Here's a better picture

I,too, would just change the backsplash because as busy as that granite is,I still prefer it to laminate. When you go to sell,my guess is that most buyers would as well.

You have stunning granite. Keep it. Replace the backsplash with white subway tiles or some other simple classic material. The counters will be the star and it will look great!

Agree the granite is nice, backsplash is not.

Replace it with another quality SOLID surface, or just remove the backsplash and keep it, until resources allow a quartz top

Yikes, I too would want to remove the granite. A high quality marble laminate or a solid surface (in a light color which won't show scratches) would be my choice, plus new BS. Have fun, and good for you!

Ditch the splash. Keep the counter. Add under cabinet lighting.

This is one of the nightmares I have about moving next year- I'm actually trying to work kitchen "un- remodel" money into the budget because I know how many people think granite is an upgrade and replace counters before they sell.

I would hate to have to live with that counter- replace it and enjoy your kitchen!

Thanks so much for your input, everyone! I will definitely consider it all when looking to make a change.

Hmmm... so you want to swap Van Gogh ‘s “Starry Night” with a much cheaper, less durable replacement? No, just change the backsplash.

I like the color of paint and hardware you choose for your cabinets. Definitely keep the granite and replace the ugly and non functional backsplash and install a neutral backsplash. This is not your forever home and that will bring you the biggest return on your investment. It will also look good. Your granite is busy but it is also beautiful. The hideous backsplash just clashes with it.

I too would suggest you keep the granite but that backsplash needs to go.

Melissa, just remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Don't let yourself be "guilted" into keeping something you said you "hate more and more with each passing day". It's your kitchen, get what makes you happy. ;)

VeedaBeeps touched on something I have often thought. Just because a kitchen has the all hailed granite, that doesn't mean it's desirable, or pretty.

I would replace the splash with a white colored subway tile and add lights to the cabinets.

If you hate the tops, then find someone that will buy them, and replace with something you like.

You should probably replace it. But first, I'd cover up large chunks of backsplash with solid colored something in a nice color--let's start with white paper--and see if changing the backsplash alone would make it okay. If so, great. If the counter is still bad, change it all. You have to live there.

But that backsplash has to go!

You have created a very handsome kitchen. I agree that the back splash is ruining the party that the granite has made. Personally, I would remove the back splash and then patch/repair the drywall (maybe prime it...maybe not) and then live with it as a blank wall for a few weeks. At that time you can reassess your feelings towards this counter top/kitchen.

Right now you have a striking contrast between the strong counter top and the crisp/clean/simple cabinets. This is a HUGE plus. Contrast equals interest. And interest equals good design.

Yes...the counter top is a Diva! So too was Van Gogh (and I LOOOOVE him!). Like all Diva's they do NOT play well with others. The supporting cast needs to be simple and straight forward. You have created such a space.

Of course, this is your home and you need to like it while you live there. I get that. Absolutely I do. I worry that you will put in a white laminate (marbled and high end looking) that will simply melt into your white counter tops (or worse - CLASH with your counters) and all that work and money is then wasted on a "ho hum" kitchen update.

I would do this in stages. Remove the back splash and live with a "white wall" for a while. It won't hurt and it certainly doesn't cost any money. Reassess the granite. Stand back from it by about 10ft and then view the kitchen as a WHOLE rather than Van Gogh having a snit in your pantry.

If you still don't like it, then you have wasted nothing but a little bit of time. And in our homes, time is ours to with as we wish. It's free!

Good luck and please let someone rehome that granite for you if you wish to remove it. It will make someone very happy.

I love your granite. It is stunning. Please don't remove it. It's refreshing to see a kitchen with personality instead of being plain vanilla.

I like it. even the splash. wouldn't have been my first choice, but it works. be glad you don't have white quartz and white subway tiles like everyone else.

if you want to change the backsplash, look into something black w/under cabinet lighting.

I'm thinking you could get some money for the granite when its removed and there looks like a lot of it. Then put the money towards the new countertop. You have every right to go from granite to laminate. If you hate that granite, and If you plan to stay in that house for awhile, say the next ten years, change it.

Your counters are the star of the kitchen. It has personality and is a elegant piece of stone. I remember when I was looking for my back splash seeing yours. I also though it was to rough and how in the heck do you keep it clean. I also would get rid of the back splash. I would go with a plain solid colored splash or just a painted wall. If you really want to go with laminate I would stay away from the marble look. Your kitchen would end up like every other snowstorm kitchen out there. Void of personalty and bland.

Besides the fact that I think the granite is great, I doubt that the idea of selling it has much economic validity. It would have to be carefully removed, transported, and recut for another kitchen, and then be installed. In the past I have had a couple of small countertops made (a bar and two bathroom vanities), and just picked the stone out of the remainders at my local stone fabricator: the cost of the stone was nothing...the cutting and finishing labor, plus the install was where the expense was. Someone showing up at a stone fabricator with their own supply of scrapped granite is not going to realize any significant savings.

Ugh! I couldn't live with a granite top like that either. Just replace with what you like and love to live there. Don't make it complicated. Why would you keep it, if you detest it? Makes no sense to live in a home according to someone elses style.

Your house? Your style!

It might not be your forever home, but if you expect to live there another 8 years, you might as well make it work for you. Because in 8 years time there are different trends and it is impossible to catch them ahead of time. Move earlier? Make it rather neutral, something well liked by many, which also fits with the rest of the house.

When are you planning to move? That would be the deciding factor for me. If it were my forever or at least next 5 years home I'd fix it (regardless of how expensive or desirable others thought the current counter was) so I could live with it, otherwise I'd save the $$ for the next house!

Keep the granite. It has great movement, but the backsplash is blah. What about simple drywall painted black?

I don't usually weigh in on discussions like this, because mostly the finer points of decor are lost on me. In my world, kitchens are mostly about utility: how well can I cook there?

And the first thing I thought when I saw that countertop was something utilitarian: "If I were changing the disc on my food mill and laid the hardware down on that counter, how would I ever find it again?"

What's great about that counter is that you could cook on it for weeks and not bother to wipe it down. It would never look dirty.

In all fairness, from a distance it actually looks kind of nice. And I agree that a more rational neutral backsplash would be a vast improvement, especially from that same distance. The idea of a black or very dark backsplash makes me feel slightly claustrophobic, but whatever.

Up close, IMO busy just brushes the surface. I didn't know Mother Nature ever made granite like that, but if she did, she's probably down at her local pub right now, weeping quietly and muttering "I'm so, so sorry" again and again over her third bourbon.

As for the backsplash itself, I just have no words beyond "wow." I think it might even surpass the 1970s fake brick on the backsplash in one of my rental houses.

You are NOT out of your mind, IMO. Follow your instincts.

PS - you needn't apologize for your English. It's way better than that of many native English speakers on the net. I wish I could write in other languages as well as you write in English.

I like the granite and would keep it. Replace the backsplash with something light and simple.

First I'll echo what DavidR said about your English--you definitely write better than 90% of the native English speakers here on Houzz--no apologies necessary!

Regarding that granite, I would get rid of it toute suite! I've never been a fan of speckly or busy granite and that one would drive me crazy. I've always said I prefer a calm, smooth boring laminate than busy granite. Solid surfacing (Corian) would look better, as well as a neutral backsplash tile.