I like the look of tile all the way up to the ceiling in certain situations, and this is one of them -- so yes.

Since your cabinets don't go to the ceiling I would stop at the bottom of the hood. I also agree with you - white grout not dark. Beautiful kitchen!

no. lol. you don't have a huge area to do. it's a beautiful tile and goes perfectly w/your kitchen. you've been waiting 2 years, get the quality splash. A cheaper one, (say $20 a sq foot?) is going to save you about 200 bucks. is it worth it? or do you want something really cheap? Up to you. if you want cheaper, go look at IvyHill online on Wayfair or HomeDepot and see if you like any of those. Learn how to do some of the things yourself and save money on DIY, then you can afford the pricier splash. btw, here's how I styled my walnut shelves (that cost me $45. I bought a piece of wood, cut it to my measurements, stained it, and KregJigged the corners. use lag bolts to set into the studs, drilled holes on the back of the shelves, and slid them on the bolts. The cement tile splash I also did myself. found them on sale at half price, and tiled it in a few hours. used the wood trim around theborder as edging The sconce I found on Etsy Maybe you can pick up some extra savings when it comes time to do your flooring, or change out your lights. I'd seriously do some sconces over your coffee bar. you can find cheaper ones like these. https://www.lampsplus.com/open-box/ Try this link for savings on lights. they're returned, unused lights from LampsPlus. I've ordered a few off of here. Some good savings. for example, if you wanted to do more of a modern light in the kitchen, this would give you lots of light I love, LOVE this light. in fact, I got the smaller one for my own house. This one is a good price. and it's 3 lights, and would work perfectly w/your decor. (LED LIGHTS!) It's $300, but it's normally more expensive. https://www.lampsplus.com/products/bergamot-station-17-inch-wide-black-3-light-ceiling-light__88v66.html or, maybe these 3 or 4 light flush mounts. (remember, get the LED 75W or 100W bulbs in the natural daylight or 4000K temp) these are all half the price of the Bergamot

A small backsplash area isn't that suited for a herringbone pattern. And those tile sizes in your OP certainly will not work with a small backsplash area. In addition, your thickly veined counter and also a herringbone pattern backsplash might be too much. Also note that a herringbone pattern is a more complex installation, and your installer better have top tiling skills and a lot of experience with herringbone. Make sure you ask him about that, and ask for photos of his herringbone tile installations he has done.