I don't know what other materials you have going, but I don't see any clowns in your kitchen at all. All of your cabinets are the same color stained wood, your floors appear to be a lighter wood, your cabinet pulls are conservative straight brass pulls, and your wall color is white.

Soapstone is going to be gorgeous on the counters, and it will make a pretty bs if that's what you decide to do. I would use the 2" splash along the entire wall, and a full height splash that is 30" wide right behind your stove.

I think tile would also be beautiful in that space though. Soapstone is going to bring dark color to your vertical wall surface, whereas tile could keep things light, and even introduce texture, which might be a good thing. If you were to use tile you could build a sill out of that as well.

This is Fireclay tile from the Contemporary collection in Starburst.

How wide is your hood? I think I'd let that determine the width of the slab back splash. In this pic it looks as if the hood and the space between the windows are the same width:

Slightly wider:

All the same:

Width of hood and then some. I'm now in love with this kitchen:

A full length granite backsplash over the stove · More Info

mamagoose, love that diagonal lines of that soapstone bs. Thinking of doing something like this in our modern - minimal - scandinavian kitchen remodel.

Marble slab:

Not a slab, but a darker tile, And what looks like luscious dolomya on the island:

Not a slab, but a similar look. I googled 'kitchen range between windows' and didn't find many slab backsplashes:

mamagoose - the cross might be a b/w swiss flag rather than a first aid station?

Here in WA state, we have a lot of green crosses going up at businesses (medical marijuana) so I actually thought of that before the Red Cross or the Swiss. Maybe a white cross could be for the food after the munchies kick in. ;)

Back to the OP's dilemma: I love all the photos MG found. Per your mood board, I'm not seeing any clowns either. I think going with something like MG's pictures or a more "Wow!" backsplash would both work, whatever your preference.

Thanks for the advice and photos, I'm a visual person and am having problems seeing the perfect solution.

I like the look of the splash going all the way between the windows, but I have about 63" in between the windows, and we're custom building a hood, but I was planning on something about 42" wide, I think too big would make my rqnge look like a dollhouse miniature.

The floor is a cream color, with light tan and gray. The walls are only primed now, but will be Navajo white, like the rest of my first floor.

On the opposite wall will be the painted cream cabinets from my board, which will have a wet sink. I plan on doing antiqued glass for a backsplash, and a wall-mounted brass faucet. And the range is bottle green, so that's some color in an admittedly muted color palate.

One clown is a vintage chandelier I picked up, photo attached. It's pretty ornate, and on the range wall I have the library sconces from my board above the windows.

I've looked at a million tiles, but keep thinking they're too much. I hate feeling this pressure, I wish I could make a decision once everything is in. Here's one option I've considered for behind the range:

But with the soapstone under the windows, I'm not sure if it would look too choppy.

Thanks again, I feel like my brain is running in circles about this!

Ok, I'm laughing at the cross comments. I love a Swiss cross on a camp blanket, but not so much to tile behind a range!

I love the look of the slab behind the hood. I drool over this pic attached. I am *almost* sure I am going to do soapstone counters with a 2 inch soapstone splash up the wall behind the sink/windows, and then go all the way up behind the hood like this pic.

Stainless - at least until you decide? Mine was only $80.

Yes, my_four_sons, it was tongue-in-cheek, so I'm happy it gave you a laugh. I guess I forgot my ;).

That tile will look fine, especially if you use white grout, although black grout could be pretty cool.

I like the geometric tile with the chandy.

I have my soapstone as my backsplash but we went with stainless steel behind the range. I wanted the same material up the whole wall (under the hood and above it). I had planned on oiling my soapstone and did not want to worry about a section under the hood being darker than the section going up to the ceiling.

I am trying to attach a picture but it's not letting me....have the rules changed? It's here if you want to see it

http://s1057.photobucket.com/user/TexasPenny/media/oven%20backsplash.jpg.html

What about this? Slab backsplash the same height as the moldings around the window.

http://i.imgur.com/qQzAJXF.jpg (I'm having the same picture issue as texaspenny.)

I like it. Looks quite dramatic.

How much light do you get in the kitchen? I generally prefer a lighter/brighter backsplash with a dark counter.

Love the pull and knob you are using. What are they?

Texaspenny, your soapstone is gorgeous! Wow.

Jillian, thank for the mockup, I need to figure out how to do that. It's so helpful, I'm definitely leaning towards that look. I know it's dark, which I was worried about, but I only have 8 ft ceilings, so it's not a huge expanse. I just have to figure out how to transition with the windows so it looks best.

Heathero_gold, they're cheap, called Sumner Street. You can find them online at Home Depot or Lowe's.

my_four_sons, What did you end up doing for your behind the range and backsplash?