You may be disappointed with black. It is forboding, not uplifting and you can see dust and everything more than white!

A lovely tone of white cabinetry would be great, your granite is magnificent, it should be the main attraction - it's got plenty of movement so from an elegance standpoint, I would have to go with Elena's comments regarding simple subway (no it is NOT boring, but rather it is tasteful and timeless).
Pull in the floors, granite and cabinets with your choice. One color. Off white/cream/greige. I think I have to agree with grover's comment regarding the paint. The tile backsplash will help with that. Your floors are pretty, as will be your kitchen if you keep it simple. You can always add artwork or the area carpet as previously suggested.

Looks amazing

Thank you everyone! Thank you Design Intervention for the beautiful visual! I was looking at penny tiles at Tilebar last night. And Berekann, your kitchen is gorgeous! hmarney...thank you for your ideas...I hadn't thought about the how badly the dust will show on black cabinets. Yikers...big decisions ahead!

Thanks! My cabinets are being painted now & i'll post a picture when finished. And, yes, black cabinets show dust when the sun shines.

I love your blue island!

Got the inspiration from a picture on Houzz. Used the same color they did - Storm Cloud by Sherwin Williams.

In process

Hi Houzzers! I haves ordered several samples of different hued subway tile online but found this mosaic at Lowes today. It seems to tie in fairly well but I'm worried the color is too blah. Thoughts?

WAY better than a subway tile!

The color is not blah, but it has a lot of movement. I am a fan of subway tile. I think of a backsplash as....what would I wear with tartan plaid pants (busy countertop)? Plain top, not a plain patterned top. You kind of need to look at the kitchen as a whole, not at each individual element. Maria Killam explains it so much better....

http://www.mariakillam.com/loveyourinstallation/

I found this backsplash at home depot. Then I created a collage with a screenshot of your Granite counters and your floor. I think it's a good match. We just remodeled our kitchen so I spent hours (and days!) trying to match ours up! Good luck!

Kathi Steele, agree. That's my exact reaction. Some of it also comes down to the "feel" you most like in a space, if that makes sense. It seems like anything multi colored or with varying shapes or sizes is going to be much busier than something simple, like subway tile. Your floor and counters have a lot of "movement", as someone else said, so you have to consider if you want even more movement, or if you want to slow it down a bit.

We used a combination of tiles in this black and white kitchen and it came out beautifully. It would work with black cabinets as well.

Thank you everyone! I do see that there is a lot of movement going on between floor, counter and with this back splash. I need to be patient and wait for my various samples to arrive. I did try plain white glass subway and really didn't like it against the granite.

I also tried many of the same samples pictured here, and found all to be too busy or too bright or too dark. Must have bought and returned 20 different ones! One of my friends has a small oval tile, off-gray, that looks wonderful. You might try something like that? My honed cultured marble tiles aren't shiny and have just enough "life" to be interesting, not clashing.

Thanks berekann! I think I'm going to be right up there with you with how many samples I try. :)

MARK IV, I love that kitchen! Although I usually do not like any kind of pattern with a patterned counter top, yours works wonderful! I do wish you had moved the plugs up so they did not interfere with the design of the backsplash.

Picked up some samples today and now more confused than ever. White seems too white. I really like tile in 2nd photo but it is pretty pricey and I'm worried there is too much movement still. I think I like the color of tile in 3rd photo best but I don't think it comes in bigger subway tiles.

Please use the 3rd subway tile in the most recent post of yours. Keep the color in your tile selection and paint the walls Benjamin Moore Simply White. The variated tiles tend to look cheap. If you want more pizazz out of the backsplash I selected, consider using a dark grout color with it to link it to cabinetry.

Hope this helps!

Best,

Kimberly

Kimberly Ann Interiors

Thank you Kimberly! That is the color I like the best too. It is available in a 3 x 12 size. I hadn't thought of a darker grout color...great suggestion!

#2 Mosaic still my choice. Pulls together all colors in the kitchen giving a very cohesive (not boring) look.

That cream mosaic is great! I find subway tile boring. I know conventional wisdom is "to let the granite be the star" but it makes no sense to me since the backsplash is what you see from a distance. (And it is much cheaper to replace in 10 years;).
I guess it is like the stylist who think you should only wear one accessory...boring! But it does all need to balance.

Casandra-we are on the same page!

Happy Mothers Day to all of you wonderful people here on Houzz! I had to eliminate the mosaic in the 2nd photo above due to cost factor. I'm on a pretty strict budget and although I love that one....it isn't going to be affordable. So, I'm pretty sure I want to go with the light crime subway in a 3 x 12 size. I was wondering if a strip of this mosaic would help eliminate a boring, dead backsplash. The mosaic is a different thickness than the subway. Will that be a big issue?

That is very nice! Thanks for the Mother's Day wishes! Brings out the beautiful taupe color in your stone. Quite nice!

Your back splash is not boring or dead!! However, if you think you would like the strip of mosaic, by all means add it. Do it if it SPEAKS to you, not BECAUSE it might be boring!!

