Even if you are not worried about resale, I do not think the mosaic you pictured is compatible with your granite. The granite is VERY cool and I think a busy backsplash (especially in a different color family) would compete. I think the backsplash needs to be in the gray family based on the sample you posted. Hope that helps.

That is a very neat backsplash, and the granite is wonderful, but they do not go together, sorry. I think brianadarnell is right about the tones being in the wrong color family. I think it would be better to do a very neutral backspash and then pick a couple of these more neutral accent tiles, or something similar to put somewhere as a focal point. Just my two cents

Here is a link that might be useful: Horse tiles

Hi, Gone South. Your kitchen's looking wonderful so far, and that's a very, very nice tile mural. On my screen also the colors are not merging nearly as well as you describe, so I'm sort of assuming I'm not getting an accurate picture.

I am, however, wondering how well the mural would do above the stove for two other reasons:

1. The stone you're considering is absolutely gorgeous, but it is also extremely, extremely busy, and the detail very strong and large in scale--larger than the mural detail. Would they work together for you guys once installed?

2. Would the mural, at a long narrow 12x30 rectangle, be a good shape and in good scale for the area behind the stove it'd be set into? Will that be a square, BTW, or close to? End cabinets still to go in? Also, would it be too small for that large important space? Could you get another design from that artist/source that would fit well into the area you'll eventually have, echoing its shape and of appropriate size? Could you have a local artist create one of just the right size, shape, and colors?

IMO, a position where that long, narrow mural might look very nice would be on the backsplash on the wall to the left as you look in, also long and narrow.

There is nothing subtle about the granite (nero marinace?) or the horse mosaic They are going to be fighting for attention.

The travertine is dull and square, while even honed marinace has a transparent rocks under water effect. The surfaces don't enhance each other.

Consider a one-color "bubble round" tile. It's like "penny round" but in mixed sizes of rounds. Matte glass or porcelain, even a stone if you can find one the right tones.

Because the rock shapes on the granite are mostly oval, rectangles would complement them better than squares ... a simple matte glass subway tile would have the same translucent effect without competing for attention. I'd go for black or a dark tone from the stones to make the embedded stones more prominent. Dramatic but subtle.

I have that granite installed on an island that is about 9 1/2 feet long and 40 inches wide. We have had it for about 2 1/2 years and we love it. It makes a very strong statement even with the India black pearl perimeters. I think the mosaic is also very strong. Like others have stated, I'm not sure I would like both in my kitchen although both are very cool independently. Just my humble opinion.

I think all the elements you've chosen are very pretty, but do think the tile mural and granite will compete. The granite does look much cooler on screen with lots of grays while the mural looks very warm with lots of yellow/red browns. Is it this particular horse mural that you love, or is it more about the idea of a horse mural to reflect your farm and community? If it's a horse mural rather than this particular one, maybe one with cooler colors would work better. I found an example (linked below). There are also quite a few places doing bas relief horse tiles in a variety of shades, some are accent tiles, some murals.

Here is a link that might be useful: Equustone tile mural

Please let that granite take center stage and do a very plain backsplash. Glass subways in a dark grey or ceramic in one color of one of the "rocks" in your granite would work beautifully. Maybe do the horse mural in the family room over a fireplace???

Please keep the feedback and ideas coming. I know the granite is very busy and want to find the right fit for it. I'm not wedded to that mural or any mural at all and am very open to any ideas for the tile and backsplash areas to make the whole kitchen work together (the granite, cabinets, and floor are done deals, though).

Not my choice, but the stove is not flat. It is a free-standing range with the raised piece in back with all the controls there, which is what my husband prefers. (I much prefer the looks of the flat cooktop but not enough to make an issue of it. When you are building an entire house, you both do some compromising.) There is a range hood that is glass where it fans out and stainless steel above it. The cabinets do not come all the way over to the hood. We didn't need that much cabinet space and didn't want the whole wall to be a sea of dark cabinets. One of the things I will need to figure out is exactly where the backsplash tile will end...bottom of cabinets, bottom of hood, or top of cabinets?

Once the granite goes in, our contractor is going to go ahead and hang the hood so we can have a better idea of the space we are looking at. He'll pop it off when we are ready to have backsplash installed.

Ideally, I'd like to have a few possible scenarios lined up and have the samples collected so I can try them out when the kitchen is at that point. For example, friend has a printer that does banner sized prints that she thinks could do printout of the mosaic to give a better idea of size/placement/color when the time comes. But as I said, not wedded to that mosaic.

lazygardens: is this what you had in mind?

Here is a link that might be useful: Glass Sand Bubble Round

TheRedHouse: the idea of a bas relief mural is interesting and I've spent some time googling and haven't come up with much. I will explore it though, thanks for the suggestion.

Lucky you to have moved to a place in my dreams! I like the mural you choose but have to agree that it's busy/competing against your other choices. I like the idea of individual tiles that Senator13 posted. I have also seen beautiful bronze and fake bronze larger murals of horses that might work better. You won't have all the colors but a subtle look and still have the equestrian feel in your kitchen.
I hope when you finish you post pics!
I was very tempted to put a bronze horse insert in my backsplash - but, I'm not in an equestrian community - so for me resale would be an issue.

