Thank you for your thoughts... We purchased this house while ours is still for sale.. Our market isn't moving but the town we want to move to is.. We are planning on renting it out in the interim so I am keen to get it finished so we can cover the mortgage...

I have these marble subway tiles from Home Depot. They looked almost white in the box but on the gray thinset, the marble look came out. I have Adel (now Grimslov) White and Black Alicante laminate countertops. I think it looks fantastic (but I'm biased), and the price was right. My friend and I installed them ourselves. Pictures are in this thread.

As Eld6161 said, the backsplash is something that can wait - it doesn't affect the habitability of the house nor will it affect the occupancy permit. You do not have to rush with this. Simply paint the wall and wait until you move in to find a tile you like.

Besides, you really should be taking samples home and putting them against your actual counters and cabinets and watching how the look changes throughout the day (daylight, artificial light at night, morning light, afternoon light, etc.). Computer monitors and even cameras do not always reflect what something really looks like.

You should probably be doing the same for paint - but paint is easy to change later, a tiled backsplash is not.

What's the name of the quartz? That would help.

Wait till the counters are in, then have him send you images of tiles in your space, in your light, and pick what you like best.

i am one of those who feel you shouldn't even attempt to pick a backsplash until the cabinets and counters are in. It's just too hard, you can't properly judge it without having those in place first.

Agree with everyone who says to wait if possible..you should look at the materials as they're to be installed..tile will be vertical-you should place it perpendicular to the countertop..or to the sample of the countertop:) When everything is just lying together horizontally you can't get a true picture..the color of the surfaces changes with the light, the light changes with a different angle. And in a different time of a day.

Also, photos are often deceiving, as was already mentioned.

It's not that the backsplash can't be chosen on an earlier stage-I did chose mine before I even knew the countertops etc. But yes, it was hard. If you can wait-wait.

Also, about the beveled tile. In case you decide to go with it. Harder to work with, because of the cuts..something to plan on in advance, ask the installers how they'll go about it, etc.

Actually, whatever you choose-think how you're going to finish the tile.

Not one person mentioned it to us during the whole remodel, not the GC, not his subs, not the designer in the store(she was magnificent btw-but has she ever been to our house? no, she just advises about tiles-)and I didn't know about these forums yet:)

Then months go by, lol, and they come to install the backsplash. We have the tile for several months already, so we're thinking we're good.

Then it appears we need to order additional tiles to finish nicely, and it being a custom tile. takes another three weeks.

As others have said, just wait. Paint the walls with a good scrubbable paint and when the tenants leave, then you can decide what tile to use. You will make a big mistake doing the choosing this way, and while tile is removable, it's an unholy mess to do so.