I agree with some of the others that recommend going all the way up the wall with the tile. I also was looking at this type of stone mix for my kitchen. I decided to use a smaller stone type of tile that didn't have as much depth and a smoother finish so that it wouldn't be so dated. This type of stone seems to be so popular these days, I wanted something that could go another 40 years. Subway tile and glass was certainly off my list. I did use the type of stone you are using to tile up an entry way wall though and inserted a shelf between the stone. Much better space for this large clunky tile and was a great way to dress up a small space of plain old drywall in my foyer.

Take this stone all the way to the top! Then maybe a roman shade with or without a cornice.

I would vote for going up and around the window. As for the choice of stone product, I think it will look too heavy and there is the cleaning aspect. There are porcelain tiles that have a stacked stone look. Check out tile by Glenrock.

I like the tile and the suggestion that it be installed up and around the window

i'd do it to the top of the arch, but along with others, i think a different product would be better. it looks too commercial for me. olive garden and wendy's can knock it out next year with a sledge hammer, you'll be reluctant to do so.

All the way up. As for keeping it clean...I have some close friends who used a very white version of this type of stone on an entire kitchen wall a few years ago which includes the backsplash area behind their sinks. The stone still looks spotless and these folks are not tidy workers in the kitchen, so I don't think that keeping it clean is a big deal.
Comments about the design looking dated in the future strike me as odd because good luck trying to find an overall look that will not be dated in 15 or 20 years. Stone is a pretty timeless look.

I think that natural stone is a classic, timeless look -- beautiful. I've had it in my kitchen for a year and a half. It's not hard at all to clean and I cook a lot.

Oooooo RJL Designs, I *really* like Glenrock's Newstone. I may have found my back splash material at last. Thanks for the share.

DD Scorpion, I'm a fan of quartzite. It's unique and edgy, yet still reads "earthy". Cleanability panic? Pishery! It really won't be the end of your world if it needs a good spot scrubbing a few times a year, will it? It's not as if you're installing acres of the stuff in a commercial food prep area. Definitely take it to the arch ceiling; no need to create another line to visually chop up that end of the room.

I like the look of bringing the back splash all the way up and around the arch. I have been wrestling with a similar color issue with a leathered quartzite countertop and white cabinets. The natural beige and gray colors were hard to work with in subway tile as they were either too beige or too blue gray. I looked at glass too and my architect finally convinced me to go with an understated color in order to make my counter the focal point. So I pass along the same advice to try to decide which you would like to make your focal point and select a material based on that. I was also concerned about cleaning as my husband insisted on a stainless backsplash behind the stove to avoid grout where there is grease and I was more concerned about the area around the sink. I do think that minimizing grout lines and any nooks and crannies where grease and moisture can reside will make your life easier down the road.

joanneh2013, your husband has a great idea on the sheet stainless behind your cook top. I've used it for clients, and used it also in my own kitchen. It's a surprisingly upscale look for such a practical solution.

I love the stone and would take it all the way to the ceiling. As far as cleaning it, I don't understand unless you plan to throw spaghetti sauce on it. Water and soap will naturally be absorbed by the stone and if you do not want that to happen you can purchase a sealer that applies to the stone made of a substance like water. If you like stone than go for it. You will be the one standing at the sink and should enjoy what you are looking at.

Go all the way. It's amazing!

2 thoughts: 1. I would recommend sticking with a more classic tile that suits the timelessness and bright clean lines of your space. I agree about mosaic glass tile being dated. I would stick to a subway tile in a carrara marble. I think the stone that is already chosen will dull the space and not reflect any light. You have a bright airy kitchen that so many people are looking for. I highly recommend playing off of this and working with a tile that compliments this more. The carrara is still earthy and plays off both the white cabinets and the other countertop by the stove. But it also has a reflective quality that will brighten up the space as well. It's also flat, and won't collect dust like the other selection. We recently installed marble subway tile in this city kitchen. I can only imagine how much better it would look with an all white kitchen like yours.

2. It's your kitchen. If your heart is set on the stone tile you already picked out, then take a risk. It's your space. In the end it has to make you smile everyday. If you do go with the stone selection, i would consider "embedding" the windows in the tile as we did in the photos above. The tile line comes up above the bottom of the upper cabinets but not all the way up to the ceiling. It would be nice to keep the upper arch light and airy. Whatever you choose, good luck!! Your kitchen is a great space!

