Thank you Venue! Unfortunately we live in a small expensive resort town and I've been to both of our tile shops in town and nothing in budget. Closest shopping is over two hours away. I do like a few of the tiles you showed me. I'm not a fan of the chevron or pencil mosaic you posted though. I've got a few blue/green tile samples at home but some look too minty and the common aqua/ artic ice colors do not look right against our more earthy finishes. I don't think we want anything too dark for the backsplash.

Sounds like online shopping might be the way to go for you. The crux of the neutral tile idea is to find a shape you like and emphasize it with a contrasting grout line. With a colored tile, you can really do any color. Your kitchen is completely neutral at this point. Every color includes a shade that will work for you. It's just a matter of finding the right one. I hope you'll post a picture with the backsplash later. I'd love to see how it turns out!

What about a nice soft pale grey-green? I’d go neutral since your gorgeous knotty alder is the star, but still some color. Here is the tile I chose. It is a little over your $15 budget. I think it was $17. I’m just showing it for an idea of the color.

With the movement of the wood in the cabinets and the floor, and this being a mountain home, I would tend towards simple, though perhaps with a contrasting grout.

This is a darker contrast then I would use - and since your colors are warmer, perhaps a tan grout.

I find mosaic backsplash optically hard for me to look at when all over a backsplash area, even if lovely in a 12 x 12 sample.

With my wood cabinets, I did a simple subway tile and like it very much and it was very inexpensive.

[https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~57088087[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~57088087)

Jeffrey Court makes a gray green tile that would be the perfect accent. Here's a picture although in reality it's not quite so dark.

Your kitchen looks contemporary to me. If I was using subway, I'd be considering a vertical installation and longer tiles. I agree you want to keep it clean but you can create interest with a tone on tone effects (randomly mixing shiny and matte glazes) or finding a subtly shaded tile.

Have you looked at tilebar online? They had this one in their Ceramic Instinct collection. It comes in 3 colors, Ash, Canvas and Talc. It's not 3 D, it has shading. You can get 5 samples for $5 from tilebar.

Thanks for these great suggestions! I can't believe how stressful it is to find the right backsplash! I've finally talked my husband out of the busy pencil mosaic samples that he brought home. Some of these tiles you all posted say they're thru a dealer...how do I go about purchasing on my own or finding prices if I'm not working with a local tile shop or a dealer?

what about using a penny tile? it's such a great texture and a great look for any style kitchen.

of course you can probably find in any color. I think overstock sells it at reasonable price. good luck!

You could also look at a beveled subway tile... just enough pattern if you want something a little quiet...

Or something with a little movement..

or go a little over the top:

All these are under $10 per sq ft and available through Home Depot!

Good luck!

in your nice space I see the larger format subway in a shade of white and contrast the grout somewhat. You have the high ceiling,larger handles ,the large ceiling fixture and large eating bar. A slight oversize to a subway tile ties in . I wouldn't do a smaller than average tile size.....it's a good solid renovation...stick with basic. I think a color would mess up the "wood with white " and risk making dark/shadowy...I personally like the wood with white......look how great/fresh/bright the eating surface looks.

I particularly like Debbi Washburn's third suggestion. Very pretty.

If you have a Floor and Decor nearby, here's their $5.99/sf ceramic elongated hex:

We're considering this for our kitchen BS.

FD also offers a series of crackle elongated hex (Villa Heirloom line). I notice it's now on clearance at our local store, so who knows how much longer it might be available.

Good luck!

What do you think of these samples? Considering second from left oriented horizontally with light grout. This light tan and the blue one next to it are glass.

I think that one could work. It is hard to tell from just one tile. I agree keeping it simple is the way to go. I think that glass might look a little to glitzy for the earthiness of your cabs, which I love, by the way. This is an impressive DIY! Do you have a closeup of the one on the left— I can’t tell quite what it is

Ledmond, here are close ups of the white one. It's a white ceramic with little wave texture on it. Im not sure I want white white for the backsplash, could make counters look yellowish. Whites are hard to match. My husband likes this tho.

I love your cabinets! Did you make them yourselves or where did you get them? I like just a plain subway tile, but that's me. I'd get pretty/funky canisters or something to put on the counters, pretty curtain, things like that for color.

I kind of like the texture on the white one, but boy, do I know what you mean about matching whites. That decision can only be made on site and in your actual lighting. Can you do a larger mock-up board of your top contender with the grout you plan to Use?

That' s a little too stark I think. I have seen that tile at the Tile Shop before & really like it. I love that small crackle diamond(ish) shape. Something small that is the same color would add texture without being too busy.

mark_rachel I agree with you completely. The issue I'm currently having is I think my current countertops are too stark white against my brown cabinets. I'm looking for a backsplash to soften the whole thing up.