jdknyc, this may be too late to help you, but I'll post it anyway in case you are still looking or someone else wants a darker BS to use with white quartzite. My designer recently recommended Nine Lives from the Crossville Color by Numbers collection. It is a medium-dark gray with bluish tones, and the sample we have really worked with the dark vein colors in the slabs we held it up to. I am not sure if we will use it since I pictured a lighter BS next to our walnut uppers. I think the Nine Lives would look great with your white cabinets and white quartzite. It costs under $4 sq ft (at least with my designer's discount). Here is a link that might be useful: 9 Lives

Aww, I had the post almost finished and then pressed the wrong button and poof. To all those who said no to beadboard, I think you are right. Dh didn't like it either. To those who said the tile in the first picture was too dark and too busy, I don't think it is really. But as I said there, it's hard to tell when the photos aren't taken at the same time and in the same place. And since it was a sample, with no grout, the shadows there make it appear even darker. Here is a photo of the same tile. But on this one I took a photo of the tile next to the counter and then edited both of them onto my photo and I filled the grout lines with a lighter color from the tile. The dark areas are shadow so try to look past that. This one is #8 which is a very light gray, also with grout lines filled. This one is supposed to be crema marfil though it's hard to tell on houzz if it really is or if someone just makes a guess. A white deee, I think you are right that a solid cream would look good. That's what I wanted and when I couldn't find it at big box stores, I got all these to look at. Yes, all these have the same color tones as the counter with either the yellow gold or grays. Annie, I thought I bought a crema marfil, but I guess I put it back because it was marble. I'd rather have a ceramic than a natural stone that has to be sealed and shows food stains the way marble can. The one I keep editing into my kitchen looks like stone more than any I've seen, but it is ceramic. Tile #4 has the best colors for my counter, but I don't like that the pattern looks like a screenprint. Oaktown, when I found this counter, I got the last 3 pieces of this particular color, and after that I couldn't find enough even for a small cabinet. I don't know if it is easier to find now. Maybe they found another pocket or whatever they do - I haven't looked again. But when we did the counters, we briefly considered putting it on the backsplash, but it was just going to be too thick and the edge would show on each end. mtnrdredux, thanks for the link. There is one bisque color on there that I think would look good. There is a DalTile in Dallas but I'd rather not drive that far if I can find it locally. I'll look on their website and see if there are any local stores that carry it. You'd think that would be common everywhere. Sixtyohno, you're right, and every monitor probably shows color differently. And as I found this morning, even cameras don't show colors the same. Even with the good camera I have to look at it twice to see why it looks more yellow in photos than it does in person and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that in person, the eye picks up on all the colors where a camera merges them all together into a single image. mdln, yes the cabinets are custom; they were here when we bought the house. Several of our neighbors have the same cabinets and even a friend in Dallas has them. Maybe that style was popular around here in the early 80s. We added cabinets last year and had a hard time finding someone with the right bits and willingness to make more doors. Evidently putting them together is a little tricky. I wouldn't choose them if I were building, but I like them. They are one of those things that belong in that thread about things everyone used to have but couldn't afford it now. hhireno, what I have no is not enough - it's still bare sheetrock that hasn't even been painted. lol I need something that can take some scrubbing. I thought about glass behind the stove, but it's just too modern looking for my house. Do the above pictures appeal to anyone or should I keep searching?

4x4 multi colored Onyx: splash material: ( "A special quality of onyx is the transparent portions of the material that, when back lit, will allow light to pass through, illuminating the stone; light reflective. Green onyx is quarried from a dyke quarry in Baluchistan, Pakistan. This quarry produces three ranges: a light green, a dark green and a multi- colored onyx. Arizona Tile focuses its purchases on the dark green tone. The red, brown and burgundy areas will vary between shipments along with the depth of the green tone.") restaurant we helped design in Dallas with Honey onxy and multi-colored. I think would look great with black granite! You could buy the 12x12 pieces and cut them into 6x6~

It's funny to read this thread from 5 years ago hearing people talking about travertine as dated. My wife and I just bought a house and it is a pretty big upgrade to go from the included tile backsplash to a travertine backsplash. I guess my point is, and I doubt anyone is even reading this anyway 5 years later, but my point is that I agree with the people that say go with what you like and don't worry about anyone else's opinions. It's your house. Why do people always concern themselves with how other people will like their things, when they are not the ones spending all their time there.