I can see why it might be advisable to remove the left/rt portions of tile, but I would be inclined to wait until ithe kitchen is completed before deciding. If, as your gut tells you, it "needs" to come down, nothing is really lost except a little more time with it up. Perhaps knowing you are not "locked-in" or committed to it, will help give the perspective to view it more objectively while deciding for sure. This way you will not only have the chance to see it with everything else in place, but you will also have the opportunity to get used to it, before deciding if you truly dislike it, or just haven't gotten used to it being there. As subtle (in color) as our tile is, after months of looking at white painted Sheetrock, it still looked "different" and stood out when we looked at our kitchen. Once we became accustomed to it, we couldn't imagine our walls without it. That's how I am with many things--after living with a blank wall or empty space for any period of time, even a long awaited piece of furniture or decor item jumps out at me, and almost seems like too much, until I get used to the vacant space being filled. Thanks for the compliments on our backsplash Laura and andreak100! It's the Opera Glass tile from Artistic Tile (Stilatto pattern) in Wolfgang White. It does read greenish-blue(-grey) in certain lights or times of day. We had to think about that one while deciding if we wanted to use it, and obviously decided to go for it! Good luck Laura! Honestly, whatever you decide will look terrific!

didn't have time to read all the answers. I have no backsplash and have never regretted it...been over 6 yrs. It is painted with BM matte...which has ceramic in it. It is as beautiful now as it was when first painted. I love the fact that I can showcase other things ...art etc in my kitchen and no competition. Also if I ever want to change it is as quick as a paint brush...expense is minimal..paint only ! All in all I think it is serene as you point out . Here is one pick. Since I have a lot of high heat cooking in my kitchen..built in deep fat fryer as well as gas cook top I can definitely speak to the longevity of paint only. c ( more at this album )

Thanks mayflowers. I am sure people are tired of looking at my kitchen at this point, but this is such a hard decision, because it is so permanent! The two ideas I am now considering are: (1) your idea of cream tile matching the wall color (though I cannot really find one that truly comes close to the wall color) and (2) still considering a sage green tile, but I feel like that may take away from my green shelves. I am considering square, rectangular sizes/ different layouts of tiles at this point at this point. as for area, I am just considering doing the area under the wall from the cabinet to the left of the stove to under the microwave. May or may not run it up in the corner to the first green shelf. I am also going to leave the area in the third picture without a backsplash (the pic with the glass cabinets).

Thanks! I decided to keep the larger tile to create a bigger feel in the kitchen...like I said it's the smallest kitchen I've seen (barring a retirement home!) but I'm considering going UP the corner wall space maybe 2 rows difference from the backsplash under the cabinets and then adding my 30 inch rustic shelves on either side (possibly staggered OR resting on the top of the tile where it ends on the wall on both sides (not sure which way I want to do it...again, it's a visual thing for me), and then using the coordinating paint further up the wall for a little pop. Will determine if I go up the extra 2 rows based on where the pendant light hangs down to.