Wow - thank you so much for your helpful responses! I just love this website :-) I've decided to go with the white hex and the Laticrete Silver Shadow grout - I looked online and saw several pictures and I really like it! (is it darker or lighter than the Mapei Warm Gray Bill V? I think they are very close according to this website - http://www.grout-aide.com/colors2.html) I actually really like the black/white example Bill V shared as it doesn't over-do the black flowers but after a bit more thought, I think that the all white hex will give us more options if we decide to change the paint later or the next homeowner has all boys :-) I'll have to save my idea of having black honed granite for our kitchen remodel next summer! * Side note, this will just be the girls' bathroom - we are currently adding a master upstairs as well and a powder downstairs for guests - you will certainly be seeing many more questions from me as we get closer to making final decisions in both of those spaces as well ;) Thanks for all the responses re: grout not matching between the two spaces. Bill V, I'm definitely giving consideration to both being the same as you suggest but going to leave that up to my husband to decide. I saw a picture on this forum that has the grout you suggested as their surround and it looks lovely with the chrome!!! alku05, yes, please share pictures! Does your granite have the garnet speckles? I read online that some of these slabs do and some don't - obviously with any of the paint options I'm looking at the red garnet speckles won't work ;) I also read that this slab resembles marble but without as much worry about staining - certainly something I'm going to look more into! - On that note, do you think the space will look balanced if I picked a granite like this one (with grey and/or white tones) if we go with all white and just the lighter grey grout? Thanks to all who responded - if there are any other suggestions or pictures you could share with me, I'm all ears and of course appreciate all the help!

Why not take samples of your cupboard finishes and counter material, and go shopping? When I did my kitchen, I was overwhelmed (in a good way) by the choices available in any of the local tile shops available to me. Don't try to confine your options by presuming there is only ONE PERFECT backsplash that will work in your kitchen. There are probably hundreds, or thousands, although you will want to pare down those numbers pretty quickly. So go shopping, and see what's out there. Some will turn you off immediately, while some will stick in your memory, or even "sing" to you.

The TCNA standards; for all grout joints 1/8" and over use sanded grout. For all grout joints 1/8" and under, use non sanded. You can see at 1/8" you have a choice. Where possible we always use sanded grout as it is stronger than non sanded. Have you looked into Fusion Pro (Custom Blend), Plasma (Laticrete), or Flexcolor CQ (Mapei) as a grout? They are virtually stain proof and require no sealing. SUre they will get dirty, but the color will always be perfect.

Pretty! Really hard to tell from lighting in a photo. For kicks I'd bring home a charcoal grey for contrast. Also, since your counters are monotone, you could add a natural stone with some variation. I'd look at some of those faux hex or subway marble b/s- that could be gorgeous.