I also agree that you are limiting yourself somewhat needlessly. There are lots of options, but I understand if you are not comfortable with a lot of them. How about something like this Jasper blue/gray subway? I think that would look really nice while adding a hint of color, but is still understated. :) Link

nosoccermom, Yes those tiles were the ones we had actually looked at already. We definitely need a new floor, the old one has been really beaten up and in fact was only glued around the edges, and it's coming up around the wall in some parts, and overall looks dingy. We weren't sure how the color would fit in with the kitchen however. The interior designer recommended something called "grey washed" is what I have written down. I like the appeal of the luxury vinyl, they aren't cold tile, easy to install, and the grout is actually a better version than regular tile group in that it's not porous.

Since budget needs to be taken into account to do the entire wall, you probably don't want to do herringbone as the labor is expensive. Here the tile is a large format, probably a 3 x 8, stacked for a slight modern touch, and it only goes up just past the bottom of the hood. The pencil liner is a nice touch, and you would use gray liner to match your island. The liner goes just above the bottom of the window, skipping the windows for a little cost savings as some are sold by the piece. The liner isn't necessary, but it's a nice reference to the age of your home. The wall over the tile is painted to match the tile. Notice too that this chimney hood has a wide chimney to take up space on a bare wall. Otherwise they can look undersized without adjacent cabinets. Click on the photo to see the tile better.

Tell your husband and the tile person that you need to wait until everything else is installed before installing the backsplash. If the tiler truly is experienced, he should be onboard with that (actually, I am wondering about him since you said he said you need to pick all at once). Tell your husband that the backsplash is too costly, too many $$$, and too difficult to change later for you to rush the installation. It’s not like it’s a faucet which would be an easy swap-out if you don’t like it. Do you know how many posts this forum gets with people regretting their backsplash choice? Hundreds. Don’t be one of those. Can see zero upside to your husband’s and tiler’s need to pick all at once. Edited to add: I also agree 100% with Cawaps‘ post above - do not mix marble-look-alike quartz with real marble. Already a red flag that you were wanting to do that! That should tell you that you need to wait on choosing the backsplash until you have everything else installed, and can bring in tile samples and hold them up to counters and cabinets to see what will look good.