Look up "Nova Hex" from The Tile Shop. It's beautiful and would add interest without being distracting. This is a picture of it in gray installed, but it comes in white too.

What a beautiful kitchen! I prefer the small herringbone look.

Beautiful kitchen!!! I would keep it light and airy. You've chosen a classic, timeless look, so I would go with a tile that follows suit. A subway shape -- whether it's a natural stone or a ceramic with color -- would offer continuity. I just don't see a mosaic in your kitchen. I could see something like this (so gorgeous!):

P.S. I love your little cluster of plants in mismatched vases. Could you snap a close up and share!! :)

Beautiful classy kitchen! I think you can do marble, just not subway tiles where there is more real estate that allows the eye to notice the differences between countertop and tile.

What about something like this - subtle texture, classic materials, timeless style - suited to your very lovely kitchen! Imho, Charmean Neitheart designs the most lovely kitchens - you can find her on Houzz and look through her portfolio for more ideas.

Maybe something with a little bit of color.

I don't think it will clash at all! The little mozaic parts come off grayish and reflects the color around it. I would absolutely go for that tile that you love....and besides, you don't want to be all matchy matchy either.

Herringbone, subway with a light color and/or texture would be gorgeous, don't go dark, and I don't think the plain white subway will really compliment the kitchen...I think it will get lost.

I would say to keep it plain and simple. I know that sounds boring, but it means you can easily change decor/paint, etc. whenever you feel like it.

Love your thoughts, everyone. Thank you!
Azotova... Sometimes i go in a big circle and end up back where i started. It's still a possibility :)
Rebecca... Here are the plants currently. Kinda sad and not very alive. Lol. I need to give them some love.

Since your floor is not formal (beautiful floor BTW) you might consider a porcelain wood-look tile, laid on the horizontal.

Is your floor walnut? Reminds me of my natural walnut floor.

I love the idea of introducing a colour here because you have white cabinets and white counters. If you did use a coloured tile, bear in mind that it has to be something you REALLY love as you will be living with it for a long time.

In this kitchen - below - everything we chose was white with the exception of the blue backsplash. We used a white grout to add a crisp look with some contrast to compliment the cabinetry and counters. My client -the hubby - is a marine biologist and the blue was meaningful to him so this was the accent colour we decided to use. Like I said, you live with it for a long time so choose something that you won't tire of. I recommend NOT doing mosaics, I find that they date quickly.

Here's a few more photos I took just after the backsplash was installed. Shows a bit brighter..we haven't yet had it professional photographed so apologies for the poor quality photos. :)

Let us know what you decide!

I would use a neutral NON TRENDY tile about the same color as the cabinets. I think larger tile - no smaller than subway - looks the best...maybe in a herringbone pattern. No need to add a color you cannot change. You can decorate with plenty of color- of -choice around the basic white kitchen. It will be beautiful!

Tommy bahama has some new beautiful tiles that would make great back splashes.

More samples arrived yesterday....

I like the foggy morning color that would blend nicely but yet give it a rich tone. I would add a mosaic pattern over your stove, lie a big diamond shape for some flair. I like the small mosaics you had in the very first pic. Love the kitchen

I like the small mosaics in the first picture as well.. Because you can have a monotone look but the mosaic adds TONS of interest- then you can change your look with colored accessories whenever you please. I have cream colored cabinets with 1x2 polished crema marfil tiles for my backsplash yet I add colors with greenery , vases , flowers , fruit etc.. Even as the seasons and holidays change - I love the changes because it's a fresh and new look whenever you choose .

I love the one in the bottom right hand corner of the first pic (salton sea????-I can't quite read it) if you're willing to go with a little color - it's my favorite. My second is foggy morning. Then, tied for third for me are Blue Spruce and Pyrite. I don't think any of the others work.

I totally agree with Ann on the colors. The bluish one is gorgeous if you want a touch of color and foggy morning seems timeless. I didn't think the two lightest ones, a white and a cream, worked very well with the countertop. This is a fabulous kitchen..

Gorgeous kitchen, timeless & classic. Keep it simple, the herringbone is my choice, just enough texture.

I vote salton sea. It looks blue...It looks grey...It looks green. Very versatile depending how you accessories it.

