You already have a backsplash. It‘s the four inch piece on the wall.

So, most here would advise you to remove before tiling.

That said, I think all you need to do is change your paint color.

IMHO, the counter doesn’t complement your cabinets at least on my monitor.

What color are they?

I agree with @eld6161 , the counters really don't work with the cabinet color. I don't know that changing the backsplash will be worthwhile when you have two incompatible colors fighting them. I would wait until you can replace the counters, then do the counters and backsplash simultaneously.

I will definitely have that 4 inch piece removed before the backsplash. The countertops are a light taupe color with brown speckles. I would replace them if I had the means. We bought the house new--a spec house--and could not pick anything out, almost 20 years ago. The paint on the walls continues into a dining/family room combination with vaulted ceilings and sight lines that go into a small sitting room. So if I change the paint color in one spot, I would have to be careful where it goes. Of course the extended family picture collection as a "backsplash would go too.

If you truly can’t change the counter , you work around it. Pick a blue and white , or blue w creams patterned tile. Think sunny Provence. You have pitch to ceiling so pattern will be handled well w the dynamic of the room. Don’t worry about the counter shade : the blue in a tile with the amber cabinets will work w each other. Go for pretty if you like French country. Change the blinds maybe to white and a pretty curtain valance : toile or something brighter / cheery. Can’t see the hardware but you can make more statement if you want.

If I could afford to replace the countertops, what color would you suggest?

It really depends on what counter material is within your budget. Laminates have come a long way and are available in every color and pattern imaginable. Plain white Corian would give you a ton of flexibility with backsplash options. There are granites that can be had very inexpensively. What do you like?

I think your counter tops are quite neutral so not sure that replacing them would make a big difference. What material are they?

What does French Country Kitchen mean to you? Can you post some ideas in your idea books?

Since you are really decorating one large room with the kitchen/dining/family room, can you show us what colours you are using in those rooms? From what I can see of the curtain in the dining area, you have played it safe with lots of beige and brown. I suggest that you choose a colour and repeat it throughout the rooms for a unified look e.g. new window curtain, paint the island stools, pillows and throw in the family room, maybe a rug somewhere. That will give you more bang for your buck than replacing the counter tops.

And although TV decor shows would have you believe otherwise, you won't get your money back on any decorating. You're doing it for yourself. For a quick refresh maybe you just want to add a wipeable vinyl wallpaper above your existing low back splash in whatever colour you decide.

Your decor would be much refreshed if you removed some things. The decor items from the top of the cabinets, the window ruffles, the family pictures on your backsplash, and the desk-type items from the counter area.

You may be surprised about the price of counters. There are many affordable granites out there. I agree with biondanonima.

Your counters match your floor tile and since that is staying, I would do a granite that has taupe in it. A Giallo dark or light. Then you can do a cream backsplash.

I have Giallo with white cabinets.

I actually like black granite with oak cabinets but that might be too drastic a change for you visually.

I know someone who spray painted their hardware similar to yours and it held up very well, including the part on the ceramic. She went dark against her oak cabinets. It held up. An inexpensive alternative and you can always replace them later if necessary.

You could spray paint your brass chandelier the same dark colour. http://www.livelovediy.com/2013/07/10-spray-paint-tips-what-you-never-knew.html

Here is one painted black. https://makeit-loveit.com/paint-old-chandeliers-light-fixtures

If you want to change the look of the glass itself you can spray it with frosting spray.https://www.homedepot.ca/product/rust-oleum-specialty-frosted-glass-finish-340-g-aerosol-spray-paint/1000156795

Or add a layer of frosting film over it, either plain or patterned. https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/categories/decor/window-coverings/window-film.html

My son and daughter-in-law bought a house with a lot of dated items, and to save the budget for other things we spray painted a lot of stuff. Mailbox, light fixtures, hardware, furniture, decor items. 4 years later and with 2 small children, there haven't been any problems with paint chipping or flaking. And they are very environmentally-conscious so they were especially happy to be able to reuse so much.

By removing all the stuff, your kitchen will look immediately better. Things on top of cabinets is a very dated look, as are the valances. The photos need to come down and find another spot. If you do the above and take some more photos we can help you better. Also take pictures of the adjacent spaces.

The above advice costs nothing to implement!

• So I want to thank all of you for taking the time to give me advice! Here is the adjacent family room. The light blue wall used to be Hunting Coat Red. The light fixture I really dislike is also partially broken, so repainting it would solve part of the problem. I really like the idea of spray painting my kitchen hardware, and decluttering above the cabinets.

