I love it! You have to be soooo proud as you made a great decision and did it yourself and it looks professional!!!

to do it right, add another cabinet and or just end it with the counter. Or go with a short splash 6"

Great job Kathleen!!

Great job! It turned out beautifully, enjoy your new kitchen!

Congrats Kathleen, you did a great job. So many opinions... so little life. I believe you followed a good advice, bravo Skippack.

I would add either an open-ended bookshelf like others have suggested, or a couple open vertical plate racks (I hope that makes sense, since I don't know what they are called!) to keep plates, platters, serving trays and such close to where you will be sitting to eat, then the edge will line up with the counter. Just a thought...btw, I LOVE your wall color! What is the brand&name?

like this http://img.ehowcdn.com/615x200/ehow/images/a05/7p/65/build-plate-rack-cabinet-800x800.jpg

It looks great, I'm so impressed that you made up your mind in an instant and then just did it. Wonderful job.

I initially thought tile should end at cabinet edge, but I love the way this turned out! Great idea and execution. Beautiful kitchen!!

I would add some small floating shelves beside the cabinet that extend to the same line as the countertop. This would give a nice symmetric layout and an easy place to stop the tile. Good luck!

Love the clean look, I wouldn't add shelves or anything. Maybe some day something will catch your eye that you want to put there... picture, etc. but like I said, it needs nothing. Looks great! Fun discussion to follow!

The only correct way, is ending a wall cabinet at the counter in thus situation. Order a 12", if that is the measurement or repurpose that wall cabinet to a laundry room, etc and order sizes that fall 1 1/2" - 2" from the end of counter. You will be so much happier.

Just saw above posts, looks good

Great decision ! we had the very same issue and decided to go to end of counter as well - we also purchased floating corner shelves just like uniquelyyom suggested and they will definitely make it look more symmetrical !

It looks great! I like how you matched the other side above the sink.

You did a great job, I would have stopped the tile in the same place. I always think it looks funny when the backplash stops before the counter does, to me they should both stop at the same spot. The suggestion to end it at the same height as the hood worked out really well too.

Thank you! I really appreciate the positive feedback! I have ordered bamboo shades to go in the window and will be adding a few small plants on the window sill, and thinking of more ways to add warmth to the kitchen.

I love all the floating shelf ideas, and I actually became obsessed with this couple's kitchen from a blog post they did on DIY floating shelves. So this is where my kitchen design idea came from:

http://7thhouseontheleft.com/2012/05/semi-diy-floating-shelves/#.VdSIaRNViko

I haven't decided if I'll add any of those shelves yet or not, because I'm liking the minimalist look, but it does add a homey feeling to the kitchen.

Rebecca, you won't believe how bland the paint name is, just Universal Gray, Behr brand from Home Depot! I think I brought home every single swatch of gray they and Lowe's had to offer, and after narrowing them down, this was the perfect mix of not too cream or brown and not too blue or purple.

Again, thank you to everyone who took time to comment and help me solve this!

Why do a backsplash at all? Does anyone really splash stuff on the wall in this area? Can't the odd splash just be wiped off? I like the clean look you have now. At most, I'd use a narrow piece of something like crown molding or trim in wood or tile, just to make a nod to a so-called "finished" look where the the two surfaces meet. Live with it for a while and see how you like it.

another thought...use cardboard to make several variations on the shapes suggested for a titled backsplash. make the models large enough to fit the entire area in question. Even paint the cardboard to represent the color of tile. You'll know what you like when you see it. Obey your instincts.

ten, if you read all the posts, the job is done - see what a great job she did.

It is beautiful! I think you chose the best option. I don't know why this is showing up on the email feed....you finished the job already and not all commenters are reading the thread in its entirety. Maybe you could edit the OP and add your after pics there too?

Nice job and enjoy your kitchen. I like to see what people can do on their own.......

I agree with "Woodshop" and "Jonathan"...tile to the end of the lower cabinet and up to the bottom of top cabinet. Put something (chalk board, art work, wine rack) in the empty space above the tile and next to the upper cabinet.

stop at right corner of cabinet do not enter into gray field or Plain.

or why not skip backsplash,they quickly become dated and costly,other ways to make a statement.

the work was done by monday morning, if you scroll up you can see a pic.

Gargh, the job is done, people!

Looks good , think I would have placed another wall cabinet at the rhs of the existing double keeping it in line with counter it's not balanced anyway nice job

I think ending the tile at the end of the cabinets would look best! Love subway tiles, good choice!

Trish, if you take a few minutes and read the posts, the job has been completed.

It looks great! You made the right call!

The tile looks like you didn't finish the job. The subway tile (my opinion) looks to large and doesn't complement the cabinets.

Take it to the edge of the counter

I recently had the same dilemma and our contractor suggested taking the tile all the way to the top. Without knowing any better or what is right or wrong I agreed and this is how it came out. It was the money shot! This is an open living concept so the look might also depend on how much space you have.

Carol, what's the purpose? At this point the job is done, I love it and I appreciate the positive feedback I've received from others. Your opinion would have been welcome from the beginning and could've been taken into consideration, but comments like that at this point are not helpful.

Edge of the cabinet of course!

I think it might be polite if posters read the posts instead of jumping in when the project is done.

My wife collects teapots so I put in cabinets with glass shelves and glass doors with a light in the top to display her collection. Perhaps you have something to display

I haven't read the comments, but we had a similar issue in our old house. tile the backsplash all the way to the edge of the counter. You could add either shelves or a wine rack to the side of the wall cabinets to "even it out" with the backsplash. good luck!

To those saying that you need to end the backsplash at the upper cabinets, what is your reasoning behind this? To me, a backsplash is to protect the walls from mess. A mess can occur anywhere there's countertop. To end the backsplash with the cabinets is indicating that cabinets and backsplash have some sort of working relationship, which they don't. Kathleen, your backsplash and kitchen look fantastic!

I would take it to the end of the counter and up to the ceiling, with a decorative border on the edge. if there is colors in the decorative edge, pull one of thise colors for the wall paint.

zembar - the job is done -

I think i wood have ended the tile with the counter top and added open shelves above to decorate

job is done, job is done, job is done, Suggestions after the fact are not helpful.

Can we not "close" a discussion like this? Where the job is done.

Not a suggestion just wanted to say I'm new to houzz and was looking and wanted to give you thumbs up it looks amazing!!!

Add open shelving on the right side, to the width matching the countertop end, with the first shelf aligned to the bottom of the upper cabinet. Then you have a clean vertical line of backsplash.

It's done!

I had same issue so the shelves helped balance the space out. You did a great job! Love subway tiles!!

actually i am in the same dilemma and appreciate the additional suggestions. I do love what you did, but I have about twice the space to "fill or not fill"

Hi Sdevine! I’m the original poster, and I love that every once in a while I still get some comments on this post! If you look at all the posts you can see what I ended up doing, as well as a lot of great ideas from the community.
I lived in the unit for about a year, and now it’s a rental. If I could do it over again, I think I would still end the tile at the end of the countertop (as I did), but only take it up to the bottom of the cabinets and add open shelving above it. Also, I’d add open shelving between the cabinets and the window, on the other side. I can still do this in the future when my next renter moves out and I think it will update the space bit.
Although you haven’t shown a picture of your space, long open shelves would probably look great. Minimalism is in! Here are some open shelving inspiration pics....