Definitely all the way up into that arch. It's a feature, so feature it! I love the stone you've chosen but am too chicken to use it in a kitchen. I disagree with it being dated so soon. Natural materials always have more longevity than trends, even trendy uses of natural materials. Personally, I think that glass tile will be just as outdated in 5 years as avocado appliances. If you love this stone, then you'll love looking at it every time you're at the sink.

I like it and would put it all the way up the arch. Do you really need to put anything on the window? I don't do anything in my kitchen that requires a lot of privacy. If one more designer recommends subway tiles I'm going to scream, talk about a soon 'dated' look. I think they should be confined to public restrooms and actual subway stations, never liked them in a kitchen in any color or configuration. My backsplash is stone and glass mosiac tiles and I think it is beautiful. That should be the final deciding factor -- do you love it? If so, do it. Mine is sealed and I have no cleaning problems at all.

I like the look and feel of your tile selection but please don't go all the way to the ceiling with it. It looks unimaginative and overwhelming. You will get tired of it. Cover the entire area under the cabinets, cut tiles if necessary to fill and go around the window. It's a classic look and you will not tire of it.

If you are positive you want this stuff on your wall, don't go higher than you can reach without needing a step stool or ladder....you will need to clean it more often than a flat- surfaced backsplash.

No one has mentioned the "heavy texture" that back splash will add to your kitchen. It is also an "uneven texture" with a lot of variation of color. The effect will totally change the current look of your kitchen from light and airy and very classy to a heavy, busy and hard look. I would consider a different type of tile, like the simple subway. Don't overpower the lovely look you have going on.

I love that tile also and wanted to put it in my new kitchen. The designer advised me not to put it in the kitchen but maybe in the powder room or bar because it is so difficult to clean. She has experience with it.
What cabinets are those? I am looking at the Shaker style also.

Very nice and beautiful! I did the same thing to my kitchen and i love it

Have you thought of ceramic tile in a marble look of larger size (18 x18 or 24x24) cut to fit area? Surface is smooth but really looks like a marble surface.

Haven't read all the comments, but in my opinion, I think going all the way up the space has a very heavy feel. Will it be harder to install window treatments with this stone in place? Also, it really annoys me that builders put such little windows over sink spaces where a nice expand of window (and ultimately light) could fit. I have the same issue over my kitchen sink.

You should go all the way to the top and unless you did privacy, skip any window treatment. It will be a grand statement but in an understated way.

What type of backsplash should I use in my kitchen?

Michelle Lynn - please start your own dilemma, rather than hijacking this one from DD Scorpion

How rude are you?? I did it by accident!!!!

I happened to be looking at this one earlier because I was thinking of a similar stone so when I posted somehow it came here as a comment it was NOT intended that way so keep your rude comments to yourself!!!!

I think your choice is beautiful and I would go all the way to the top of arch.

Lots of opinions here. I think you should trim out the window with trim and paint it, then run tile up to the framed trim and all the way to the arch to accent this area and make it stand out in the kitchen. That is how I would treat it.

Barely see the tilework on wall all the way up

Tile all the way up with framed trim on windows

Perfect execution of tile part way, trim frame on window and wall, arch and custom blind. Love it!

Wood trim window with tile all the way up. Not my fave tile but the application works. Trim on window.

IMO the area is in need of revamping altogether. I would get rid of the cabinet on the left side. Put up massive corbels on each side of the window. Hang a beautiful oil painting in the area where the cabinet once was. Install a simple tile as a low backsplash in that area if any at all. That busy tile will be dated in a few years. Why not subway tile or a backsplash of the same material as the counter top up for a few inches with a cement or ceramic rope across the top of the backsplash. The cement rope can be colored in whatever your decor is...example I used cement stain in a mustard/golden retriever shade on top of black granite backsplash and it looks timeless and we have enjoyed it for over 11 years. Counter tops are also black granite. Walls are golden retriever paint. Good luck.

@soosun2 I like that you mention the window trim because that transition is my remaining dilemma. There is not enough room on the left and right of the window for window casing, if it has a decent amount of stone on each side (rather than a super slim sliver of stone). Therefore I am imagining a simple contemporary trim that will simply extend the sill so that it covers the edges of the stone, but not turning over onto the wall.

Most people seem to like the stone all the way up the arch, and I agree, so this is how we will do it. If I analyze this deeply, it's because this material feels more like a structural wall material, rather than a back "splash" - so it should go all the way up to complement that impression.

Some people say the existing kitchen is "light and airy" and should not make it darker and rougher, but actually the quartzite is pretty light and actually sparkles under certain lighting and angles, making it pretty bright. I think the Photoshop images at the top of this discussion make it appear a bit darker than it really is.