I love your room! The wall color and armoire are beautiful!!

I realize you said changing the cabinets wasn’t a possibility, but if you’re handy and have a good quality paint store around, it might be worth looking into painting them.

Do you know the colour name and company name of the blue wall? On my screen it looks more green than blue.

And you just know that we'll ask you to take the decor items off the top of the cabinet too because they draw attention away from the cabinet itself, which is very nice. Is the TV in there?

Rooms look best when an accent colour, like the wall, is repeated over and over again. If it's something small like a pillow, it can be a darker version of the same colour. Or it can be a more dusty version of the colour too. But the repetition ties everything together and the room looks harmonious.

Painting the kitchen cabinets is a big job. If not done properly it can chip and peel, and it takes a long time to prep it well do the required coats. Not a job for beginners.

I took the valances off my kitchen window and was surprised at how much better it looked, even though I liked the valances themselves. And the kitchen was noticeably brighter even though they really didn't cover that much of the glass. LOL I didn't even bother to fill the little holes from the rods.

The paint color is Wythe Blue from Benjamin Moore. It is also on my front door. Yes, a tv is in the cabinet. I love Partim’s idea to add more of the blue (it looks more blue to me LOL) in other accents around the room and take the items off the cabinet.

https://theturquoisehome.com/benjamin-moore-wythe-blue/

https://www.remodelaholic.com/color-spotlight-wythe-blue-from-benjamin-moore/

You can see that Wythe blue looks good with warm wood tones like your cabinet and your kitchen cupboards.

You could paint your kitchen island stools in a darker version of the wall colour, or maybe just paint the legs and leave the seat natural wood. Lots of ways to bring a colour that you like over to the rest of the room. https://foter.com/hand-painted-bar-stools

I have been using Wise Owl One Hour Enamel to repaint cabinets and banisters. It dries to a nice hard finish that cleans easily. I did my kitchen and banisters for around $100. I would paint cabinets white, replace hardware, and either do a white subway tile backsplash or bring in more blue. Decluttering will also help. Try to clear as much off of cabinets and counters as possible.

Jill H, I love how your bannister turned out! I could definitely do that. How many cabinets did you have? I have 44 cabinet doors and an island. Sounds like a looong project, but not impossible. I have a friend who painted her cabinets white and did tons of prep work. They look terrible after only 2 years, so I am very cautious. You all have inspired me and I have been doing a lot of decluttering this weekend!

I have 37. It was a lot of work and if I could do it again I would invest in a sprayer. Do you know what she used for paint? My process was label doors, and frames, remove 6 at a time, wash with dawn, lightly sand, two coats of primer and two of paint. Mine started as a white pickled wood with a gray glaze and I painted them a pure white. It has only been six months and they are 20 years old so I felt like I had nothing to lose!

The counters look like they may be Corian, or a similar product. Although they do not do much for the wood of the cabinetry, perhaps, since they would be a significant cost to replace, use them as the basis for your design.

I’ll suggest something rather daring, which is to add a deep periwinkle blue to the color scheme. Make sure to bring several paint samples home and hold them next to the countertop in different parts of the kitchen to see how it looks both in daylight and nighttime electric lighting. Paint any part of the wall you don’t tile including above the cabinetry.

Honestly, if it was my personal kitchen, I’d paint the cabinets that color. You could paint them all, or a slightly lighter shade of the same color or white, just on the uppers is another option. Oak has a texture to the grain that “telegraphs” through the paint, and so you might want to experiment to see if you liked that, or the other option is to add the periwinkle blue to everything else, walls and backsplash.

If you put up a tile backsplash, you MUST ABSOLUTELY remove the small existing backsplash first. Not to do so would be a mistake. If lie the idea o the color periwinkle, but are not sure about tiling or painting the cabinets, leave the corian backsplash, and paint the walls that color as a first step.

I am certain you could find a pretty ceramic tile, perhaps a subway tile but with a deep bevel, to lend some interest, but look at other shapes and even combinations of tile. If you keep the cabinets the natural wood tone, do a periwinkle backsplash, but a white backsplash with periwinkle painted cabinets would be pretty, Here’s a white one from Lowes:

I meant to say, you could paint them all, or the lower cabinets a darker periwinkle, with the lighter shade on the uppers, or darker base cabinets paired with white on the top. Just clarifying that I wasn’t suggesting just painting the uppers.