We have light oak cabinets in shaker style with brushed nickel hardware. We chose uba tuba granite counters which look black from a distance and up close you see flecks of gold, aqua, light grey. The color contrast looks very nice. This look could fit a variety of kitchen styles. No regrets with choosing either light oak cabinets or this granite.

I can see why it might be advisable to remove the left/rt portions of tile, but I would be inclined to wait until ithe kitchen is completed before deciding. If, as your gut tells you, it "needs" to come down, nothing is really lost except a little more time with it up. Perhaps knowing you are not "locked-in" or committed to it, will help give the perspective to view it more objectively while deciding for sure. This way you will not only have the chance to see it with everything else in place, but you will also have the opportunity to get used to it, before deciding if you truly dislike it, or just haven't gotten used to it being there. As subtle (in color) as our tile is, after months of looking at white painted Sheetrock, it still looked "different" and stood out when we looked at our kitchen. Once we became accustomed to it, we couldn't imagine our walls without it. That's how I am with many things--after living with a blank wall or empty space for any period of time, even a long awaited piece of furniture or decor item jumps out at me, and almost seems like too much, until I get used to the vacant space being filled. Thanks for the compliments on our backsplash Laura and andreak100! It's the Opera Glass tile from Artistic Tile (Stilatto pattern) in Wolfgang White. It does read greenish-blue(-grey) in certain lights or times of day. We had to think about that one while deciding if we wanted to use it, and obviously decided to go for it! Good luck Laura! Honestly, whatever you decide will look terrific!

great minds think alike :) as my onyx backsplash with copper glass frame is going in even as I post (forgive the "ninja" look from the spacers). our house is adobe and I thought the onyx helped keep the Southwestern feeling. I had started looking at Talavera tile but decided it was too busy against the granite. closeup The field tile is 4x4 cristal giallo tumbled onyx (sorry, can't find the source at the moment). The 1x2 brick is tumbled multi on 12x12 mesh sheets from Artistic Stone Maniscalco. The glass is honey baby bar (not doing well--don't remember that source either!). I love femmelady's backsplash too! femmelady (per her previous posts) uses bees wax to protect every so often. I pre-sealed with Miracle Enhance and Seal as I preferred the wet look and know that I'm terrible on maintenance. The unenhanced stone is much lighter. good luck!

Hard to say. Will the quartz look glossy and modern, while the floors looks rusticly whitewashed? Post a photo, so folks can envision your choices.