsplash I love, I'll save for it. I loved the black eyes granite, and waited for it to be in the leftover sale for our master.

This is a mosaic tile from Tierra y Fuego in light teal. You can choose it (or a subway shape) in antique white for your field tile, and pepper it with a few randomly placed teal tiles, or you can arrange the teal in a pattern. Your area behind the range is rather small so I wouldn't recommend a bordered accent tile mural unless you're planning on changing out that appliance for one with controls in front. This sells for around $26 for a 10"x11" sheet.

Here's a sheet of the antique white.

Ohhh, that is nice. I looked at a similar sheet last night but it was brown and I so do not want any more brown. The stove is temporary and will be replaced with a slide in range front controls.

I grabbed these to see, but don't think I love any

On my monitor, the pearl on the far right in the last photo looks good, and it looks like it will pick up the tones of your floor, too.

No, you don't want to pick up the floor color. Ignore it. It'll go away.

You want teal, so go for it, a little of it, and you'll smile every time you see it. I'd go for antique white everywhere with a framed few sheets of teal behind the range.

Mosaics in the style you are bringing home will not look good in your space. You can choose complexity of shape in a single color, or choose complexity of color in a single shape, but probably not both. Your counters don't have a ton of movement, but they are far from still.

If you want to keep things neutral thats fine, but beige, caramel, and brown are going to seal your fate to what I call the new honey beige kitchen (not a fan) and cream, brown, and blue are a lovely combination.

You are right, I so don't want it to be neutral.. I wanted to walk in and smile, just as you say. My bedroom is a lovely teal jewel color and I smile every time I walk into it. The Blue eyes granite in the master bath makes me smile.

If it were neutral I would have to bring in every piece of orange glass I own. The powder room is a wonderful warm orange color. I love orange and teal and rich jewel colors.

The counters don't "wow" me and I wanted to be wowed. I looked at some pieces that were way to busy granites and we have a lot of counter space that I wanted less busy, and I got it.

The ivory with a teal framed could be pretty. If I did something else orange, the kids would have me committed. I our orange cushions (a mix of orange) on the teal couch

One of my favorite tricks is using matte and glossy glazes of the same color to create visual interest. This is Heath Ceramics tile in, I think, Morrel, laid in an argyle pattern. Pretty, no?

There's nothing wrong with teal and orange, although maybe not for the bs

This is an ad from Fireclay tile. I really don't think orange is right for your bs but maybe you can use these elsewhere, you know, before the committal ....

That is gorgeous!! Love that look, it has some character to it
I saw something similar in black last night, loved it but black is probably not the right color to bring in.

Probably not orange and teal in a backsplash, a rug yes or pillows.

The kitchen needs color, which I can do by lighting the glass cabinets and putting some nice glass pieces in them.

I would like to bring in a green or teal ....daunting and it should not be.

We still have a bar top to do, the same cabinets are built in shelving on the right and a dry bar set up on the left. This is a pic before the cabinets went in. Orange may be good there. I cannot get the pic to rotate

This is a little difficult because you have two large stone surfaces in parallel planes with different undertones. The floor won't disappear when the backsplash tile goes up. A busy mosaic tile can't really marry the two tones because the counter has pattern.This is not a situation where I'd complicate matters by adding more color in a permanent, expensive material. I would start with finding tile in the same cool undertone as the counter. You can add color with accessories and a rug, which I'd recommend to downplay the cool/warm issue.

Your cabinet color, quartz countertop, and floor tile is contemporary, so I would stick with clean lines. You might find a subtly textured tile that would give you a modern look without introducing conflicting color and pattern. I think these elongated hex tiles are a pretty cool alternative to subway tile, which we're all tired of.

We really need large, clear photos to give specific suggestions. Do you have a good selection of tile available to you?

[Transitional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/transitional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2112) by Iowa City Interior Designers & Decorators Peninsula Development Company

I will take better pictures when I get home. We reused the floor tile in an effort to save some $$ and I did love it. The counters that went with this floor in the last kitchen had a gold tone and they did compliment each other well. Not so much here. When I thought about reusing them it was too much of the same colors or so I thought, We never did get a back splash for the previous kitchen, the house was demoed before we picked one out.

I keep seeing white kitchens with subway tiles and they are pretty but I am not a white kitchen girl, wanted some more warmth since we have 22 windows in the house and sunglasses in the kitchen would not be goo. We get the full morning sun .

This post was edited by bobbie2010 on Fri, Oct 17, 14 at 13:31

If you like teal, I'd go with those antique white tiles with some teal thrown in. Doing all of them in teal to me is just a bit dark with those dark cabinets. Maybe an antique white subway with a teal pencil liner? I know some say that pencil liners are dated, but I think they are nice, adding just a bit of color.

Have you looked at Syzygy tiles? Some combinations are striking without the viewer requiring sunglasses.

Here is a link that might be useful: Check out these

You can love teal today and get tired of it in 5 years. You don't want to have the desire to change something that fixed in 5 years. Save the teal accents for things that can be easily brought in and changed later. Fun accents will bring a smile to your face just as readily.

Since your counter is fairly busy you really need to rest your eye a bit by going with a solid color backsplash. I'd go light to contrast the cabinets and so that the pops of teal accents you place against it really shine. I think an updated subway tile in a non- traditional size such as 2x6 or 4x8 would give you the slightly offbeat look you want. You probably just need to match the color to one of the lighter tones in your counter material. Bring some pieces home and you'll find the one that gives your eye the most pleasure. Be sure you have a nice teal accent item so you can't see how it plays into the mix.

Just want to mention a couple of things.
On my monitor, the sofa and pillows shown look more green than teal. Is that accurate in real life?
If you want to sort of ignore what you've got going on now, which is doesn't sound like you love, you could consider a wild backsplash that usurps everything else. I don't mean exactly this one, but something that takes the eye off of everything else.

[Eclectic Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by Minneapolis Tile, Stone & Countertops Mercury Mosaics and Tile

Isn't that fun!! The couch is a dark green/teal/gold mixture. We really don't have lighting in yet and my phone was not taking the best photos last night. I am going to try again tomorrow or tonight.

I was looking at a crackled white or grey glass rectangular subway type tile, hubby frowned.

I was a marketing major (don't laugh, someone had to be) the English minor part has paid off. My Professor used to remind us when we would get all involved and too busy with an aspect of a project to KISS. Keep it simple stupid. I believe I need to apply that here and keep the backsplash clean and neat looking with a frame out of something above the range. There is a coponet of the counter that has the floor color it is not picking up in the photos and the floor is looking much darker than it is. Here are some shots. We have a peninsula rather than an island because we were stuck with a support for the loft. Peninsula may be old, but I like the space and would rather not walk around an island when we have three of us working in the kitchen, The white oven and the micro on the counter are not staying, just temporary.

I have recommended my tile brand before. I used Cobblestone and I love it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bellavita tile

solid subway tiles in a shade of white that blends picks up the color of your counter top would be timeless.

I stood on a ladder and tried to get better pictures

The counters do look white in the pictures, in person not so much. I believe I'll look for an ivory color tile with a shape other than square. I am in NJ but Southern NJ which is a whole different animal and not as many shops. There are two that have a decent selection and there is always the internet