The marble-look quartz is very, very popular right now, so that's why
it's the preference here. In the last few years, I've hardly seen other
countertops on the Kitchen Forum. Popular cabinet colors are pure white and gray, so it goes with them. With cream cabinets, you need a countertop with a beige undertone, not white or gray. Something like Caesarstone Buttermilk. You could try your first mosaic with the caramel tones with a beige counter.

But it takes more than a good color match to make a kitchen look like it was designed thoughtfully. You want to keep the styles of the various elements consistent. The mosaic is contemporary (and past trend imo) and is best paired with a Shaker or slab door style. I assume you selected the traditional raised panel door style. It's a real miss in your inspiration photo. It looks like a cottage kitchen but then it's got a contemporary backsplash that would look better in an urban loft. The counter is way too busy with that busy mosaic too.

Are you sure the inspiration backsplash is glass? It looks more like stone to me.

I'm glad you like the suggestion to wait.

In answer to your questions: 1.) no, it's not so much a question of cream or white but of pattern against pattern. If you choose a solid color Corian, for example, you could pair it with almost anything; 2.) no. The Victoria White has a pattern to it and would look nicer with a calmer bs tile, all one color.

Regarding your counter choices, most people who buy quartz, at least on this site, want the look of marble without the upkeep, which is one reason many seem to prefer the Victoria White. The White quartz option is very pretty. It reminds me of terrazzo, and I like the look a lot. When you choose a bs tile to go with these surfaces, you have to keep in mind that they already have patterns to them.

May I ask, are you in love with your backsplash tile and trying to find a way to make it work? If so, a completely solid color counter would be a good partner for it. Keep in mind that these mixed materials linear mosaics are falling out of favor and are likely to look dated soon. This doesn't matter if you truly love the tile, but it might influence some of the responses you're getting regarding the tile.

This is the first countertop installed, here.

I do agree these types of marble-like Quartz countertops are usually paired with a plain subway tile backsplash. This is because the color-pattern variation of the counter works well with a plainer backsplash. It's also because the style a kitchen with this type of counter matches the feel-style of the subway tile. I do like this first counter with the style of your cabinets. A kitchen in shades of white could be lovely. Keep in mind that the advice to wait for your install to decide your backsplash, should include waiting for your new lights too. The lighting you install will affect how you see the colors, 2700 k being incadecent warm, 3000k warm, 5000k cool.... Sorry I am not using technical terms. I think you know what I mean about the temp of the light.

Do you particularly like the glass tile? There are other shapes of tile you can consider. For inspiration, Here or Here

Thanks for the suggestions again!

We'll wait until the lighting is done as well, we are thinking to use 3000k for ambient lighting (we are pretty happy with the 3000k we have in our living room).

We do like marble-style quartz a lot as well (probably just like everyone else here), and that's why we have the top quartz choice. The bottom quartz is the best one we can find given non-marble-style. We're also thinking of a more creamy color version of the top quartz choice, would that fit better with my cabinets?

Speaking of BS, we're really not a fan of subway tiles (too classic -- feels like you can see those at grandma's house). We aren't in love with our BS choice at all, really open to other choices! Basically, we're worried that the whole kitchen would be too plain -- all white, even though the countertop has pattern, it's still very light pattern. Is that so?

By the way, this is our handle option. Does this affect anything?

That handle looks nice.

I understand the "grandma" feel of the subway tile. It's been around for a long time and yet it still does a great job meeting its purpose. I think it's why folks say it's "classic." I used a creamy white subway tile, with creamy white cabs, and a frosty carina countertop in my last kitchen. I wanted a "classic" feel that fit my 1928 house.

There are other shapes of ceramic tile, besides subway. There are glass tiles that aren't the linear stack. I sent links for Fireclay Tile and Heath Ceramics. FC has ceramic and glass options in really nice colors, glazed thin brick too. Heath has rich colors, cool shapes and mosaics. Take your time.

Having a room in shades of white doesn't necessarily mean boring. It can mean harmonious. In general you just don't want a discordant element. (You can have atonal but that's even harder to pull off.)

Or you can get a statement tile like Here

Or talavera might fit you well, Like here

Collect images of what you like. Then take stock.

We haven't seen the Victoria White with your cabinet door. I think we're all working on the assumption that the cabinet color is creamy since eld brought it up. A photo of your cabinets with the VW would help.

