in your nice space I see the larger format subway in a shade of white and contrast the grout somewhat. You have the high ceiling,larger handles ,the large ceiling fixture and large eating bar. A slight oversize to a subway tile ties in . I wouldn't do a smaller than average tile size.....it's a good solid renovation...stick with basic. I think a color would mess up the "wood with white " and risk making dark/shadowy...I personally like the wood with white......look how great/fresh/bright the eating surface looks.

There are lots of photos of Taj Mahal and all kinds of back splashes in Houzz Photos. I am also installing TM and spent several hours over many days browsing through the photos and saving the ones I liked to my Ideabooks. I then searched for tile stores that carried those tiles and went to look at real examples. Many that looked great online were a terrible match in person. I have narrowed it down to three different mosaics, but will not make a final decision until everything else is installed in the kitchen. I will borrow the tile sample boards from the tile stores and that should make it easy to make the final selection.

I finally chose my countertop slabs last week, and they are Taj Mahal, but it’s not like most of the TM I’ve seen. It has veins of white quartz and lots of criss-crossing lines. It was so stunning in person that I was able to easily let go of my Cristallo Quartzite on hold at another slab yard. I’ve carefully read through all of the threads concerning what backsplash to use with TM, and today I found this tile measuring 3” x 12” by DalTile, at Home Depot. It’s so inexpensive, and it matches my SW Alabaster paint perfectly! I was leaning toward a more hand-made look for my tile, but this will be the one if I don’t find something better, and I’ll install it in a herringbone pattern. The TM sample doesn’t look much like my slabs, but it did match the grayish tones in them. I’m thankful for all of the input, because I probably would have chosen something with more of a pattern, and the TM needs to be the star!

No updates to post yet! We do have someone coming this morning to measure and give us an idea of how many square feet (and how many slabs) we will need. So far, the front runner is the Silestone Copper Mist, but I'm still concerned it might be a little too cool, and it only comes in a polished finish. I've also looked at some soapstone look alikes--in a leathered finish. I really like the look of a dark counter with our cabinets and furnishings. We've visited 4 granite yards so far, and haven't found a light colored granite that wasn't too busy or "splotchy", spotted looking. I also prefer the looks of a non polished finish, but I've read several posts about upkeep being a nightmare. There are so many different finishes--honed, leathered, suede, etc. It's hard to know which one would be the right choice! I'll definitely update when we finish.