here's a before & after of a table i transformed with paint: before: after:

Thank you, Jakabedy,Jlc, Holly and Pinkmountain! Yes I'm happy! It's weird though how sometimes there is a place for perfect and sometimes perfect is not good when decorating. Sort of like when I had the wood look porcelain floor put in my master bedroom and bath. To me fake anything should be done in a random loosely staggered way. Too perfect of a pattern just says "hey look at me I'm perfectly fake". I love my loosely random layout. Now, when I look at the driveway pictures I see a few long run grout lines which would normally bother me a lot. But, strangely in the "whole" it works so well and looks much more natural. I have seen these type of driveways done with a different technique where the lines are taped on to perfection and the top surface is sprayed on instead of hand applied. The result is horrible and screams I am a "perfect" fake. The grout lines are oddly razor sharp in style for an outdoor space. It's weird I tell ya.

It is heavy on barn wood. Skip the frou frou. I do not believe that it would look like a country quilt if you did a pattern across the entire backsplash. It would just look busy, detract from the overall starkness and soak up all available light which is an issue. If you wanted to do it in one particular area it might be ok, although I think it more probable it would look cheesy. I dislike tile because you cannot easily install anything, and once installed, you cannot change it without leaving an obvious mark. You do have several things that would go through the tile are you completely happy with them/their locations? Personally, I would consider a band of berwyn or torquay, as they are shiny enough to reflect light, the band should be tall enough to make the light switches on the left look vertically centered and then paint the rest white.

This is a Monterey Colonial and here are examples of other homes. https://www.google.com/search?q=monterey+colonial+house&rlz=1C1NHXL_enUS759US759&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwirmd2ry7jcAhUurlkKHebxAJMQsAR6BAgGEAE&biw=1600&bih=718#imgrc=F8cIdIbwWSPBYM: The photo you supplied from your phone is TOO SMALL to see any details on the house. No one needs to see asphalt or sky. Supply a better image.