Backsplashes are kind of meant to be "boring" because your countertop and accessories are the stars. Kind of like someone having pink hair....although it goes with the outfit they are wearing, it kind of jars you!

I definitely prefer a subway tile with that counter, that mosaic is way too busy!

I've been watching several of these discussions and it's funny to me that when several Pro's, with incredible portfolio's of work, recommend things it prompts other non professionals to chime in with opinions that are actually just their bias with no particular educated theory of why they are picking the items. No particular schooling or history of designing incredible projects or even have photos of great projects they have done in the past.

The amount of resources that the Pros have and the amount of time they spend actually researching new materials and studying home industry trends would boggle the mind. As I always post-if I had a brain tumor I wouldn't try to do surgery myself. I'm not trained to do it and don't know enough about it. Which is why I always hire professional educated interior designers (not to be confused with decorators) to do our work. It does not "cost" more money.....in the long run it "saves" money because they do the work with better priced resources and a better base of knowledge.

So chris, you think us non-pros should not be commenting? Sorry, I've seen a lot of questionable advice from those self-identifying as pros, both here and in real life. It is up to the advice-seeker to pick and choose what advice works for them, but there is nothing wrong with getting advice from a multitude of sources.

I agree with susanalanandwrigley "pro" a very subjective title at best !!!!! It's a matter of personal taste. It's nice to get feedback from people with different opinions . In the end it is your house , your way.

Sooooo..... You can never go wrong with a classic kitchen. Keep the backsplash simple (white subway with with white or gray grout). The subway tiles will really make your counters stand out - and that should be your focal point. If you use those mosaics the space will look cluttered and these glass mosaics in the skinny strips are all the rage - so in a few years your kitchen may well look dated. The floors look great and should be considered a neutral - a rug when you are all done will tie your scheme together. You've got really good bones here - don't over think it to get an overall look that you will be happy with for many years.

Thank you everyone! My hubby, who will be doing our tile install, isn't comfortable doing the subway plus a mosaic strip so we have decided on just the cream subway tile in the bigger 3 x 12 tile size. I can't wait to see the finished product!! Thank you all for all of your help!

Jbschmidt, please post a photo when you are done! It's going to look fabulous!

Yes! Definitely. Thank you ashhb8!

Well, here is the end result for the cabinets (except they did one door the wrong color and will repaint it and bring it back next week). The walls will be painted the darker blue color on the sample in the second picture. I'm quite pleased!
Also pictured is the ovens wall (again, walls painted the darker blue color on the sample)

Your kitchen is absolutely gorgeous!! Thank you for sharing your photos!

And, jbschmidt, your kitchen will look amazing! Look forward to seeing your pictures of the completed project.

Great job!!

Hi everyone! After a VERY long break from our kitchen project we finally installed our new back splash. We are now trying to decide what color to paint the cabinets. My husband prefers the paint in the 2nd photo (Sherwin Williams Panda White) and I think I like the paint in the top photo (Sherwin Williams Snowbound). All of the trim in the house is Snowbound. I'm worried the cream color of Panda White is going to be too blah. I could really use some advice for cabinet color. I had considered a light sage green but could never find a color that seemed to work. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

Backsplash looks great! I don't think you should paint your cabinets...I like the contrasting dark brown color.

Thank you kjoy1! It's amazing how much back splash can change the look of your kitchen! Unfortunately our cabinets are really dinged up and need a new coat of paint. Our kitchen is fairly dark and I was hoping to lighten it up by painting cabinets a lighter color.

It all looks great so far, you have done a wonderful job! Here is a thought if you are thinking of a sage green for your cabinets - I recently had to find a paint color that would work with a cooler tone countertop and a warmer tone tile floor. After lots of searching, I found BM "Camoflauge" 2143-40 is the number. It has a hint of a sage green and looks fabulous with both cool and warm tones. My cabinets are white if that makes any difference. The room turned out exactly as I had hoped. Good luck on your kitchen!

Have you thought of having new doors put on??? Check out this company

http://www.houzz.com/pro/semihandmade/semihandmade

dinkyhowk, I love that color! I am definitely going to get a sample of this color!

jb, backsplash looks great. Find pictures of kitchens that you LOVE on Google Images and see what color kitchen cabinets are repeated. Then you will be able to find your perfect cabinet color.

Thanks Kathi!

I love the backsplash, I hope you don't change your cabinet colors it looks gorgeous!

Thank you! The cabinets must be redone and I was thinking of going lighter. Maybe I should stick with the espresso color vs. going white or cream.

I like the espresso color cabinets. Something different. Depends on what you love. What would take your breath away when you walk into your kitchen?

Here is a photo which shows the whole kitchen. I like the color of the espresso cabinets it just seems dark overall. I'm leaning towards the white color (shown color to the refrigerator). Or...will painting the cabinets white make an even bigger mess of the problem I have with warm floors and walls but cold counters?