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 )

I took the scale elevations we'd given to the cabinetmaker, made photocopies, and overlaid them on a light table ( could use a bright window) with a page of tile on graph paper of each of the 12 possibilities (6 possible tile sizes, stacked and running bond for each.) Some were eliminated immediately as awkward with no possibility of redemption because they just didn't fit gracefully with the design. The ones that made the cut (maybe half) were traced onto an elevation of the two tile walls. I was originally planning 12x24, but couldn't get them to work well and ended up with 4x 16 in running bond pattern. I was glad I had not just picked the tile and pattern and said "here's what I want, make it work." When it came time to actually lay it out, I showed the tile guy what I'd done and what I was aiming for, but asked him which trim pieces to get, and he finessed the design and figured out the actual layout. I gained huge respect for what he does and the number of decisions that go into making it look perfect, and I told him so. And it does look perfect, with not a single awkward piece anywhere. File under "most obsessive thing I've ever done" and "glad I did it." Oh yeah, for bathroom floor and 3 walls and included fixtures and niches as well. Actually I don't think it took any more time that emptying th kitchen to decide on the drawer design... A full Sunday afternoon, as I recall.

Silvermist looks beautiful in your space, as do the cabs and the counters. You must be very excited. One thing missing from your white Daltile choice is contrast. You can add a little contrast by picking up on the grey in your counters, or playing off of the blue of the walls. These are Fireclay Tiles in Moonshine, Nickel, and French Linen, all three are in the Foundations line and sell for $15/SF. Just by the way, I recommend Fireclay Tile a lot. They are gorgeous in person, and their web site is highly accessible, but I'm not affiliated with them in any way. I'm sure Daltile does not make glazes in these colors, but they might have something....close enough, and more affordable.

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to check back in after a year with the stone. It has really grown on me as a feature I love. Cleaning has not been bad. Actually some pasta sauce dumped on wall behind cooktop and it was ok to clean with a scrub brush and water (cleaned right when it happened). Elsewhere, it has been fine after initial clean and seal. Just vacuumed it once with a brush tip. I also want to thank everyone for their opinions, advice, kind words, and - most of all - the encouragement! As a mostly DIYer, I always wanted to design and build a home. This was my first whole-home-reno, and I learned a lot and the encouragement provided by many, including y’all, really helped my confidence. I am very proud to say that the home was entered in NARI Meta / CoTY for whole-home-reno and it won for local-chapter and Southwest region. Thanks again everyone & do not fear stacked stone backsplashes!