Beautiful, Toronto Veterinarian! Just the right balance - it provides interest but doesn't fight your pretty countertop. May I ask the name of the tile manufacturer? And it looks like your grout is Bright White - is that correct? I like your dish rack, BTW - we have the same one!

The tile is made by Olympia Tile + Stone (PIccadilly series), but I can't remember what grout colour we used.

What are your floors? hardwood?

I think the marble or faint blue are not enough contrast with all the white/gray in the kitchen. The bright white with some texture could be OK (I like Toronto Veterinarian's!)

Personally I would lean towards a color, especially in a north facing room that tends to be shadowy.

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Thanks for the ideas, everyone!

Toronto Veterinarian, I will ask our local tile store about whether they can obtain Olympia Picadilly tile. I’m glad you pointed out the light-reflecting properties of the uneven surface - that’s a real-world effect I hadn’t anticipated.

Our old kitchen had blue cabinets, faux butcher-block laminate countertops and two overhead lights. The color combo was pretty, but the room was dark except on the brightest summer days. To brighten it up, we opted for white cabinets and more layers of lighting in the new kitchen. Tile that reflects a little additional light would be a real plus.

Caligirl5, our floor is red oak. A portion of it is visible in the photo of the fridge. I took the photos on a very cloudy day without turning on the lights in the kitchen, so it does look pretty shadowy. I would love to do color in the backsplash, but DH is against it. He’s concerned it will look like a stripe in our small kitchen, especially since everything else except the floor is white, black, or grey/stainless. I’m encouraged by photos on Houzz showing white backsplashes with the colors in our kitchen - most look harmonious and calming, not boring. If we can’t find a smaller version of the 5x12 tile, we’ll likely go with white.

We’re intrigued by the uneven-surface tile like Toronto Veterinarian’s. We’d be open to some kind of patterned tile, if it wouldn’t look too busy and wouldn’t “fight” the look of the countertop.

When we started our project, we said the backsplash would be “anything but white subway.” After bringing home many samples from many tile stores, it looks like that might be what “goes” best with the rest of the kitchen. So I thought I’d try seeking ideas here for alternatives!

Fancyxx, we considered doing the backsplash in the same material as the countertop, but ruled it out due to the strong but scattered veining in it and the difficulty and expense of obtaining another slab like the one we got for the countertop. There was a minimum eight-week wait for slabs like ours, and they were pricey. We also thought that due to the pattern of the veining and the shortness of our backsplash it would be hard to get a relatively uniform look without cutting it into tiles, which would add even more to the cost.

Our project included a master bath remodel (photos to come when it’s completely done), replacing the baby blue master bedroom carpeting with hardwood, and replacing our porch and front walk, furnace, and AC… and we’re not done yet. Even if we were not currently a bit cash-strapped, though, we would do the backsplash in a different material than the countertop because of the timing and pattern issues mentioned above.

lmns grc - Did you finish your backsplash project and, if so, can you tell me how you like it and if you don't mind sharing some pix?

Thank you!

Jora, our backsplash was to be completed last week, but delays beyond our control prevented it from even being started. Our tile setter is now scheduled to come back next month to put it in.

We went with a white 3x12 tile with a slightly undulating surface, somewhat like Toronto Veterinarian’s. Finding tile with those features in the right white was more challenging than we expected it would be - many had a more pronounced “handmade” look (uneven edges, a more wavy surface) which didn’t fit the style of our kitchen.

Our tile setter helped us figure out layout and, importantly, grout color. He mixed up different ratios of Bright White and other colors of grout for us to choose from, explaining which would most effectively tie the backsplash to our countertop and bring out the veining in it that we like so much. We’re going with that effect rather than the tile definition we’d get with darker grout. The end result should be a harmonious whole that plays up and does not fight with the look of the countertop, which in our kitchen is the “star.”

We’re really looking forward to our backsplash install! The final finish will be put on our floor afterward. Photos will be forthcoming, though they may have to wait until I’m able to wash the windows!