dc - Thanks so much for taking time to comment and snap the pic -- love what you did with the BS! As I pondered this more, I realized the stripe effect will indeed be more pronounced if I go with a solid white BS. Because we went with our brown/grey cabs (which I love) and are committed to the Black Pearl, I wanted to be sure to lighten up the rest of the kitchen as much as possible. Walls, BTW, are Sherwin Williams Ivory Lace.

This is a photo from much earlier this year (previous granite installation went south), showing the granite piece in between:

I can only say for me...the all black is just so dark. If it were my kitchen I would prefer a lighter backsplash in that area.

Waaaaaaaaay back when (last year), we wanted to keep the kitchen very light as we moved to granite. I didn't like any of the creamy/brown granites, and the whites weren't very white. The lightest of the granites didn't seem to be as sturdy/bulletproof as the black granites, and true quartzite is beyond our budget.

In our previous house, we had a small section with a raised peninsula and continued with our Blue in the Night (reads black) granite on the strip. I liked it and don't have an issue with your previous installation where you have it.

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Thanks for sharing, nh -- so, do you think a light layer in between would like too stripy?

I think having the backsplash only in the areas you have outlined in blue would make a wonderful focal point. Are those windows between the upper and lower cabinets? With a beautiful tile, that wall will have some definite WOW factor!

Yes, it's a 4'w x 5'h window in between the two uppers. Thanks again!