warmfridge, me correct anyone about a backsplash? I am among the most ignorant in that realm. I was curious and wanted to see what you thought was perfect so entered those words you gave above in a search and went to images and found that picture. Aside from not being suitable material, is that the color you are looking for, or too green? (Sorry, OT again... June, yikes! Someone should be calling me tomorrow with information about delivery date on the range. I guess we can wait but I do wish they wouldn't get over-eager and start marketing and promising something they are not ready to deliver on. Is that common practice? I'll post on AF if I hear anything.)

Thank you both. Yes, I was worried about getting too busy - I want the fireplace, brick wall/lighting, & vent hood to be the places they eye is drawn... the backsplash should be pretty & subtle, not distracting from the other elements. I was thinking of laying tile offset on backsplash, then herringbone over 48" range with crown or pencil trim. I looked on the Fireclay website. What about something like this crackle in a gray-green london fog or salton sea? https://www.fireclaytile.com/tile/colors/detail/london-fog/ or even a gray like this http://www.thebuilderdepot.com/hparkdg3x6.html? Or do I need to stay more matte? Do I stay with a stone look (fireclay brick, ivory travertine, tumbled creama martial marble) or try to soften the room with a non-stone tile? I'm trying to pull gray tones & tan tones throughout the house so I have a versatile backdrop in case I ever want to switch... Re pulls: Funny, I hadn't considered brass. I was thinking ORB or stainless or polished nickel... brass does make sense when you look at the lighting. I was thinking silver tones to tie in the faucets/appliances & brighten the space b/c I'm worried it's too dark with all the stone/brick & loggia paint on walls. Hmmm...

If you like modern, then go with stacked horizontal. You don't have enough room to go vertical--the tiles are 12" long and the backsplash is most likely only 18" high so you won't get the full effect. (The photos you posted are on larger walls.) As far as white backsplash tiles being a "cleaning nightmare" with 3 kids, that's kind of ridiculous. How often are your kids cooking and what are they doing to dirty up the backsplash??? The white walls are more problematic with kids.

Looks like 2x4 tumbled travertine, could be Picasso.