One person mentioned marble. I was considering marble at one point. Although all of the marble samples I looked at were more bluish grey, whereas our kitchen has more of the brownish and yellow tones on the countertop, floor, and island. My wife killed that idea when she said that marble reminds her of cemeteries and so she won't let us have any marble in the house. :O

The top concern from everyone seems to be the cleaning aspect. But interestingly that is the least of my concerns. I will be grouting all of the cracks in the stone with stain repellent grout. My experience with quartzite is that this material is very stain resistant, especially after sealing with Miracle 511 Porous Plus. We are not using this stone behind a cooktop because the cooktop is on the island. If we had the stone behind the cooktop then it would be a different story, then we probably would not consider this stone. Probably we are lucky to have the stove on the island so it gives this flexibility to choose less common backsplash materials.

My top concern would be the aesthetic, design aspect. A bunch of people are also saying that it is a beautiful stone for this kitchen, so I haven't felt the need to change the material selection. It is great to have so many viewpoints, all the ideas are appreciated!

I think your kitchen is beautiful. The painted cabinets, and crown moulding, and ESPECIALLY the curved detail above the sink scream French country, and a beautiful porcelain tile.

The narrow quartz will not only look dated, similar to the narrow glass tile that is so popular, now, but it is immediately jarring because it is not a material, because of the relief, appropriate for a kitchen backsplash.

Your kitchen, with the beautiful painted cabinets and the style, is a room that would never go out of style with the right treatment.

You obviously have good taste with such a beautiful room with great architectural details. I have found that being careful about the integrity of the design as a whole, works out better in the long run.

@smdrovetto, thanks for noticing it is like a French country kitchen. I wasn't aware of that, I designed all the cabinetry details just by looking at lots of pictures. Now that I did an images search of French country kitchen, I see that a lot of them (more so than other styles) have natural stone or brick for the backsplash, many of them are textured stone with dimensional relief to give it that French "country farmhouse" look. Many of them are the same white/yellow/brown speckled colors. Perhaps it is something about shape of this stone that you think may look dated? Perhaps the dimensions of the narrow pieces? Very good interesting comment, I think there is something specific that might have caught your attention seeming out of place.

@dd scorpion Have you used this type of stone before? I too am considering it in white for my kitchen but I am afraid of stains

If you have young kids or a messy husband that splashes around the sink, you are going to deal with mildew with this type of tile unless you live in a really dry climate.

@Michelle - We are using natural quartzite for the countertop and the island (two different types) and so far we found it to be very stain resistant. At first we worried about the wine drips, citrus juices, etc. but they cleaned off like if it was glass.

Part of that may be due to using Miracle 511 sealer, but the nature of the stone is a big part of it . Quartz is a crystal structure of SiO4 (Silicon + 4 Oxygen) and glass is similar with mostly SiO2 (Silicon + 2 Oxygen). Quartzite "is a hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression." So you can think of quartzite like a klind of glass but with a bunch of impurities (which is why we still put a lot of sealer on it, just in case the stain goes into these impurities that give it the beautiful patterns).

Quartzite can be very difficult to fabricate so it may be expensive to cut. When I was researching the right diamond blade for my wet saw for the backsplash stone, I learned that a lot of fabricators have a tough time with quartzite because the material is so hard and cuts too slow, and dulls their blade. So they cut it very slowly in several passes.

@Stacy we live in a dry climate so it won't develop mold, the humidity here is very low year round.

I think the stone is pretty but not the right application for the space. It will be difficult to clean and the look does not work with the space. The colors of the materials you choose work well together, and they are beautiful, but the texture/size of the stone does not work for that small space. If you are set on it, would go with the middle picture (up to the cabinets), and paint the upper wall a complimentary darker color.

@DD scorpion Thank you so much for all the information - it was very helpful! You have a beautiful kitchen!

Hi Scorpion,

Yes you are exactly right. The sort of "signature" of French Country style is mixing old and new. The French don't throw away furnishings, and that is part of the "patina" of the older, or antique pieces, mixed with sprinklings of new, and more rustic and beautiful fabric patterns, often with floral.

You DO see stone, and brick used, and there is a lot of relief work in tile, behind the stovetop, for example, where there is often the arched architectural detail in your kitchen.

Yes the colors are good, too. It's the quartz look and the narrow dimension that are not in keeping with this type of element in FC, since the elements of nature used, have a rustic look and feel, original to a home often hundreds of years old.

