I love the second pic with the larger subway tiles shown along with the decorative ones over the stove. Beautiful space!!!

Plain white tile because of the movement in the counter and gray of the cabinets. You could do a marble inset over the stove.

I am drooling over your counters! They are gorgeous!

With that said, I don't care for the diamond pattern. I don't know if you can pair the linear with the subway as you mentioned above. I think I like the simplicity of the extra-large subway. Can't wait to see it all done!

There was a great thread years ago about having too many clowns in your kitchen, the upshot of which was that you've got to pick your focal points sparingly, and your countertops and backsplash shouldn't both be clowns.

You might want to consider using a single color in your tile, and if you crave more visual interest, perhaps an interesting shape. The overall effect of adding more stone to your space might be more Flintstones than modern industrial in appearance. Consider ceramic tile, or sheet glass, or almost any other material.

A good way to begin to chose a bs is to google images of other kitchens that have used your counter material, and pick out looks you like. Do you have any inspiration images?

That said, you've seen these tiles in your space. If you love them, just don't pick the linear one. If you really want an industrial vibe, consider a sheet stainless bs.

I really appreciate everyone's input. I should have trusted my gut feeling in the first place - that it was too much to do the linear tile. Eam44, you bring up a good point of seeing what everyone else with my countertop is doing. And they're all doing very simple tile.

@ck_squared, will definitely have pics to show everyone when it's all done! Thank you for your kind comments!

I like the pic above. I think the linear tile has a very retro feel that I don't like. I think it will look dated. I like the idea of a subway better. I love your counters.

It's hard to balance between giving into your partner's taste versus going with what you know is right. I had that happen with my DH with a bath remodel and he disengaged from the project. But backsplash and counter are the trickiest, costliest, and most permanent kitchen elements, and you don't want to make a mistake there.

Imo, the marble tile you show doesn't work either. It's a very pure white against your counter, and the soft veins with the strong veins of the counter don't work for me.

I am not a fan of multiple clowns. But, if it makes your heart sing every morning and night - it is easy enough replaced someday when you tire of it. And, if your decorating style has lots of other elements screaming "look at me, look at me" then I suppose it could work in an eclectic sort of way. I love your counters! And, your cabinet hardware is pretty and substantial. I worry a bling backsplash will be just one wow factor too many. (warning - I don't like pencil tiles, I don't like diagonal tiles, I don't like features over cooktops/sinks, and I don't like marble backsplashes over marble counters, so I have a bias here.....)

I don't like either. Both seem to busy for the look u are trying to accomplish

Your cabinets are grey? They look grey versus white in your pics. Many people are reluctant to do a white backsplash because they have white cabinets & feel it will be too much white. Your countertops are gorgeous. Let them be the star. White subway would be perfect.

Agree. White subway is more classic rustic farmhouse if that's the look u want vs the other options that are more traditional

What are your quartzite counters? I love them and agree plain white subway is the way to go.

maybe a thin subway in a herringbone pattern? your cabs are a killer grey, and i do like how the diamond pattern plays with the lines of your cabs and modern pulls. i'd stay away from the mosaic. or maybe subway all over and diamond above the stove? are you putting in a hood?

@mgnohio - I was thinking the same thing now, thin white subway, but just normal, not herringbone, and diamond pattern above the stove. And we already put up a stainless steel hood.

@lbmonroe - The countertop is commonly known as white princess quartzite. If you google that or search on Houzz a bunch of pictures of the same countertop comes up. Some slabs have significantly less dark grey, but I really like the drama, so I wanted the dark areas to shine!

@romy718 - My cabinets are grey, with a little blue in it. I really wanted marble somewhere in the kitchen, but know it was too impractical to have as countertops, hence the quartzite which I surprisingly like more than marble now! But still thinking about marble, I thought maybe I'll still be able to put some on the back splash. We'll see! I'll post pictures when it's finally up!

Do the linear tile vertically over the stove top and the plain subway over the rest. It will look great. I did something similar in my kitchen with tan tiles and it was the selling feature. Trust me when it's all put together the one section of the vertical will not compete with the countertops.

You can check the marble box - your countertops are gorgeous.