If you want to try a creamy version of the VW, you'll find one in every quartz company's line. I have Pentalquartz Botticino, made by Vicostone. It's greige (gray-beige) with white squiggles.

Santa Margharita Sabbia Beige may be close. The pattern is the same and I'm sure it's not gray as it shows on my computer. I see the tan sand particles that mine has when I enlarge it.
Basically, we're worried that the whole kitchen would be too plain --
all white, even though the countertop has pattern, it's still very light
pattern. Is that so?

You can use an interesting backsplash. Here are some ideas that I thought I could tweak to work with my quartz.
Monochromatic mini mosaics provide texture without introducing too much pattern and color:

I really like the vertical orientation of the matchstick mosaic. It also blends gray with bits of caramel to warm up a gray kitchen:

Elongated hexagon. When solid ceramic tile is the best choice, use an interesting shape:
Ceramic subways in related tones:

Thanks again.

A quick reply for now. This is the photo of our cabinet sitting along with the countertop choices.

Updates! Here is our current progress.

And I am now trying to decide if this is the correct backsplash for the kitchen! Anyone? Thanks in advance!

I would not do that back splash. I think there is too much brown in it. your counter tops have grey in them. I'd do something with cooler tones; grey, silver, white, even blues.

Wow! Are you guys excited? Can you show the range and hood too?

What is your flooring? Sorry, maybe it's listed up thread. On my first cup of coffee.

The linear glass mosaic being held up seems more modern than the cabs and counters. It's also a bit showy, which is not necessarily bad. Some forum members have had challenges with glass backsplashes being installed properly and that may affect the recommendations here. White ceramic tile could be nice and that choice will get a lot of votes from the forum. And grays are still very in so a greyish ceramic tile will get a lot of votes too. But no one slash is necessarily the "right" choice. Ultimately you need to get what you like and that is in your budget.

i know you don't like "subway tile." But there are other shapes of ceramic tile that can look more up to date and modern-transitional. Are you open to those? And what's the rough budget? Finally, that splash shown has warmer colors. Do you like warmer colors? Or cooler colors?

I don't think it's horrid but it's better than your inspiration photo, where the counter was too busy with that tile. But I think it fails on a few points: one, it mixes contemporary with classic traditional, which might be fine for someone who focuses on color match and is unaware of style match. That's pretty common. But two, there is no caramel in the countertop so there's no relationship between counter and tile. Three, even though your cabinets are photographing greige and seem to pick up the warm gray parts of the tile, you said the cabinets are cream. So we can't really say if the color is even a good match.

The tile in the White Beachy Kitchen I posted above would be better suited to a traditional kitchen. The material is classic, possibly Calacatta marble. It reads gray to match the counter but it provides flecks of the caramel without that color dominating. It doesn't have busy rectangles that draw all your attention like your mosaic will, yet it is a mosaic that will provide texture instead of a strong shape. The natural window shade in that kitchen also brings in a warm tan color, and I'd recommend that for your window if you use that tile or another one with caramel tones.

On my screen the colors in the tile work with the cabinet color and the countertops. However that only shows based on mayflowers comments and melissas comments that everyone's screen reads color differently, so you need to be the ultimate judge of whether or not the colors work with what you have.

As for the style, that is personal. I don't mind the backsplash if the colors work. However I would consider running it vertically (which I believe is a suggestion mayflowers made).

The backsplash might be better without the amber. You've used almost statement hardware-with the oversized cool linear look to the handles on every cab ....linear glass backsplash picks up on that but the amber color throws it off.....do they have it in other tones

To all, thanks for the reply!

So, we are thinking of a warmer tone in our kitchen (and the whole house as well). Our flooring is kinda warm as well. Here is a photo of the flooring with a small portion of countertop ( I know it's not the full view, sorry )

Is it already too late for a warmer tone since our countertop is a bit too gray-ish?

To mayflower, yes, I do like the WhiteBeachyKitchen you posted. We are just trying to not get too much gray, but more warm color tone into the kitchen. But I tried making it vertical -- see below for another photo with a bit daylight + vertical linear mosaic. The wall paint is the more yellow-ish color near the fridge, not the white color near the mosaic (temporary during construction).

