I'm not a big fan of a decorative range splash. I think you have enough going on visually without the wood hood and two quartzes that I would leave the range area the same as the rest of the tile. You don't NEED something different there. JMHO. :)

I second the idea to continue same backsplash behind stove. It will look lovely and elegant.

Less is more sometimes.

I'm in the less is more camp. Let the decorator do what s/he wants in their own kitchen. I have a free-standing stove with a higher back so a piece behind the stove would have been too busy. Unless you have a clear vision of what YOU want, better to err on the side of simplicity. The tiles you're considering have plenty of interest all on their own. Good luck!

I wanted something above the range also, in fact I bought mosaic tile to go there. However, when the time came, we decided to just go with the 3 x 6 tiles all the way. I think the mosaic would have looked nice, but I like it plain very much. The granite has lots of interest, so the undecorated backsplash works just fine.

I can't see your pictures because they are blocked by our work server, but the random strips may have enough going on so that you don't need anything there. If you have some time and are handy with some type of photo program, you might try to cut and paste some examples in to see if you like the look.

Good luck with your choice.

Oops. In my post above, I should have said:

"enough going on visually WITH the wood hood and two quartzes"

Like the others, I don't think you need something to offset the range. However, I do like the suggestion of a somewhat subtle area of 3x12 or 3x6 tiles in similar material. (Also, that would have fewer grout lines to clean than the random strips!)

I'd go with the idea to continue same backsplash behind stove. Your kitchen is lovely and I wouldn't want to add anything to distract from it.

If I could do what I wanted there, I'd have a niche to hold oils and maybe a changeable display item or two.

I get tired of decoration that you can't change, so I wouldn't do a tile picture.

One more vote for using the same material as the rest of the BS. The simplicity will look elegant in your space. The "picture" backsplash is a very specific taste; if you'll live in your house a long time and have a strong vision, go for it and enjoy! Otherwise, I think simpler is better. (This is coming from someone who intends to clutter up my simple range backsplash with steel shelves and racks to hang utensils.)

You need a punch of color, I'd try to incorporate it in that manner.

jamies - I love the idea of oils area but it too late for that. Our project is already behind because of redoing drywall from errors that my builder would not be impressed.

I think I am going to do the same across the back. The reason I wanted marble is because I love the material and it ties my two countertops together. Would the uniform bricks be more classy looking than the random strips?

I like the random strips. More interesting to the eye and yet not distracting.

That's going to be gorgeous! I'd also definitely go simple and elegant. Those glass doors are going to be setting off additional detail, no matter how subtle you might make it, and presumably you'll have, or could have, some stuff on the stove counter. Both are great places for accents that aren't cemented into place. Listen to your gut preferences; your decorator's are fine, but they obviously aren't quite the same as yours.

Plus the usual--kitchens get extremely visually cluttered whenever you're working in them. If happy clutter, the more the more inviting, doesn't give you the warm fuzzies, dress it down to begin with.

BTW, if your own whims occasionally included something over the stove, like in the holiday season, you could use suction hangers to hang a decorative plate, painting, or whatever.

I kind of think the mosaic behind a cooktop is an overdone look myself. In my personal camp, if the item you are highlighting is highlight worthy, than by all means highlight it (ie a big old stove) but a cooktop....I normally don't like to see those with a feature behind them.

That said, I don't see much color in your kitchen so I can see why she might have felt something was necessary. When you are looking at a raw, in progress kitchen it's sometimes a challenge to see it right (she should have that skill but what do I know?) WHen you add the decor hopefully it will have that pop she's missing in the current state? Either color or texture (through items on counter etc) would make that happen, but as it sits now...it's very white :) Maybe she does not like white on white? WHo knows...but it's your kitchen. She just gives an opinion and not all decorators have the same one....

Over the years I've seen many pictoral mosaics for the over-stove area that I really, really liked. In every case within a few years I've been deeply grateful that I wasn't able to install it. Nothing dates faster than those do.

Well the countertops are in and I like them but my cabinets not being the white I thought they were going to be is biting me in the butt. My kitchen would be perfect if they were whiter. I have high hopes for the back splash to tie the kitchen together. I am just frustrated right now. I had finally comes to terms with antique white but cream cabinets and now my heart is in stomach my again.

I love different shades of white used together.
It avoids the "white-out" look you see on all the pages of Houzz. I think I would get snow blindness in those rooms.

I feel better about the whole look today. There is a lot to go in yet. The marble backsplash will tie the countertops together and the appliances will break the cream up. The floors are wide plank hickory which will add a lot of depth. I have never designed a kitchen before or lived in many places. I made some rookie mistakes by not having experience or a clear vision. Gardenweb has helped a lot. I think it will come together it just not exactly what I envisioned in my head.

Good, because it's already looking very nice. I've read many times, and seen in many pix of finely designed rooms, that the way to bring whites together beautifully isn't by trying to match them but by adding even more variations of white. So, you're coming right along. :)