Definitely avoid glass tiles or glass mixes, avoid stainless steel, avoid long skinny tiles. My best advice is to go to a tile store and find something you like. If you like traditional you will gravitate towards a traditional look automatically.

What do the kitchens in your inspiration pics have? Do you peek at the thread about arabesque tiles? Goodness...those are exquisite! Square tlles and subway tiles can be traditional looking, too.

Do you mean modern like "mid-century modernist", or modern like "what's in style in Spring 2012"?

Modern (high modernist):
{{gwi:1651239}}

Modern (contemporary 2012) style:

Nothing says traditional like 4x4 or 6x6 tile in a basic field color with an accent liner for contrast.

Would this one be considered modern? Or do you think it could works well with any style kitchen? They are the tiny 1/2" squares on a 12x12 sheet.As for busyness the colors seems to flow together pretty smoothly rather than so much light and dark to make it look jumpy.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_269569-93840-20-594_0?zipCode=49684&firstReferURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lowes.com%2Fpd_269569-93840-20-5940_%3FcatalogId%3D10051%26productId%3D3378600%26UserSearch%3D269569%26Ntt%3D269569%26N%3D0%26langId%3D-1%26storeId%3D10151%26rpp%3D24&catalogId=10051&productId=3378600&findStoreErrorURL=StoreLocatorDisplayView&selectedLocalStoreBeanArray=%5Bcom.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4075407540%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4075f875f8%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4076a876a8%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4077587758%2C+com.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4078087808%5D&UserSearch=269569&Ntt=269569&N=0&URL=TopCategoriesDisplayView&langId=-1&storeId=10151&rpp=24

I would consider that a fairly contemporary and "active" choice for a backsplash. Maybe deep down that's what you want :)

I would call that modern and busy. It's awfully pretty, though. If you can print that out on your computer and copy it a number of times, you can tape it up on your backsplash to see if you like it.
Renee

Circuspeanut, what kind of tile backsplash is that in the second photo you posted (Modern - Contemporary 2012)? I'm guessing marble 1" x 2" bricks? Thanks!

How about subway tile...it's pretty traditional.

I consider your choice modern and busy, but quite nice. It could work with most kitchen styles though, the colors are neutral.

There was a few thread devoted entirely to mosaic backsplashes and one of the take aways I got was, on a small scale, they can look great. But as an entire backsplash, they are typically too busy, with too much movement and can even give people headaches. I think this is even more the case the smaller the tiles are. So "chicklets" (what you linked to at Lowe's) are going to have that affect more than 1x2 mini-bricks.

To avoid modern, I agree avoid glass and long and narrow tiles (like 2x8's, or maybe even 3x24's). Don't install them going vertically and don't install them all lined up. Both of these are very modern looks. Here are some examples of what I am talking about:

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[contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by san francisco general contractor RemodelWest

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[modern kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by chicago design-build Normandy Remodeling

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[modern kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by toronto interior designer Croma Design Inc

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[contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by detroit interior designer Dunlap Design Group, LLC

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[contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by austin architect Dick Clark Architecture

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[modern kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by los angeles design-build HartmanBaldwin Design/Build

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[contemporary bathroom design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2103) by vancouver furniture and accessories Fluff

I got a little carried away with examples but if you look at the rest of the kitchen, specifically the cabinetry, it is all modern. Make sure you backsplash matches the feel of the rest of your kitchen. Post pics of it and kitchens you like and people can give you lots of ideas for what direction to head in, vs. just what not to do.

Here are examples of what I think of as more traditional, classic and less busy. Perhaps even boring... the colors tend to be mellow and subdued, usually white and cream, the tile size and shape is pretty much all the same:

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[traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by san francisco architect Mahoney Architects & Interiors

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[kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-ideas-phbr0-bp~t_709) by dc metro interior designer Neat Chic

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[traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by chicago kitchen and bath Rebekah Zaveloff

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[traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by san francisco interior designer Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

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[eclectic kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by los angeles kitchen and bath KITCHENS BY DESIGN

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[traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by other metros general contractor Markay Johnson Construction

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[traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by chicago kitchen and bath The Kitchen Studio of Glen Ellyn

Ok, here is a picture of the kitchen while I was working on it. The lower cabinets are red birch. The upper are painted cali lily with a light glaze that matches the red birch. Handles are pewter with a little copper that picked up the red birch and glaze beautifully. I would like a backsplash that will make the upper cabinets pop out (rather than blend with tile) and still go beautifully with the red birch and stainless. So probably a med color instead of light. I like variance and depth in a tile but not busy or jumpy. In other words a smooth transition among the tiles. I don't like plain, solid, light or boring. Would like my tile to tie in all the elements in the kitchen (red birch, upper cabinets, stainless, countertop).The countertop is Desert Sand from Hi Macs.

