My most successful (come to think of it, the only one that really worked) was "random" but actually comprised 25% each of two colors and 50% of another. The tile layer was a god (well not Bill or Mongo, but a good good tile guy) and he spent quite a bit of time making a random pattern. He finally just stacked them up with his eyes closed and it worked :) (He tweeked a few times but said he had to let it go to finally leave the building sane).

With hardwood, boards are all different lengths, so it's easy to get a random pattern. With tile, every tile is exactly the same length, so you're never going to achieve anything near the randomness of wood. You can start each row off with a randomly different length tile, but whatever the pattern is of seams nearest the wall where you start will be exactly replicated every 3 feet, or however long your tiles are. I wouldn't have picked that pattern. I thought brick pattern was the standard way to do it. But I just did a quick houzz search on "wood look tile" and there are lots of ways to do it. In retrospect, the tiler should have consulted with you on what pattern you wanted. And you should have specified your expectation. But you know that now. :-/

You wouldn't like random, but you can achieve it by using a random number generator. They have them on the web. Or you could roll a die. You might also try using the Fibonacci series as a way of spacing the tiles. That describes a great many structures in nature. To the human eye it looks random but pleasing, even though it's not random at all. Your Post-It method should work. Just make sure when you put them up that they're spaced correctly, not so much for the grout lines, as to have the right number of them up and down. Make sure you measure your tiles because nominal 4"x4" are often not that exact size. Instead of the papers, you could use a chalk line (string filled with chalk) to quickly draw where the grout lines will be (remember to include coves, bull noses, etc.), and then just use your 1x1's. If you have a better imagination for positioning than color, you could arrange the actual tiles on the floor as they'd be on the wall. If there's some color variation in the tiles, that's worthwhile anyway. What I do, is start with the view of the whole and put in the first 3-4 to break it up into sections, then start filling in. Sometimes move one this way or that to keep the harmony going. It's much more wholistic than using a numerical rule, but more fun. :)

May_flowers and Feisty68 I do appreciate your input-be blunt! I need it! I am at design dilemma for sure! So, after the thread I started about the gap areas under hood, I debated two ideas- 1. filling space with stainless or 2. ditching upper stainless and using tile... My only reservation with the stainless is that the riser shelf is not as wide the space. It won't look seamless on the sides. Unless I ditch riser shelf, get custom piece and have a shelf built in. With tile-this was my inspiration: https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-renovation-alexandria-va-traditional-kitchen-dc-metro-phvw-vp~386548-traditional-kitchen-dc-metro Granted it has a 2 inch b/s not a 6 inch. Originally I wanted no tile, hence the 6 inch b/s but it looks unfinished with those gaps... If I do a bigger stainless, do you think seeing that the riser shelf is a separate piece is a big deal, or should I try to make it totally seamless by just starting over with a new big sheet, ditching riser, and having custom shelf?