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!

Happy July 4th!! Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. Okay, here is what I am up against. My husband really wants the back splash to extend up to the ceiling. I showed him pictures of beekeeperswife's kitchen where the backsplash stopped just a few inches short of the base of the hood and the wall was painted just above the backsplash and under the hood. This is a great trick that ties in the painted area to the area under the hood as well. Another option that we both like is adding an arched panel with crown at the top leaving the bottom open rather than an soffit type box. Instead of stopping at the top of the cabinets, extend a few inches down between the cabinets to allow the tile to disappear and go up the wall to meet the ceiling behind it. I am thinking a panel like the arched panels in these pics without the cabinets above it, mounting flush against the ceiling with crown on the top. It could also be an after thought design element tying in the archs from our windows and doorway into the cabinet area. Neverdifficult - We are really second guessing ourselves for not adding that little extra to extend the cabinet heights. It's not like we can't add it now but we like the continious crown molding around the room and adding something like this arched panel might dress up that stainless hood which was my husband's "absolutely gotta have" piece.

I have my soapstone as my backsplash but we went with stainless steel behind the range. I wanted the same material up the whole wall (under the hood and above it). I had planned on oiling my soapstone and did not want to worry about a section under the hood being darker than the section going up to the ceiling. I am trying to attach a picture but it's not letting me....have the rules changed? It's here if you want to see it http://s1057.photobucket.com/user/TexasPenny/media/oven%20backsplash.jpg.html

first off, remove the countertop backsplash that is already there. If you knew you were doing a splash, why was that installed? you should be able to remove it without issue. you can remove hood, tile all the way up to crown molding, and reinstall hood. you can also tile along the tops depending on how long the wall is I would have been better if they made you a larger crown to go all the way to the ceiling,,like this If you stop short, it will look like this