i like what fern4 posted. it makes the subway tile a little more interesting. i still stand by my basketweave!!!! i think you need to decide how unique you want to make your kitchen. the subway tile (or marble subways which would be nice) will certainly look great and will be the classic white kitchen. if you want that look, than go for the subways. i liked the basketweave because it is still traditional but it is something you don't see often. i also don't think it will be too busy.....mine isnt' busy at all and it is not busier than the minibricks or glass mosaics out there. have you seen vic's kitchen..... white cabinets, costa esmerelda countertops (same as my kitchen) but she chose a terracotta patterned tile. i love how it makes her kitchen "hers"...... and it looks totally different than mine. i would say decide what look you are going for, and then make your decision, because all of the ideas sound great....it's just what you want the feel to be.....

I'm not very good at this, seeing as I can't decide myself, but what about some sort of mosaic that would pick up the colors of the island. It would compliment the island and would "dress up" the absolute black. I was going to suggest glass, but I wasn't sure if you would want glass and polished AB. Maybe a mosaic that was a combo of glass and some other material.

OB2B, that is amazing!! Thank you so much!! I can really see how much more finished it will look with a backsplash. So motivating!! I haven't considered gray because I felt like we needed some color in the room. Am I wrong? I'm trying to use your pics to visualize the Heath pattern in the crater lake color, and I'm liking that a lot. Although that "soothing" one is really gorgeous too. Very tempting. I also still like the wave glass mosaic. So many good choices!! One of the things I'm trying to do is relate to the pool outside, which you can see from the window and three huge windows to the left of the sink run. That's one of the reasons for the blue. I'm not sure I'm feeling the lure of putting brown in the backsplash, EAM. I feel like it muddies things a bit. Maybe it's the miminalist in me, I like things to be very clean, and so tend to either use color or pattern, but not both. I need to noodle this a bit!

Lukki is right about boards; they help you think, and I have been doing them since I was a teenager. I've even saved my late mother's house boards from a college project. However, the ends to which we use them are soooo different. I think the easiest to work with are big form boards with faint lines at the half-inch. For my current house, I cut strips of blue painters tape for walls, which need to move, and taped on pretty scrap book paper for furniture, applicances, etc. I have so many paint chips over the years that I may well owe SW and BM money! Fabric is my biggest weakness--I rub the between my fingers, move them to different lights. (looking at your stuff, you may want to look at the marrimekko site). And I have executed exactly one of them. It was a 6" x8" kitchen. To me, "done" means, "I perfected it all in 2004 !!!" Furthermore, some perfectly decorated houses are very hostile to visit, as my clothes don't coordinate or something. "Grandma's kitchen"? It was "done" --all fresh and stylish once. Definately have fun with design boards. Then the next time you are looking for shoes and spot a crazy light fixture, you can say, "wow! The the black works with my surround, thing-a-ma-jigs are the same shape as those lanterns in my backsplash, and look! That not gold, it's yellow! I could hang it ____!" Or you love it and know it won't work as it, but if you change.... Since you asked, neutrals for resale make me tired. Live with the blue you like and paint it only if you want to. The mirror? So dated it is practically retro and I would absolutely keep it. The little part around the corner doesn't reflect your water, but probably cannot be removed with damaging the corner, my first thought would be a tall, skinny metal palm tree with green and white Christmas tree lights on it. You can do better. Can you raid your gandma's? For the main mirror, I can think of a whole bunch of things I would try out --most would not work my first attemp (if ever!), but when I got it right It would be fresh again and I would smile. You cannot ever work out your reflective or light-related stuff on a board--but this is about your backsplash and I digress. sounds like you are going with the wavy stainless. I never get to perfect, but you are close with that one!