Also, an extra question here on backsplash height.

We will have a Euro style range hood right next to the wall, and leaving about 12" from the hood to the window.

Wondering what would people suggest backsplash height to be? We are now thinking to go right below the hood. We are trying to avoid the whole wall (budget + feeling too showy).

The wall color is really nice. I do think the warmer tones can be pulled together.

And fwiw I like the mosaic better on the horizontal. But I'm not there;)

if you tiled up to under the hood, how much higher would that side be compared to the cabinet side of the window?

Your hood is also very contemporary. If there's one thing I learned from your thread, it's to ask what all the materials are before giving an opinion. I like the vertical orientation and it'd be necessary with the chimney hood. I felt the tile could be okay on the short wall and under the window, but now that I see the chimney hood, I think the tile is just too much for your small kitchen. I would not want a bold linear mosaic around the window, but I would want it behind the chimney section because of the waterfall effect. Unfortunately, I think it will be a very dated look. I'm not sure what the answer is to where to tile, and the tile itself will make a big difference in that decision. Some photoshopping help would be beneficial.

As for the Beachy Kitchen, the size, style, and texture of that mosaic is more important to that look than the color. A tile like that would be pretty behind the hood and around the window. Very soft and subtle, almost like a textured wallpaper.

One idea is to combine subway tile and a mosaic. That way you could tile the fridge wall and around the window in a less expensive white subway and then use the more expensive mosaic the full length of the hood. There you could use any accent colors you wanted because it's not right against the counter.

Click on photo to see details.

To jmarino, thanks!

I am a bit worried that my current countertop (being gray-ish, colder), and the cabinet (being a bit creamy, warmer) doesn't go well together already... so I am trying to make sure BS helps putting together back the warm tone we are looking forward. So you do think this BS does the job?

The height of hood is ~27". And the height of upper cabinet is 42". So roughly 15" inch higher. But I guess I should do the same height for the cabinet side of the window as well?

To mayflowers,

Thanks for another inspiration photo and the explanation! When you mentioned it will be outdated look, do you mean the waterfall effect is outdated? Or bold linear mosaic around the window is outdated?

That kind of tile, size and shape, is getting out-dated especially in a kitchen back-splash. The glass and stone combo in that size and shape suggests bathroom accent tile to me.

Have you looked at larger glass tiles; they have a more modern look especially if in non-subway typical sizes. There have been some beautiful reveals using glass tiles combined with examples of your other choices.

How about cream colored ceramic tiles ( darker than off white) with a grey grout? You can find tiles in other sizes besides the 3 x 6.

This tile is from Pratt and Larson. I'm not suggesting an arabesque style but I am just trying to respond to your question as to whether you can bridge the colors in your kitchen. I think you can.

I think that tile with all the different lengths and widths of the pieces dates your kitchen to a brief trendy period that's about over for most of the country. I think it will overwhelm your kitchen if it's on the entire window wall.

I love the matchstick mosaics though. This has more white than gray and some warmer tones. It would look good vertically behind the hood. There's that light tan window shade again.

Barncatz, how would you tile the window wall? You did such a great job with your tile.

Thanks all. Trend is so hard to follow... didn't realize that linear mosaic with different lengths is already falling out of trend...

I might look into some matchstick mosaic like mayflowers suggested, and cream ceramic like barncatz mentioned, and see how they look.

I tried doing some simulation with what I currently have lol.

The blue'ish one above looks better and that is heading in the right direction. I know you said you didn't want to do the whole wall behind the range hood but I really think you should! I'd do the whole wall, including around the window, to the ceiling.

Chun G - Your kitchen is coming along nicely, congratulations on your progress! I took the liberty of playing with your picture. (Eam, I think this was one of your tiles, isn't it fun here?)

And one more, with the backsplash not taken as high:

Wow. Amazing mock ups. I really like that first tile Oldbat. It really brings together warm and cool tones.

Found the image I was looking for.

Do you think a simpe tile layout like this would work? Kitchenlab

I think it looks choppy with it just behind the chimney and not continued on to the whole wall. Budget-wise, you might as well do the whole wall as you're almost there.

Jpmom posted this inspiration photo of a kitchen without a cabinet between the hood and window. She used a beautiful mosaic on her window/chimney hood wall. I can't find her reveal thread from Jan. 2017 but I've messaged her. Then you can compare subway tile and mosiac treatments of tiling around a window.