Love the idea of the equine mural. Love the mural you have in your post, but it doesn't go with your granite. I love the rich colors and love the look of your kitchen. I think it is going to be spectacular. From the mural you're drawn to, the kitchen details, and the travertine you're picturing, I'm thinking you're looking for a more traditional look. I think the glass tiles would give a modern vibe and I just don't see that in your space.

I found this equine tile mural at Pacifica Tile Art Studio. I love the colors in this with your granite and cabinets. Compared to the mural you posted, this one is softer and muted and wouldn't, for lack of a better word, compete with your granite. It pulls in the colors of your granite and cabinets and, if you paired it with the right field tile, I think it would be stunning. Sonoma makes some beautiful ceramic tiles in wide variety of colors.

I found this photo on Pacifica Tile Art Studio's site. Beautiful soft mural that isn't so strong that it will compete with your granite.

Good luck. Your kitchen and granite are gorgeous. Take your time to put in a BS that you'll love.

I am REALLY appreciating all these suggestions and links. Playing off the grays does seem like a much happier marriage with the granite. It almost pulls some blues out of the stone that aren't there against the first mural.

I'm surfing google images for bas relief sculptures and horse murals, though I'm not opposed to going without an art feature unless it's exactly right.

I spent a gray day googling and still haven't found the right direction to go. But I did come across a source for a tile mural of one of my all-time favorite horse paintings. In fact, it is something I had looked for a while back to see if it existed, and at that point couldn't find it. I think grayer colors may be a better way to go, but thought I'd throw this out in case someone has an idea that would make this mural work. I think it's probably too strong of a mural statement with the backsplash, but I do love Whistlejacket.

This is from a UK company that will make murals licensed from a number of British museums, and it sounds like you specify the mural's dimensions and have a choice of three tile sizes. I haven't figured out how much a backsplash sized one would cost though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Whistlejacket

Poohpup, I just found a backsplash picture of the mural you found.

[Traditional Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Seattle Artist And Artisan Pacifica Tile Art Studio

Gone_South, I saw the picture of the mural before but didn't want to scare you off of it. lol The field tile they used really plays up the gray in the mural and that isn't the look you need. You need to have some of those gray tones in the mural but need a field tile that will stay in the warm tones your kitchen needs.

I totally get what you're looking for. At least I think I do. The two murals that you're drawn to are very classic equine. I really hope you find that right mural. If I were in your place, I'd be doing the exact same thing!

Found this mosaic of Whistlejacket on eBay. Love the colors in this for your kitchen. Picks up the gray tones you need from your granite and looks like it pulls in the color of your cabinets. Problem is the size. It is 40"x40". But wanted you to see it just to give you ideas.

Here's another one that I found on eBay. Also a mosaic and it is 40"x28". Too big but love the colors. I wonder if you could remove enough of the bottom of this mural to make it fit your space. Just a thought.

Also found this site called Artwork on Tile and they'll make custom murals from digital photos. You can customize the size as well as the image. They will put your image on ceramic tile, tumbled marble or glass tile. You just need to provide a digital image that is a high enough resolution for the size mural you want. I googled Whistlejack images and there are tons. I thought this one looked like the colors would work with your granite and cabinets.

Lots of options and ideas out there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Artwork on Tile

The granite is mostly in (except for one piece by the stove) and it looks (and feels) wonderful. I'll post a pic after the last piece is in. A wife of one of the construction guys brought him lunch and flipped out over it, took a piece home, got the name from me, and made her husband promise she could install the same granite in her home next year.

Poohpup: I like the direction the backsplash ideas are going, and I appreciate your links. I like the two Whistlejackets better than the mural in my initial post. I took a look to see if there is any other Stubbs work that might do, and thought this one with the gray background was a good candidate if I pursue a custom mural. I like the colors if the gray background is as it appears here.

I'm not sure which would be the better scale, these figures or the single larger Whistlejacket. If I go with a horse mural, these are a much better direction.

Hmmm...the granite under the horses made me think of horse poop! Do be sure the scale of the horses doesn't do that in real life.

It's probably just me. Never mind. It's gonna look great. :)

I like the other painting that you found but think the square shape of Whistlejacket would probably work better with a 30" range. You can always cut out some paper or cardboard to stick up on the wall to see what looks better.

Personally, I like the travertine inspiration picture with the original horse mural. The horse mural is beautiful and I think it would work very well, in your kitchen. The granite is a lot darker and seems to be going in a different direction.

If you love the granite, I'd choose something completely different for the backsplash, not the travertine and the horse mural. Both are nice choices, but I don't see them working together.

Another idea...use the horse mural and lighter surfaces in the kitchen (to bounce around light...and I like them with your cabinets) and maybe the granite in the master bathroom? It's so striking, you should definitely use it somewhere! :)

lavender_lass, the granite is already in. I think we need to see pictures. It is really hard to pick out a BS before the granite goes in when you have a really busy granite. My "perfect" BS tile really turned on me once the granite was it. Apparently they only liked each other in small quantities. :)

Oops! Sorry I missed that, last night. My husband and I were out chasing real horses...through 3' tall grass, in their summer pasture. We rotate them into different fields, throughout the summer and they got into this one...and didn't want to get out! I'm not exactly allergic, but after an hour in that tall grass (pollen flying) we were both in a bit of a fog! LOL

South- With the granite and the size of your space...I think I'd go with a single horse, against a light background. Let us know what you decide to do :)

Thanks for the great feedback. I have started a new thread showing the granite in place and the tile I'm now considering. Link is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: New thread