Thinking about something like this...

Would it look too small?

I don't think it would look too small at all (lots of people tile/frame areas this size), and I like your design choices very much. :)

I say go for it. The tonal patterns you posted don't overpower the small space but will add a nice personal touch to your kitchen.

I think it will be a really nice accent. I'm partial to the first one, it's similar to what I just put up :)

We used a simple subway tile for our backsplash and added a small, framed herringbone pattern behind the range.

We just finished our reno. Backsplash was without doubt the most difficult decision but really love how it turned out. It is subway in brick pattern with herringbone framed pattern over my 30" induction range. I have a 36" zephyr hood. I wanted a subtle and peaceful look.

tea4all, I love your pic! If I were to decide on a non-sparkley BS, what you have is in my top picks. Not just the color/type of brick but exactly what you did with it too! Would you mind sharing the type of wood and stain you have? Just gorgeous.

Thanks Beth! My cabinets were made by Custom Wood Products in St. Mary's, Ks. They are hickory with a ginger stain and burnt umber glaze.

Thank you tea! Interesting, I have been considering Hickory with a brown stain. Not a lot of pics of that combo though. But I am loving the look, and paired with the BS it's just perfect. Well done. ;)

Mine is arabesque tiles, which you posted as one of your options, I use my subway tiles as the frame as opposed to a raised frame tile.

The arabesque are glass, the subway are ceramic.

Do any of you find that the design behind the range complicates cleaning behind the range? I have always wondered about that -- having ornate tile or lots of grout lines in an area of the kitchen that gets spattered the most.

Thanks for all the reassurance and wow, all of your kitchens are gorgeous!! I need to check out the mosaic tiles in person to determine which one. But I do have another question, my GC is asking me to buy the "edge tile", the subway tiles I picked doesn't have edge tiles but they do have pencil rails. The subway tiles itself has pretty sharp edges, can I do it without the pencil rails or I should put it in like my HC suggested?

I can only speak from experience with 1 kitchen Reno. My subway tiles are "pillow" tiles and do not have a bullnose tile in their pattern. Even with the soft edge they looked unfinished where the tile ended and the plain wall was. Therefore we used the smaller matching

pencil rail as you can see in this picture.

Tea4all, I love your pencil rail! The reason I didn't want to use pencil rail is because the matching one is very bulky, I wish mine has a small one like yours!

Driftwoodandmarble, did you use pencil rails as well? I don't think marble comes in small pencil rails like the one tea4all used. Thanks in advance!

yeh, I did a quick search and found that there are marble pencil rails. There are many more links that came up in the search, just picked this one to show you a pic. So hopefully you can get what you want!

You will defiantly find pencil rails of all sizes in the marble of your choice. I didn't use a pencil rail as my kitchen is "u" shaped and the backsplash run ends on a fridge corner on one end and pony wall on the other (more like a "g") If you can't find a pencil rail tile to match your particular marble's look, you could always do a thin wood trim or bullnose and have it painted white or gray (whichever is closest to your marble color)

Edited for iphone typos

Thanks! Pencil rail it is!

Come back and show us pics. :)

Will do! I hope it won't be too long...but I am almost begging the contractors to show up more than once a week...obviously they started another job and mine is not their priority...

Unfortunately, that's how they work. :/ Hang in there.

tea4all and fishymom. I love the area you did behind the range. I am in a backsplash conundrum. I have an area that I want to do a herringbone in behind my 30 inch range, but it is only 18" x 18" (due to a wide "frame" piece I selected and a hood that will be installed above and I only have 8 foot ceilings) and I don't know if that area is large enough to "establish" the pattern. My initial "plan" was to do something similar to yours. Bought the tiles and am now laying it out and am thinking it might not look right. How big is the area inside your "frames"? Thanks!

This is what I did. I edged mine with daltile glass tile to pick up the colors in the backsplash. You could find an edge tile that matches closely or one that contrasts slightly or a lot.

In my new house I am doing exactly that...a framed area with harlequin tyle by dal tile.

We did the arabesque, I didn't know how popular it was! This is for a 36" range. Dove Gray Arabesque. I think your design would look fine for 30''

mshahmd. I love the arabesque. It's actually one of my favorites, but I haven't been able to find the right color for our granite. :( LOVE IT though!!

These are all really beautiful… But they call it a "backsplash" for a reason. Is cleaning all of that grout an issue?

What were the dimensions of your decorative design behind a 36" range/cooktop?

Did anyone seal their backsplash grout?

Practigal- cleaning the grout is no different than if there wasn't a feature tile. The only other thing I can think of that would require less work cleaning is a stainless panel.

I also didn't know arabesque was so popular!! I thought I was on to something unique ;)

april, with the molding around the arabesque, its a little wider than our 36" range

Here are a few pictures of a couple we did. It has been a while since we did these so I don't remember the size. The houses are rented so I can't measure them.

here is the other one it was smaller.

Mshahmd, I plan to use a dove gray arabesque accent in my shower. Would you mind telling me the brand and supplier of your lovely tile? I found some at Home Depot and an online builder's supply that look similar...