tigergirl123 - That's so funny! It's so hard to make a decision, isn't it? People always say "go with what you like" but we like both options equally! I'm hoping we'll get a few more people to weigh in on this. Meanwhile, here are a few pictures from the finished kitchens blog that we found helpful to visualize how both options look in a finished kitchen (I haven't posted a link before, so hoping this works). Good luck with deciding on your backsplash! Here is a link that might be useful: square tiles

Personally I like tile on the diagonal but the wood at the doorway should be squared up properly anyway. After cutting the center of the doorway, the ends can be cut using a Fein Multimaster Saw or one of the many copies on the market like the Rockwell Sonicrafter.

When I suggested running it the long way I was considering the best look for the bathroom beyond too. I like a long edge to run into the room. It will make less cuts by the tub too so the edge is tidier. I don't know how wide the hallway is but to me the layout looks very chopped up since there's only one full tile in each course. With the 1/3 offset that an amateur should probably use it will be even choppier. It will be one large format tile next to a sliver of the other. The pic Bill posted is beautiful, but it looks like the hall pattern follows the pattern that was chosen for a larger space. That's why I like the stacked pattern here, running the length of the hall and then continuing into the bathroom.

Actually a problem we ran into is the ceiling is very low in this room. We only have 32 inches between the top of the backsplash and bottom of the vanity light. And, that’s with a light that fits in about 5 inches of space. I had to swap a light already not realizing it would be an issue.