Thanks @bmorepanic. My cabinets are in and countertop goes in on Friday. I actually thought about having them make a 2" rail out of the Quartz to form a base for the tile, but the tile I want to use is a little creamier than the Quartz. I think it will be not so noticeable at a right angle, but if I run the Quartz up the wall I think it will be really obvious. You are certainly right that measurements could be a little different after the countertop goes in, but I will definitely still have space to fill, even if it's not exactly 2".

As a general rule I'd want the small cut tile to be up high, below the uppers. That said, I've seen some busier cement tile designs where it looks nicer in the bottom. Can you share what tile you're using?

It's the tile in the first photo. It's called Cannes III and is sold by the Cement Tile Shop. I just feel like that cut strip in the first photo looks all wrong - it's too wide. But maybe that's because of the angle of the photo being down low. I'm just worried because you can see my backsplash from far away so I feel like that strip will be evident.

Love that first one! That strip of tile looks to be about 3 inches high, so yours won't be so obvious as it will be a bit narrower. I suggest printing out to scale images of the tile and taping them up to the wall to make your decision.

Ah I like that idea! Thanks @Kathryn P!

I would absolutely center the tile on the wall. The first one looks unbalanced.

@cpartist that's what I think. But I've had tile shop people tell me that's the correct placement bc when you're in the kitchen it allows the entire pattern to be seen even with the upper cabinets partially blocking your view. So I didn't know if just looks weird in the photo. Have to admit it would be nice to avoid double the cutting cost. But in the end I'm afraid that placement would really bug me. I wish I was better at visualization - I'm struggling to envision what 1" of that tile will even look like. A bunch of scallops I think.

Personally I think the extra strip should be at the top. Are you having UCL and a light rail? If so, that will block the view at the top some more. You will likely only see the top under the cabinets when standing further away. Most attention will be focused on the main part and the counter top. If there is any variation in height, as we had in our older home, splitting the difference might become really obvious if you have to go from a 1 inch piece to 1/2 or 3/4 inch piece. I wouldn't like it.

The site says there are solid color tiles you could get in 8x8 to match either the foreground or background color. 2" x 8" Rectangles are available by special order. I love the tile and wish you the best in choosing.

Ah @bmorepanic I didn't see the 2x8 option. I'll have to think about that - maybe that's an option. Thanks :).

@silken1 yes there will be low profile under cabinet lighting. With regard to a rail, I don't know. Now that you ask I realize that no one (KD, cabinet maker, me) ever talked about it. The cabinet maker knew there would be UCL so I presume there is some sort of lower lip or something to hide them, as he's very good about thinking of details like that that I don't, but now I wonder. I guess I better check lol!

Hello! How did you end up placing your tile?