divamum-- Take it step by step, and it won't be so overwhelming.

Start with the type of look you're trying to achieve. Do you want something contemporary? Traditional? Colonial? Do you want somthing that's going to stand out and scream LOOK AT ME, or are you going for a more conservative look? Do you want refined, or rustic? Sharp contrast, or something that blends in?

If you want, shoot me an email, and I'll give you a number where I can be reached, and we'll go through it. In the email, send me a couple of pics of your kitchen, if you have any.

Thank you so much for your response - you are very kind, and I may well take you up on your offer to take this to email!

I did manage to get to some local tile emporia today which has made some things a little clearer... or maybe just given me even MORE choices and muddied the water still further!

As the cabinets go in this week I suspect that the "look" will start to become clearer - my situation is slightly different to many in that, to fit our extremely, uh, "minimal" budget, we have found most of our kitchen materials 2ndhand on Craigslist - we've been very lucky indeed in scoring a set of beautiful natural Maple mission style cabinets from Kraftmaid and a nice, neutral piece of Cambria quartz, but it's still "working backwards" rather than choosing things expressly to fit a preconceived design idea, and it seems to me that backsplash and paint are the things which will tie the whole thing together and make it work with a bit of flair.

In any case, let me mull over what I saw today and come back to you with questions - is that ok?

Thanks again!

I might have to coattail on this one - I'm doing slab front cherry -contemporary with soapstone counters and probably an oak floor to match the rest of the house. Although the soapstone is cool and so is the stainless, the woods are warm and I want an overall WARM (think autumn) look to the room. How do I do a warm backsplash that still looks contemporary? Coppery glass tiles? Argh. I'll be watching and listening to Bill V's good advice.

In any case, let me mull over what I saw today and come back to you with questions - is that ok?

That'll work.

One thing you might try-- go to a tile showroom, and ask what they have, if anything, in enough quantity for your splash that might have come back left over from a job.

When I read the part about you getting alot of your stuff from Craig's list, my very first thought was it's too bad you're not local, because I've got a few things you could look at and get pretty cheap. Unfortunately, because of the weight, shipping would be killer. But then it occured to me that you might have someone local to you with leftovers.

It'd be worth a try, anyway!!

Where is "local" in your world... ? Just curious (on the off chance, "you never know"!!!!)

Thanks again, and more soon.... I saw a LOT to think about today!

Go to http://johnbridge.com/vbulletin/index.php
for a great tiling forum; there are tons of already-been-asked questions, and they get back to you with answers in minutes.

I'm in Central Maine.

Over at John's site, we won't do any more than what I'm doing right here, but you're more than welcome to check in over there! Might be one of the other pros have a backsplash they can show you that'll spark your interest!

You're right - you're not local! Ah well...

I've been doing some more googling and searching, and found some absolutely BEAUTIFUL things I quite like on the Monterey Ceramic Tile site - I'm not going for a fully "reproduction" kitchen, but I do have slightly Mission style cabinets in a 1928 bungalow, and thus am trying to incorporate period elements if only as occasional accents. I found the site by googling "Arts & Crafts tile" and, while those are certainly interesting, the ones that really struck my eye (and are similar to some I saw yesterday) are the Restoration ones - even just doing a top border or accent tiles in that sort of style might be just the kind of interest I need to dress things up a little without actually competing with my quartz counter. Any comments, thoughts or suggestions on where to find and how to use those kinds of pieces? I will post pictures of my (very small) space once they're a little further on with hanging cabinets and taking down the wall between kitchen and diner, but in the meantime, any comments you (or anybody else) has are more than welcome!

Btw, since you asked, here's my cabinet wood (KM's nat maple), counter (Cambria) and floor (not even Craigslist as the other two elements, but a free hand-me-down from somebody - yes, our kitchen is so small that we can use somebody else's "overage"... ;).

Obviously, it's all rather monochrome - that's good (because the space is small and it will open it out) but if a backsplash can incorporate a bit of colour in a non-obtrusive way, that's definitely not a bad thing (and may even lead me to a decision on wall paint!).

Also, since other people seem to be "backsplash-seeking" as well: I found the thread linked below while searching this morning, and bumped it in the image gallery (note to self: I didn't even know there WAS an image gallery until this! Very cool :)

Here is a link that might be useful: backsplash thread in image gallery

Actually, if I'm not mistaken, this backsplash is sitting on top of exactly the same countertop material:

That's obviously more on the plain side, but I figured when I saw your countertop sample I'd bring it out.