I like it! Assuming the glazes and colors are a perfect match, of course, and that you can cut those fancy tiles nice and straight where they meet.

Look at the kitchen thedork just posted, mixing tile shapes in a really nifty way.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thedork mixed tile shapes on the backsplash

I love it! I think the design is really great. I'm in a similar situation, will check out them out.

From what you've shown I think it looks great! Can you post a picture from farther back?

Here is a bit farther away.

This is it with just the curvy

...and just the subway.

You don't have a huge expanse for bs tile, and in this case I think the look is cleaner with a single tile type overall - I like the lantern tile best.

I have the lantern tile. It's a cool color and your kitchen is warm toned. I'm not sure that it is the best fit for your kitchen.

I really like what you are doing! EAM makes a good point about the expanse. I happen to prefer a transitional border at the counter, but you have to take shots further back for the whole effect.

Your stone calls for a warmer tile. Too bright, too clean. The colors don't complement each other. I wouldn't do bright white cabinets either.

I would get the cabinets done before committing to the tile so you can see it all together first.

I still like it, but with the larger shot I do agree that the color might be too stark for the counter.

Is it too busy? Maybe, but a tile-colored grout I think would take care of that.

Am considering the same small subway tiles from HD. They look pretty warm/creamy in my kitchen, even under cool/6000kelvin lighting.

Here is a link that might be useful: my post

I think it's definitely too bright, like a bad addiction to Crest Whitestrips.

I like the cabinet color with the granite. What do you hope to gain by painting them?

Thanks to all for the great advice and opinions!

The cabinets are not the highest of quality. The townhouse was a rental before I bought it years ago. I tried sanding down one side and it looks like having them refinished would be quite time intensive and therefore expensive. And there are some dings that would be hard to fix while keeping it unpainted.

Plus... The walls are mustard yellow. The counters are now a golden tone. The cabinets are golden yellowy wood. That is a whole lot of yellow tones in one space. I was going to go for Pental Serra Quartz counters which are sort of white, but saved over $1600 by using this granite instead.

I did find the same subway tile at Home Depot in more of a creamy/almond-y tone but in different lights it doesn't' go that well with the wall color. See photo of it and the white up next to each other.

In some light it looks passable but other times, especially under artificial light at night, it looks off as the wall color reads more yellow then. As you can see even in natural light it reads kind of taupe. Goes well with the countertops but not with the wall color...and the wall color is in the kitchen and living room/dining area.

If I went with that tile I would then also need to find a tone of paint for the cabinets that went with it and the wall color and the counters.

And mdln, I love the smaller subway with your cabinets.

I really really like your granite. It's so pretty. I think the comments about the backsplash being too stark white are true. If you are for sure going to have your cabinets painted, then maybe you should do that first and then pick a backsplash tile that will make a nice transition from your counter to your cabinet.

If you do paint your cabinets, maybe doing something that is light and neutral would be nice, but it doesn't necessarily have to be white. Your granite is very pretty, so maybe you could pull a tone from the stone.

Having said all that, I really do like the mixing of the patterns. It makes the backsplash special and interesting. I wish I had done that.

If you're going to paint your cabs the same white as the tile, i think the splash will be fine.
I like all the options.

I have great admiration for your tile mock ups - seriously. I agree with those that said to paint your cabinets first & then choose a backsplash.

To be honest it is really hard to find affordable tile! I'm amazed just how hard to find choice, selection, good pricing. Even online. I just went to 3 more stores today and 2 didn't have the smaller 2x4 subway in anything but pure white or the darker almond (no off-white, cream or biscuit) and the other one had some lantern style but at a price where I'd have to take out a second mortgage. :)

I personally think it will be much easier to match/complement a paint color to whatever tile I decide on, than vice versa. I can't paint the walls because it is all flowing with the living room/dining) open to each other plus running into the hall and up the stairs to the upper landing. Even if I did paint just the kitchens space a different color the tile would run to the edge of a wall that would be the living room corner and still the same mustard.

I had no idea backsplash selection would be so daunting a task. :)

I like the taupey subways much better than the white-agree with everyone else who is saying white is too stark. Have you looked at Roth+Allen tile in Fawn at Lowes? That is the nearest I am seeing to cream around here at least. Your granite is lovely.
I hear you on backsplash hunting being so daunting. I am looking for a cream glass tile and just can't find it anywhere local. I am also being price and time conscious so it does restrict the field some. But still, I have been to 10 local stores and all of them are just pushing me to use glass mosaics or glass/marble mix-not what I have in mind.
Good Luck on your search!

The fawn does look like a very pretty color, vinudev_liny. It looks online like it only comes in the larger sizes and n individual tiles though. I am really hoping for 2x4 if I go subway.

I'm sure you looked at Home Depot for your cream glass tile. I see they have one called Havana Cream but online it looks more bone/ivory than a warm cream.

I found this with the lantern tile on pinterest and am really digging the dark grout. I wonder if that would tie it more to the countertops to use a dark grout tone from the granite colors or if it is only the light countertop that make it work in the photo.

Thanks for the headsup on the Jeffrey Court tile at HD. I didn't spot it at my nearest store-maybe I will stop by at another HD to see it in person. I can find bone, biscuit but not cream in other tiles.
As for the lantern tile in this pic, it looks great with the dark grout. Though, it looks warmer than the white that you have. Maybe it is just lighting. Is it on Houzz? Maybe you can get a manufacturer name on it.