You seem to be unflinching in your decision, and love what you chose. That's all that's important. FC is a very specific look. English Country is very similar, with floral fabric, but you can easily tell the difference between the two, even though it is sometimes the subtle details.

You found your own style, and I'd love to see how you incorporate the finishing details and accessories!

smdrovetto thanks for the good analysis!

Since it resembles French Country "by accident" (we envisioned a mix of seashore, country cottage originally) it is not particularly important to me that the stone is consistent with French style of stone.

I think the main design worry of some people is the narrow dimension and that this dimension stone is used frequently today. However I usually see this outdoors, so I think that using it indoors gives it a different and more unusual character.

I cut out the existing wall and have the new cement board recessed 1" compared to the surrounding wall (photo below), so the stone will not take away much counter space, so it will only stick out about 1/4".

I would be open minded to change the stone material (use it somewhere else) if there was compelling reason to. But most people talk about the cleaning aspect and I'm not worried about cleaning for the reasons previously mentioned. Also not too worried about being exactly authentic to French Country.

I am mindful that this stone pattern might be "trendy" right now and make the design dated, but then I haven't seen it used much indoors, which makes it unique and therefore unlikely to feel dated. ?

I think anyone who can design such a beautiful, and what appears from the design, functional kitchen, as you did, should follow your own instincts.

A kitchen is one of the HARDEST design challenges ever, ever, ever!

You have to consider SO much, including function and logistics.

There are usually space constraints, styles and finishes of cabinets, cabinet hardware, appliances, counters....................

My sister-in-law had beautiful custom cabinets made for her kitchen, which is huge, and lived for several years with no hardware, or glass in some, because she was so anxious about making the wrong choice.

It was very funny, because we got used to reaching through the space where the glass should be to get a cup, etc, and had to use little "mouse hands" to try to catch an edge to get a drawer open!

SHE always talks about how she let others influence her on the kitchen design, and wishes she would have stuck to her own idea about making a longer, narrower space, like you have, as opposed to a large square area of floor space that is virtually unused.

I don't think it was in your thread that I talked about painting a kitchen, (the one and only I ever have done, or WILL do!) 30 years ago, and it turned out looking like the Greyhound bus depot. Blue flames started shooting out of the burners when I used the burner-free side to put one foot on, and the counter to put the other, to paint the upper cabinets............................no damage, except replacing the stove!

Does it seem more and more like I may not be the one to take design advice from? :) :) I am excited to see how it all turns out!

I wish you'd reconsider the stone - I really think a product designed for outdoor application belongs outdoors. Full disclosure: I think stone veneer looks fake regardless of the application and cheapens the look of any project, even in the outdoors. My previous comments have focused on the difficulty of cleaning, it's true, but in all honesty I'm hoping to change your mind because 1) your kitchen is smashing 2) there is so much beautiful tile in the world (hello, Walker Zanger!) and 3) you have such a cool space for showcasing it with the arch over the window...it would be disappointing to see you miss an opportunity to make your kitchen sing. Just my two cents.

Check out Sonia, from Walker Zanger: http://walkerzanger.com/collections/products.php?view=mat&mat=Stone Mosaic&coll=Sonja™

My links never seem to work - check their website if interested. I think the Le Fleur pattern in Noir would be fabulous in your spot. Yes, this is expensive - but swoonworthy :)

DD Scorpion...I Think your kitchen is beautiful. I personally agree with you that all the little glass tiles EVERYONE seems to be using these days will look very dated in 10 to 15 years. I happen to like your choice of tiles and think it looks best wrapping all the way around the arch. I also think it could look fine to use a smoother but complimentary tile for your sink backsplash if you decide that might facilitate cleaning. You're the best one to answer that because you know how you will use that area and you have the best sense of how rough your current tile choice is and how easy it will be to clean. Personally I would not put up any window treatments unless you really want the privacy. I think your window looks great "naked"! Also I would talk to a carpenter about the window edging because I think it would better to hide the cut edge of the tile.
I love your granite counter. .... Do you remember the name?
Good Luck. .. send finished pics!

I agree with Patricia. Will be difficult to clean. Better to use smooth surface tiles. I vote for all the way up for a more finished look.

I think the stone will look great, and is a refreshing alternative to the endless mosaics and subway tiles.

I think both options will look great, however, after seeing the pictures I believe the half-way option looks the best!

In my house, I have the layout of the second photo. If you went with the second photo, would you need some kind of cap with a bullnose edge for the stone though? The third option is kind of cool looking!

love this. I'm using a sandstone and I was trying to find the best Sealer. do you have any advice?