Great idea eam44! Any input on the cabinet color? I think that's the pressing major decision. I want dark Navy, but am not sure to invest in a major component on something that may be a passing trend?

If you love the dark navy and it fits the house and your decor, I would go with it. So many people are doing white kitchens that there are very few memorable kitchens... they all blend together!

blue, with your tile of choice.

agree to wait a bit on the other backsplash

Love your choices. I'd do blue lowers and white uppers and I did the photocopy trick. It really helps.

I love navy - it's a classic color that will not look trendy or dated. If you have a large enough space, I think Daisy's two tone will give a lively, lighter look than all blue.

After overdosing on blue during childhood, it's been my least favorite color for years... however, I've seen The Most Beautiful kitchens here on GW in blue - and I've a strong feeling yours will also fall into that category when it's done! Falling in love with blue again! Cheryl Devoto, your color choices are gorgeous! I think the blue you show for cabinets is amazing, and if it fits into your style and the kitchen is large enough to support it, I also like eam44's idea of two-tone. The tiles (both) you've chosen are fantastic!

eam44, thank you for sharing oldbat2be's amazing idea with us! Genius!

I would do blue lowers and white uppers like eam posted (love that kitchen), and use a penny tile that is lighter and more consistent. Let the encaustic tile be the star and keep the penny tile more subtle. Ann Sacks has a penny tile in the color called Cornflower Blue. It is white with a blue ring around the edges. I used it in a bathroom and love it.

I think that a strip of dark blue on top of that counter will be disharmonious and look "stripey" for want of a better term. If you do navy cabinets, that is a strong enough statement without a navy backsplash. If you do white cabinets, the large amount of contrast in the splash and the cabinets and the splash and the counter would not be a plus.

Think bigger color blocking, rather than smaller strips. Navy has a lot of specific gravity. It will feel like more mass than it is in a design, simply because it is dark. You can use that to effect. Navy cabinets with a navy counter and white backsplash and white uppers, yes. Navy lowers with white counters, white splash, and white uppers, yes. Navy, white, navy, white, no.

Thank you to everyone commenting! ProCook, your stripe comment makes total sense. Maybe all Navy cabinets would work with this tile, but my kitchen is microscopic so that would shrink the kitchen. Thanks for the tip about viewing it as blocks of color even though it's mixture.