I don't think either color works at all. It may be daunting but usually something will turn up and it is so worth it.

Try thinking outside the box with the cabinet color. You have an opportunity there with your stone to do something other than white, which will probably be easier.

Yeah. I was trying to cut and paste my granite onto this photo (badly :) ) and the color tones are way off due to different lighting. Was able to trace it back to designer's photos of the kitchen and it appears to be the exact tile from HD.

I did find this subway tile in a cream (not glass) but it is individual tiles not a mesh backed and 3x6 instead of the 2x4. Could work for you if you decide to give up on glass or me if I give up on 2x4 and lantern. What are your countertops?

http://www.artistictile.net/store/wall-tile-manhattan-cream-3x6-MN11-36.html

Well not the exact lantern tile as the one in my photos is matte and these I believe are the glossy. I ordered some glossy from HD to try. I think they can read a bit warmer as they reflect the warmth of the countertops.

Great inspiration pic, very pretty. If you end up going with the lantern tile, I like it alone & not mixing it with the subways.

One thing you should know about the lantern tile....as soon as the backing gets wet, it disintegrates. My guy had to do most of them individually. We paired it with Corian Rain Cloud and just had them cut the edges. You can see it works better with the cool tones.

@ kaleyna - I was impressed with the tile selection @ Daltile and Floor & Decor. I know some on GW don't like F&D, but I found some good quality tile there at a great price, that installed well and looks nice. Thank you for the BS compliment!

Here is a link that might be useful: daltile

This post was edited by mdln on Thu, Aug 28, 14 at 3:09

Thanks mdln.

I think either HD or Lowes carries Daltile.

I hadn't heard of the other one, Looks like they have some interesting stuff but I see there aren't any stores in my state so I'd have to order a bunch of samples and then have it all shipped to my place once I decided. Makes it hard to return any. :(

A few months ago someone used the lanterns and the tiler could not space them evenly. It was very noticeable, and darker grout will only accentuate the gaps. You'd probably have to pay more in labor to have them set right.

I'm still waiting for the glossy white lantern to come into the store so I can see how the color reads but I am concerned by the reports of the spacing being off. It is my fav shape but I don't think I can't find a color tone that will work well with the granite.

I did find this tile at HD and while it is white it is more cream than the 2x4 mesh mounted subway white. I really wanted the 2x4 and not a 3x6 and this is individual tiles and not mesh mounted (which might mean higher install costs) but it might be how I go at this point. The yellowy tone to the left tiles is just a light reflection.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Jeffrey-Court-Royal-Cream-3-in-x-6-in-Ceramic-Wall-Tile-8-pieces-1-sq-ft-1-pack-99505/202663552

I also realized my phone's camera really tints towards the blue of the spectrum so the photos are not at all looking as the tiles do in person but I've attached a photo as well. The cream tiles are the ones along the bottom of the wall.

Is there white in granite counter tops? I think I see some white there, but it might be a reflection.

Like other posters said, two types of tile and a patterned countertop is too busy, IMO. I think the lantern style by itself is still too busy with that counter top.

Is that the color scheme of your house - white, gold, and an accent color? The reason I ask is because in a small house (like mine), I like to have one color scheme for the whole house, and just vary what color goes where in each area. So if your scheme is almond, gold, and an accent (like red or rust), then almond should be the big color expanse in your kitchen, too. (I think that using white or off white for all trim, though, is the norm and is fine.)

I think if you decide what you want your focal point to be, that will help. Do you want the focal point to be the countertop? Or the backsplash?

You can always just paint the backsplash (using even your accent color), if the wall is in good shape. You can always tile later. But I think doing anything fancy on the BS with that gorgeous tile will take away from the countertop. And unless you have white throughout your townhome, I don't think white goes very well with the color of your countertop. Gold is a warm color, while white tile is a cool color. UNLESS there is white in that countertop, and white is one of your decor colors. I can't tell.

There are whites that are warmer white, though. I don't know if tiles come in warmer whites, but maybe so. Not as dark as cream....still white, but white with a yellow undertone that makes it a warm white.

I can't tell the "cream" tiles at the bottom in your photo. Are they all four of those tiles? Two on the left look different than the two on the right. So I'm not sure what's what with those four tiles.

The bottom 7 are all the same cream 3x6 subway tiles. It is just the way the light reflected off them that makes the ones on the left look yellow. I am leaning towards using them even though I really want 2x4. I would then most likely paint the cabinets a cream to go with them.

I did find a Ralph Lauren paint called British Oak which is a golden brown that might look nice on the cabinets. Just not sure if I want to go brown on the cabinets or if that will get old fast with the golden granite and mustard walls.

How about something totally different on the BS like a coppery metallic or light brown? Try mosaics or stones...they would look terrific with your beautiful granite! HD has plenty in the same price range as what you've chosen. The white and the light cream seem very forced to me. I would grab colors from the granite for the cabinets...maybe light on the uppers and a rich dark on the lowers. Forget the white and go warm!!

I am going for a more traditional classic look. Any stone I have tried with it looks very busy. it sort of needs something with no movement in it. I was going to try the darkish brown subway form Home Depot that you have to special order but it seems to be a discontinued color. The stone has a lot of tan and golden and warm browns but also sections that have a sort of blue gray whitish look to it. My camera blues things a bit so maybe not as bluish as it looks in this. This is one of the bigger sections of this whiter tone.

Here's mine.

Bianco antico granite and backsplash as it looks right now with dinner ingredients out!