Phew thought you meant an onyx slab which is super fragile. Backsplash is where you can splurge for a big impact.

I don't see why the onyx tile would be fragile once installed.

That onyx tile is a showstopper. So very beautiful. I would not pair it with that granite though. It would be way too much going on for me. I would go with a completely plain countertop--like an engineered Quartz with no movement so the onyx could shine.

I have tumbled onyx on my shower floor with no problems. For a backsplash I wouldn't worry at all.

If you love it then go for it, but I agree with crl, it's not a great pairing with your granite. Neither option is. I would steer clear of stone altogether and chose glazed tile for your space.

Love the onyx, do not love it with a busy granite as you have shown.

Thanks for the feedback. Looking at pipdog's pictures, I'm tempted to go back to the granite yard and choose something else. Appreciate the thoughts on the second choice.

eam44, what is it about the second choice that makes it not a good fit? Trying to find the right direction. Glazed tile isn't my thing.

Hmmm...need to really think about this. We are so struggling with the backsplash.

Thanks again and happy new year to all.

In case eam doesn't see this, she has a good analogy of stone counters and stone backsplashes looking like Stonehenge.

I am not a fan of the granite. Too gold when colors are now trending cooler, too splotchy when counters are trending quieter, too black when counters are now trending lighter.

I think the above as well as eam's stone on stone aversion may make your kitchen look circa 1995.

Yes, we are opinionated on GW! But there are some who aren't and from them you'll hear "Do what you love!"

My daughter-in-law had onyx tiles installed as her backsplash in their new home. I loved it, but it fought for attention with the granite and since it was much cheaper to keep the granite, she had the onyx removed and went with a simple tile.

Diane

Cmw, it may be just me, but when I see a strong granite with movement and presence paired with more stone on the bs, to me it evokes Stonehenge or the stone equivalent of a jeans suit. The look is very heavy, but again, those are my tastes, they may not be yours. If you don't like ceramic tile, you might consider glazed thin brick, or sheet glass, or even glass tile depending on your design. You could also chose a short, 2" bs of the same stone.

Thin brick in Creme Brûlée and Black

Sheet glass ....

Mayflowers...ha! Exactly. Stonehenge. But again....maybe just me. And absolutely do what you love!

Thanks to you for your feedback. I asked for it and I'm happy to get it.

I am usually pretty able to put things together tastefully but this is really killing me. Suggested to DH that maybe we need to rethink the granite since it's causing me so much distress with the backsplash. We both love it but would be just as happy with a quieter granite. Problem is that the quiet granite we've seen at the two granite yards our contractor deals with is brown tone or very dark, neither of which is appealing to us. Poor guy, think I'll drag him back there to look again. AARRGGHHH!!!

Yeah, I'm not thinking of a pale granite that doesn't have much movement, but maybe there is one, (I'd be sure to read the countertop geology threads to see the tests for stones to make sure you know what you are getting.) How do you feel about engineered Quartz? I really love that onyx tile you found.

Cmw, sorry! For what it's worth, I think a quieter granite would be a great idea.

crl - not a fan of engineered quartz. I know a lot of people really love it but when I look at it, it's just missing something. We had granite in our last house for 15 years and loved it every day.

eam44 - no need to apologize. We'll be off to the yard again on Saturday. Thanks for your help on this.

Ha - who needs to go to the granite yard when one has a kitchen full of samples! So, we looked over what appealed to us throughout the process, and found a sample of the granite we INTENDED to choose UNTIL we saw the slab of Giallo Portofino. Yes, we made an emotional decision - never a good thing for us.

It is a great choice for our natural red birch cabinets and actually ties in our kitchen floor tile (which we are not replacing) better than the GP. It's better for the cooler tone of our other colors and less busy. And it gives us more color and design flexibility for the backsplash. The granite yard will let us apply our deposits to it so we will go take care of that tomorrow.

All those weeks trying to fit a square peg into a round hole - now I know why - the GP has a lot of goldy beige - and I hate gold.

Oh well, here it is: Sapphire Blue aka Sapphire Brown aka English Brown. Sadly that gorgeous onyx will not go with it.

Sapphire Blue Granite · More Info

Still a little unquiet and dark but it fits us and our home.

Thanks again, everybody, for the guidance. You guys always come through!! Happy new year to all.

I put goregous honey onyx tiles on a fireplace. It requires a mud install so make sure your tiler is a real pro.

Is your first granite Baltic Brown? I'm familiar with Sapphire Brown/Blue but the pictures look way lighter than what I've seen. I like both of those granites (in all their dark and busy glory) :) Baltic Brown can look quite different from slab to slab. Have you seen the slabs or just samples? Same goes for the Sapphire Blue/Brown.

Hi monica - the first granite is Giallo Portofino with a far less concentration of orange/rust than is customary. It's black, gray and gold-beige with small pops of rust every 12 to 18 inches or so.

We tried a sample of Baltic Brown but the brown looked too much like the cinnamon-brown of the current Corian countertop in our house.

Have seen slabs of all. You're right, the picture of the Sapphire Blue does read lighter than the slabs we've seen.