Did you purchase the hood already? I would prefer a boxier style like this one that is a little more traditional and gives a more weighty feel over your stove.

Here is a mock-up when doing the entire wall, it does look nice in a way, but we also think it feels a bit overwhelming.

Big thanks to Oldbat for the mockups. Our kitchen is pretty small, do you think patterned tiles complicates the look? Also, we thought about doing only the chimney part to the ceiling like you did, and it seems not symmetrical since there is a bit more wall showing on the right side of window compare to the left side?

To Mayflower, we already bought the hood. We chose that because of the lighter feel, the goal was trying to go for light colors and also a lighter feel for the small kitchen we have.

To jmarino, I probably have to make some other mockups to get a feel of your proposal. But thanks in advance!

If you are not going to tile the whole wall, I would not run the tile to the ceiling where just the hood is; the wall looks so chopped up to me and, frankly, like an "oops." My first preference would be the whole wall to the ceiling; my second would be tile to the hood level on the whole wall.

It feels overwhelming because it's 3x6 subways and all those grout lines create too many shapes. I don't like the plain subway tile in your kitchen. It's a big jump from modern glass stick tiles to standard subways. I think large patterned tiles are too much for your kitchen, which I see as more humble than flamboyant.

Here's another tile that some say is dated but I've always liked the 1/2" square mosaics. I think it'd work for you in mostly white with a little tan and gray and would be great over the window.

I suggest you search "chimney hood" on Houzz and show us some ideas that
appeal to you.

To mayflower:

Yap, that makes sense. Maybe it's because there is too much grout, I will see if I can find larger ones and redo the simulation. Some questions, when you said "modern glass stick tiles", you mean the mosaic tiles, right? And when you mention "large patterned tiles", you are referring to OldBat's photo? Also, I agree that we are going for a more humble and lighter/warmer kitchen in general.

To rantontoo, thanks for your opinion on the height choice!

Mayflowers, I really like the small mosaic idea. Do you like them Chun G?

And here's a photo with a similar look - similar to the look of a small mosaic tile -and a format idea: the kitchen set up looks similar to yours. They ran the tile up to the hood, but then dropped it to under the window. They also have a sidewall detail which is both kind of neat and practical for a range in a corner.

I also wonder how it would look if it ran all the way across at cabinet level or a bit above, so it wouldn't go all the way up to the hood bottom?

?? From the Tile Shop

Chun G, yes to both of your questions in your last post.

Here's a few more with a mosaic. I saw a lot of subway tile too.

I think this is Calacatta marble.

Found one with your hood.

Here's jpmom's mother of pearl mosaic.

Thanks a lot for all those inspiration! We liked the small mosaic idea a lot. However, it turns out all the ones we found requires some special ordering (taking 1~2 weeks), and our contractor is coming tomorrow! We probably will settle with what's currently in stock. Still looking! But again thanks for the inspiration photos and suggestions, really helpful!

Don't know if you like this, but it's a crackle glass from Home Depot.

Here's a type of blue crackle glass. I hope you love your end result!

Can't he fit you in later? I'm still without a backsplash and my kitchen's been done for five years!

Chun G - Any updates? I second mayflower's comment, if it's not too late.

mayflowers - really, still?! I keep thinking I must have just overlooked your reveal. If you're still deciding, start a new thread. I'm game :)

barncatz - that blue crackle is very pretty.

Yep, still. I got really serious a year ago but got hung up on Encore tile, which isn't sold here. But I see in my other thread that no backsplash is an emerging trend so maybe I'll just wait and be cutting edge. ;)

Wow... 5 years without the backsplash! Please post here if you eventually do get one!

And, Yes, coming back with updates! We just couldn't leave the kitchen undone... and decided to go with the best option we can within the timeframe.

Here is the completed look! Thanks all for every piece of advice. Really appreciated!

It looks very nice, congratulations on your lovely new kitchen!

Looks great. It's warm and up-to-date. I hope you enjoy your new kitchen. Thanks for updating us on the outcome.

It turned out very fresh looking and pretty! You were such a good sport with all the random ideas we threw at you...backsplash geeks incorporated around here. Isn't it fun to have an updated space? Enjoy!