I agree in the post here that the long narrow strips with light and dark strips are too busy for me.

so what do you think about the photos in the previous post? Your description matches the bluish grey tiles in the Artistic design kitchen and the beige tiles in the Markay Johnson kitchen. There are "solid" ceramic tiles that have variance in shade, usually when they are handmade. Not boring, at least not boring to me. Examples below.

These are from moderntile.com

You can get a million variations with handmade tiles, these are from missiontilewest.com

Once again, I strongly recommend that you go to a local tile shop, not a lowes or home depot, and take a look around. Believe me, there are plenty of tiles that will meet your criteria.

oops.
completetile.com, not moderntile.com

Wanta, I really like what you are starting with, dual colors and everything. Your initial tile block strikes me as ultimately too busy, though, and not nearly as well suited to that cabinetry as many others would be, plus on the "modern" side. If it were mine, 'd be inclined to go with a glossy (a little contrast to the duller finishes) tile in a traditional shape uniformly applied without extra detailing. I'd stay away from flat surfaces with sharp edges as too modern. If I could afford a bit of a "handcrafted" irregularity to the surface I'd choose that (because I like it).

Subway's rectangle proportions are similar to those in your doors, so I'm guessing it'd look very good set traditionally, like the Chicago and San Francisco kitchens.

You also have some squares in your cabinets, which could be picked up if you were to use squares, set in a traditional running bond. (Four points meeting is a more modern look.)

You also have some diagonal lines, not as strong as the squares though. Since I love the gentle movement 4x4s set diagonally give and they're not seen everywhere these days, I'd at least consider retrofitting some diagonal stiles in the glass panes near the ceiling. Breaking the squares in favor of the seen in other areas would probably look really good, but otherwise I'd stay away from them.

Those are all traditional looks that could be played out with simple, lower-price tiles and look very distinguished. Circuspeanut's modern-2012 would look very nice in your kitchen too even if it's more transitional, and it also has the virtue of being readily available.

Atomics,
Sorry, I don't know, but here's the link to the page of the photo with details on the designer etc:

Here is a link that might be useful: [Style de Vie kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/style-de-vie-design-eclectic-kitchen-toronto-phvw-vp~75809)

Handmade or irregular tiles with standard (not skinny) grout lines.

Use linoleum.

Florantha - that is funny! When we pulled the sheetrock off the old plaster walls in the old kitchen, that is what we found was used as the backsplash - from a long, long time ago.

The red is the linoleum - the yellow color is the mastic underneath it. Guess they gave up trying to remove it and just covered it all up.

Some time ago we had a serious query here about linoleum-type applications used as backsplashes. Very helpful for those of us who have forgotten our childhood memories of pre-Formica kitchens. We had a number of photos plus many magazine ads to look at.

Actually, these were "modern" but probably not in the sense intended by iwantakitchen's heading query.

Have fun stormin' the castle, iwantakitchen!

Wanta - do you want some color or do you want it to be neutral? I know you said not "plain, solid, light or boring" but do you like blues, reds, greens? What are you accent colors?

Here is a link to a tile that is certainly not plain, solid, light or boring but I don't know if this appeals to your asthetics. The colors look like they would work with both your upper and lower cabinets and porbably your counter top but I don't know yours offhand.

I have seen a BEAUTIFUL tile locally that is similar to the last green square ones ellaf posted but they are much bigger - maybe 4x8. I can't recall how much read they have in them. It might be closer to just browns around the edges and amazing greens and blues inside. Again, not boring, plain or solid but I don't know if you are a blue/ aqua/green person.

Here is a link that might be useful: curvy glass tiles