I did it at my last house doing a straight line from the longer cupboards sides to the bottom of the countertop, so the fact that it wasn't going to the floor behind the stove didn't show, it worked very well. I used a black mosaic tile that had different elements in it, glass/marble/ceramic it had different veins color I bought it at Lowes , It tied in with the black of the stainless steel and looked great.Go for it.

Thanks - Love the idea!