I personally would not go with that backsplash. It will compete with your granite, and it doesn't seem to even match. I would go with a simple light gray, or cream tile. I don't know if glass is the right choice, but its hard to tell with your pictures. I would keep looking.

You need to choose between two. Individually would look good with your cabinet but completely different looks.

Does the slab have mostly gray and white, just a little bit of gold swirled in? It's hard to understand why you are choosing that backsplash to go with it. Even so, the modern graphic and the swirling stone do not mix well.

This is the actual slab. I didn't want something that looked beige-- I suspect we will have an eclectic mix. I like the idea of a simple gray, but when I was at the tile shop, didn't find anything that struck me. We are doing the build from a distance and finding this quite challenging. Thanks for the feedback.

Given all the gold in there, I might look at golds, especially considering you seem to want something bold and eclectic. I think it needs some color to balance the two.

Linked below is an example of a strong stone with color being brought into the backsplash (poohpup's post). You can see it without the backsplash in this thread: unfinished

Here is a link that might be useful: Gold on backsplash

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sun, Nov 24, 13 at 16:27

I totally get why you like that tile. It is gorgeous. However, it does not go well with your granite, (which is also gorgeous!).

I haven't been tile shopping in a while, so I'm not sure what is out there, but I would think that a natural stone, or a porcelain look-alike might go well with your choices. I am thinking a long thin tile would mimic the pattern in your granite, assuming you are having the waves go horizontally along the length of your counters.

Personally, I wouldn't do too many small tiles, ie glass mosaic behind a cooktop, just for clean-up purposes. I would just go really simple with BS, nothing to compete with granite, but I wouldn't necessarily go solid tiles, cuz you would have to pick exactly the right colour or it will always seem a 'little off'. That's why I think a stone with some natural variations in it might be best.

I absolutely love your granite choice!

Your gorgeous tile made me think of these tiles I keep seeing on ebay. I'm on my iPad and can't figure how to embed the pic so I can see it next to your stone. But on different pages the tone looks perfect!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hirsch-Glass-Accent-Tile-/301023435437?pt=Tile_Flooring&hash=item4616651aad

Here is a link that might be useful: Hirsch tile

My gosh; that looks like my quartzite. I am stuck in BS hell. All my samples came in, and nothing just works.

Your counters have far more gold than mine. I found nice gold at walter Zanger in glass, and a busier one. They didn't work with my maple cabinets (also with chocolate stain), because my cabs have a "flesh" tone. My counters are more gray with green undertone.

The picture I included makes my counters look gold, but they are 80% gray; I just wanted you to see the golds.

Thanks bookworm- I see your dilemma- could you do a darker color (if that is your cabs in the picture)? Another possibility for us or a very light tinted glass. We are doing this from afar so I was not successful in making a choice during my visit to our new home last week. This another one I was thinking about that looked good with the cabinet and sample of the granite-- but the color depended completely on the angle. Yesterday, I was out looking at gray tiles. The overall trend in our kitchen and home is contemporary (well, we are aiming for sustainable eclectic zen, but the granite, which I love, is bucking that trend).

This post was edited by chs8084 on Mon, Nov 25, 13 at 6:45

Thanks bookworm- I see your dilemma- could you do a darker color?

Another possibility is us or a very light tinted glass. We are doing this from afar so I was not successful in making a choice during my visit to our new home last week. This another one I was thinking about that looked good with the cabinet and sample of the granite-- but the color depended completely on the angle. Yesterday, I was out looking at gray tiles. The overall trend in our kitchen and home is contemporary (well, we are aiming for sustainable eclectic zen, but the granite, which I love, is bucking that trend).