It's not common but I did hear of someone else who did this because they preferred to paint their backsplash. If you do this and later decide to tile up to the cabinets, will you have design that will allow you to add on without it looking "added on"?

Sky

we used 4" tiles as we didn't have enough space between the counter and cabinet bottom to squeeze in 2.5 6" tiles. We also wanted a mural which came in 2" tiles and wanted to more closley match the field tiles with the mural tiles. Of course we threw in several 6" bias layed decorational tiles. We ended up using 4 x 4 tumbled Marble, Chairo.

My last house came with a 4" tile backsplsh, but we thought it looked unfinished, so we put the tiles up to the bottom of the cabinets. It is much easier to keep clean. If your tile is not too pricey, I would suggest buying enough tile to finish the job at a later date if you change your mind, or plan to sell.

Maine_101-- It's your home, and your kitchen. You do it the way YOU like it. Tell your contractor to do it his way in HIS kitchen!!

Oh, and that's coming from a Maine tile contractor. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Ceramic & Marble

I am doing it your way. Our tile backsplash is 4 inches including a liner that caps it off. There are a few threads on here about this topic, with a few pix. Sorry, I don't know how to find them. I will be posting a photo of mine soon.

In my case, the granite is typhoon green, and the tile is a green crushed glass from Sonoma Tilemakers (tantrums). The color is a blend of what is in the granite. I don't think that the look would come off with a contrasting tile.

It was suggested that I tile my whole wall. Although I really like the look in photos, I don't really want to live with that look. I really only needed something behind my cooktop, and I put a piece of art there that wipes down easily. I think that each situtation is different and contractors are not always good designers. They just know what other people have been doing.

Maine101, you should get the look you like and do what is practical for YOUR kitchen. Contractors endlessly try to get you to do it the way they "usually" do! Our backsplash is about 4 inches. We like it. Here's a pic.

Here are a couple more - the top one is my lake cabin - which I plagiarized from the fancier and probably more expensive one below.

{{!gwi}}

Gibby, I think that the one below is the one I saw earlier that I also got the idea from. Isn't that your friend's very upscale kitchen? What I really like about that is the incorporation of artwork in the space above it. I like your rendition of it.

Kim- your's really comes off well also.

There was a row of 4" tiles in my original kitchen:

{{!gwi}}

When we remodeled, I was going to do something similar again, but couldn't find 4" tiles that I liked. Plus, I needed to tile around the raised part of the island, which is about 5 1/2", so 4" tiles wouldn't have worked. I ended up using 2" tiles in both places:

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I chose not to tile all the way up to the cabinets because part of the wall (to the right of the window above the sink) is exposed logs, and I didn't want to fasten tiles directly to the logs. Plus, there is no good way to "end" a full backsplash of 4" tiles between the upper cabinets and the window.

We don't have our backsplash in yet. But, I think we may go with a 4" granite backsplash, partly because I want to see more of my granite than you see when it is only on the horizontal surface, and partly cuz we have had complete tile backsplashes before, and I was always stymied when I wanted to hang something on the wall. Plus cleaning white grout was always a PITA!

Best thing is to look at lots and lots of samples until you feel really comfortable with what you want, and don't get swayed too much by what others say. I agree with the others, your contractor is not a designer. On the other hand, it IS good to hear other's points of view, so then you can't say, OH, if I'd only known.... :>)

Check out the link below for a recent thread and pictures on this topic. The sample pictures (from the FKB) include a simple row of tiles or granite along the counter, as well as some examples of an expanded area behind the cook top. I like this clean look and I am planning on doing something similar...but that's still months away for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lack of backsplash thread

Ha-ha - there are my photos in that other link too!! I really like this look - so much I did it in the bathrooms at my lake cabin too. I got new counters (inexpensive cultured marble type) and each one got it's own unique little tile backsplash. It was fun - and it required so little tile I could pick out anything I wanted and it wasn't very expensive. I've gotten alot of compliments on it.

gibby - The backsplash in your cabin kitchen is very pretty. I see some sort of border on the top edge of the tiles and wonder if you can share what that is. Thanks!

It's just a thin little trim piece that matches the listello mosaic - it's some kind of limestone/travertine type stone I think. At first I just picked the mosaic but then I decided I really needed some kind of trim to top it off. My friend has the nice trim on hers too but it is a little wider (the other photo). The ones in my bathrooms don't have trim - though one of them is a bullnose tile so it is more "finished" on the top.

I chose not to use a full tiled/granite backsplash, also. Mine will be a 6" tile on the diagonal, with a row of the same tile cut to 2", and am thinking of toping it off with a braided tile. I wanted some wall space and there's always the possibility I could tire of it, and it's less(work and price)to rip out than sheets of granite.