Hi live wire oak, the back splash is gray and white but my lighting in the kitchen makes everythng look more warm or yellow tone for some reason (fluorescent). I really don't like an orangeish tone at all, the laminate counter has no orange in it but beige, black and gray. here's another photo of the back splash and counter.

kksmama, I agree. While I love both of the tiles, I think both might be too much for my kitchen. The tile store didn't have samples of the other ones that I'm interested in though. In the Tuileries line, there are some square tiles that they pair with a chair rail and then matching subway on top. That's what we're leaning toward at the moment. Thoughts? I'll try to link you to it. I like Vendome. http://www.walkerzanger.com/collections/products.php?view=mat&mat=Ceramic and Terracotta&coll=Tuileries Thank you Ellendi. I really appreciate you steering me to Walker Zanger. The color is too light on my monitor too but has much more depth in person. Here is a link that might be useful: Walker Zanger tile

I like the idea of a basic white something, but not marble. I know, I'm the only person in the world who doesn't like marble. But something in a soft white with a slight color varation -- that's a good possibility. Lovely kitchen though. Very much like the layout I'll have. Yeah, no surprise that it's a "premium granite". However, I'm not splurging on a whole lot of things, so I can have this; and I do want a "good piece". I've read in several places that this is something you want to go pick for yourself because all slabs aren't equal. Cool that it's the same stuff as security holograms. Nice conversation item. My kitchen'll be small . . . but will have a fairly large amount of natural light. I do agree that light is going to be the best choice. Love the suggestion to go with a nice cut edge. I wouldn't have considered that the inclusions would be spectacular in that situation.

If your choice were only between to 2 you originally posted, I'd choose the one on the right--the cream one. From the photos it looks like it works very well with your quartzite. The gray one is "off" just enough not to look pleasing. However, as many have noted, either one is more difficult to clean than a smooth surface. What sort of cook are you--very neat or more devil-may-care? If you are very neat and do not splash much when you cook, then you may get away with the split-faced marble, but if you are a more exuberant cook, you may find it a challenge to clean. The mother of pearl is very formal and quite busy, so it's going to compete with the counter tops as well. Personally, I would use a smooth crackle tile in a tan/beige tone to work with your quartzite. Simple is always good.