Hi, I know in a bathroom the rule of thumb is if floor is on a diagonal then the walls should be staight and vice versa..I don't know if that applies to backsplashes. Do you have any upper cabinets where the backsplash will go or windows between the the stove/hood?

There are windows about 1 1/2 feet from either side of the range (~30" slide in) and above the hood is a row of small cabinets. Eventually the hood will have a wood surround that extends the length of the cabinets. The backsplash area is "framed" by the windows on either side, the range/counter below and the hood/cabinets above.

I read in another thread about taping tiles to a piece of cardboard. I think I'll try this over the weekend w/the running bond pattern I'm considering. Another reason I'm unsure is because most running bond seems to be done w/the brick-shaped tiles (subway tiles?) but I selected square tiles.

paddytc: I didn't know about the bathroom rule of thumb but it makes sense to me. I feel like the BS and floor will compete visually if the patterns match even though the tiles do not. I want the BS to appear restful, not busy or competitive.