Have you ever considered a grey penny round tile? We just selected a gorgeous tile from The Tile Shop (they make it) called penny round cloudy https://www.tileshop.com/product/penny+round+cloudy+porcelain+mosaic+tile.do. This has multiple shades of grey from light to dark and even if you didn't want an entire backsplash of it it would make a lovely framed insert over your oven. Good luck!

What a beautiful Kitchen! Would love to see which backsplash you select.Salton Sea tile gets my vote.

I echo a previous comment and want to know what flooring you used in your kitchen!

Tile shop has a beautiful marble called San Donna that I think would look beautiful in your kitchen. There are pictures of San Doona used for a backsplash here on Houzz.

https://www.tileshop.com/product/san+dona+honed+amalfi+2+x+4+in.do?sortby=ourPicksAscend&page=2&from=fn

I don't really like the little subway tile. Sorry. Even though the blue one is pretty, it will age this kitchen in 10 years.

That is a good point. But I guess you could say that about everything that is popular at the moment...white kitchens, subway tile, stainless steel appliances. I would just do what you love in the moment and not worry so much about the future:)

Azotova, Agreed.... Kinda. Part of me feels like it will look dated because it is so trendy now. But part of me thinks it fits the historic/classic character of my home. I surely am overthinking this all....

Amy: the flooring is reclaimed oak from Pioneer Millworks. THAT was a decision I didn't overthink ;) I love it.

White subway tile all the way!

I love what avotova said! I agree. And since she brought up the point that you may have not seen your perfect tile yet, have you seen this pretty arabesque tile?!

Be sure to let us know which one you end up choosing and please let us see after pics of your pretty kitchen when it's done.

Subway tile with a charcoal colored grout

Have you considered a custom made, handpainted tile? You can come up with your design and have one of the vintage restoration companies custom make it for you.

I saw this Houzz pic today and thought of your kitchen. Isn't this backsplash cool?

Have you considered a glass/metal mixed backsplash instead for your kitchen?

We have a couple of models that mix stainless steel with white glass. We feel it would keep your kitchen bright/airy, add some texture to it and make it modern without it being too industrial.

Here is an example of a white glass/stainless steel mixed tile (we offer the possibility to order samples):

[Modern Random Mixed Tile-White Glass Textured Metal Tile[(https://www.houzz.com/products/117x12-random-mixed-tile-with-white-glass-and-textured-metal-tile-prvw-vr~4742236?lid=511000)

We are a premium online supplier of metal mosaic tiles for backsplash and other wall applications. If you are looking for ideas, feel free to browse our customer installations for metal backsplash ideas:

http://www.houzz.com/projects/72838/eden-mosaic-tile-installations

You can also check out our Houzz store for other glass/metal mixed bacskplash tiles at:

http://www.houzz.com/photos/products/Buy-on-Houzz/seller--edenmosaictile

Good luck with your kitchen design!

A white kitchen is a perfect blank canvas for beautiful tile! Like you
said, the style of the kitchen can be determined by the tile utilized.

Colored glass subway tile can be a nice pop of color to your kitchen.

Hexagon tile creates a bold statement. Depending on the color that you select you can go traditional or eclectic

AnnaP-- would you mind telling me your wall color? I have magnolia cabs as well, and they are totally temperamental!! Having a hard time finding just the right shade of white...

Hi ilikepie!
TOTALLY temperamental. The white on my walls is BM White Dove. It's a very pretty, very light, creamy white. I love the color.

Anna, what are you thinking about your backsplash? Any decision yet? Please post after pics when your pretty kitchen is done.

Nope, lol. Still waiting for the "ah-ha!" moment. I will certainly post a full kitchen post once i have it all wrapped up! :)

Looking forward to it!

The kitchen is sleek. I would add a splash back tile up to the cabinets with an interesting shape or installed in herringbone design, plus a sheet of stainless steel from just below the top of the range up to the vent hood (I hope the hoods vents out through the wall). If you want to add a color somewhere, add it as ceiling color and wall color where there is no backsplash, plus in a few accessories. Lovely kitchen.

1/2" random length Carrera and Bianco marble blend

How about these?

We did Foggy Morning with black patine. I assume you've looked at Encore tile? Encore's Silver is a classic pairing with white cabinets.

glass mosaic looks best on splashes, some examples of my work

Bianco Carrera hexagonal mosaic looks great on white kitchen