We have walnut cabinets, a dark grey floor and stainless steel counters - very similar to your setup, but we have white painted boxes. We went with a handmade recycled tile, the debris series from fireclay. It was a fight to the death between a pale blue and a pale sage green, and a lot of discussion was had about format - 2x8 versus 4x4, etc. They have a lot of colors and formats to choose from. I was inclined toward white until it was all installed, and I realized that was too boring and the room needed color.

didn't have time to read all the answers. I have no backsplash and have never regretted it...been over 6 yrs. It is painted with BM matte...which has ceramic in it. It is as beautiful now as it was when first painted. I love the fact that I can showcase other things ...art etc in my kitchen and no competition. Also if I ever want to change it is as quick as a paint brush...expense is minimal..paint only ! All in all I think it is serene as you point out . Here is one pick. Since I have a lot of high heat cooking in my kitchen..built in deep fat fryer as well as gas cook top I can definitely speak to the longevity of paint only. c ( more at this album )

Have you considered wallpaper? You can bring in color, as well as a design, if that's your 'schtick'. Just throwing another consideration in the mix. I personally *hate* a backsplast covered in tile or granite from countertop to bottom of cabinets, or even further up. I've gone *about* 3/4 up the wall, with the remained just the neutral color thruout the rest of my home, but only on the interior cabs, so above the stove and sink areas. On the perimeter bank of cabinets, it's just a painted wall, where I had planned to use wallpaper, but haven't done so yet. I also picked up at an auction a painted canvass, which is long and narrow, and thought of using it here. It's a vintage French scene of a girl feeding chickens in a barn, done in dark colors, which is my preference. I just don't want to leave it should I sell. ;)

You didn’t know what you didn’t know. And that's pretty much the rule for every project where a home owner works with a professional. If the home owner knew everything, they wouldn't have to hire anybody. If the professional asks an ambiguous question, and then deliberately skips the industry-standard step of visually confirming the layout with the client, then it's inappropriate to blame the client for not communicating well. This is a question that comes up with literally every single job the fabricator does. They should know how to verify instructions. We have had all sorts of counter tops installed over the years. Every single time, the fabricator would come to the house to do precise templating. And then they'd require that either the home owner or the general contractor sign off on the template before they'd make the first cut. These processes are in place exactly to avoid this type of issue. Yes, there have on occasion been mistakes. But when that happens, the professional eats the cost or finds a way to fix things that is acceptable to all parties.