The cement alphonse suggested is the way to go. No matter what you glue the laminate to, there is a technique to be followed or you'll have a mess on your hands. I suggest that a newbie to the process plan on the actual size of the back splash to be smaller than the gluing project so you can trim it up compensating for "hangover" laminate or crooked bonding. This happens to even the most experienced at times. You and hubby practice many dry runs before doing it.

The granite looks nicely cut and installed - I'm surprised a competent contractor would suggest this. It would be less work for him but you're not going to love the result. Your trav tile is going to have depth as well. If you build up your bs by adding 1/4" board over this drywall you'll end up losing 1/2" of counter depth. You'll also need a border to transition from your mosaic to the wall. Removing the drywall above the granite will be relatively quick, inexpensive, easy (a little messy) and will not impact upon the granite at all. I agree with Holly - it's the best option.

lmao. what Jan said! Although, I had to help out my guys who did my herringbone wood floor. it's the starting point where everyone gets messed up. after that, it's simple. Look up how to properly start a herringbone layout and read it. you need to use a speed square at the end of your tile in order to get the proper middle starting point. much easier to illustrate than trying to write it out here. This is how I showed my guys how to start it. see the blue tape w/the two lines? you have to start on the middle after you mark your corner. that's the only way you will get perfect even cuts on both ends. this is how most do it, and it's not correct IF you want perfectly symmetrical left/right borders. All he's done is set the corner of the tile on the line. doing it like this will leave you w/one side smaller than the other: see how the sides of the window don't match? this is what you don't want. your tile guy should be doing a dry layout in order to determine where he starts so he doesn't get this look or these tiny triangles. Again,,,see how the ends don't match below? the right has longer tiles than the left edge. that's because of the way he started his first tile. And don't do these vertical tiles for your edging. get proper bullnose tiles, pencil liner or a Schluter edge. This is a layout board of my herringbone for my shower. took a few hours in order to get this almost perfect. since this was an odd size, and the tiles were even at 3x12, it couldn't be perfect. the right bottom corner triangle is the only portion that doesn't match. luckily, it's not readily visible! Even the subway tiles are perfectly matched. this layout took hours to get exact, even around the niche. 2x6your 3x9 will be 1/3 larger. 3x9 is a good size for a backsplash. this is a regular 3x6. again, a 3x9 will give you 1/3 longer.

Hi Chispa, House is a townhouse built in 1996, trying to modernize the look. As far as decorating style, I like modern/contemporary, nothing too funky. Something that would be cohesive with the rest of the kitchen, and bring the kitchen to life a little. It's very white right now.