Thanks Jake. Is there an issue with mosaic tile if the grout is a mid grey? Does a standard range with a back protect the marble? I think you talked me out of marble though on the splash. Maybe a marble look quartz counter and a darker grout porcelain or glass splash.

There's nothing wrong with combining materials. White subway tile looks great with marble, for example. Stainless steel behind the stove is always appropriate. Marble backsplash with a quartz insert behind the stove works also.

The issue with grout is that it's textured and grease will stick to it / penetrate it. Colored grout makes that less obvious. Sealing the grout will kinda help, but when you wipe it down with ammonia or something similar it will remove a lot of the sealer. When you use mosaic tiles there's a lot more grout.

My advice is if you are going to use tile, use something like a subway tile with a small grout line and don't use white grout.

BTW: Glass can work really well too.

Better check the clearance requirements of the range in question. Most prograde ranges require the separately sold backguard, or require a non combustible wall assembly.

No natural stone behind a range if easy cleaning is desired. Or quartz either. The resins in quartz will scorch just like any other plastic based material. Stainless is always the best choice.

A backsplash should be a smooth, easily cleanable surface. Mosaic tile does not fit that bill most of the time without special attention paid to upgrading the grout to epoxy. No “tile guy” off the corner can deal with epoxy. You need a genuine professional tile contractor with experience using it. Not all tiles work with epoxy.

"No natural stone behind a range if easy cleaning is desired."

Sorry, I disagree. While marble will have the problems stated above, a granite slab for behind the range will not, if it is a granite with a low absorption rate--and there are many of those. Soapstone is another option. No grout lines to clean, and the slab can be wiped easily. This look is best if the counters are that same granite or soapstone, and then you have the rectangular slab for just behind the range. Install plain tile for the rest of the kitchen's backsplash.

"I will have an over the range microwave with no outside venting."

Then definitely don't get marble.

Thanks for the input. I'm wondering now if a standard stove would be better that has a back piece. Right now in the apt. I purchased there is just paint behind the stove and it's right up against a painted wall. I have no venting above the range and no window, and the wall look clean and I cook a lot of smokey meat on a grill pan. Stainless is a pain too, as in cleaning it you will get unattractive swirl marks. Maybe I'll put my marble look in a quartz counter and use a mid grey grout with ceramic or glass subway tile to pick up the veins that's easier to clean. What is the best non epoxy, stain resistant grout on the market?

What about fireplace surrounds and mantles? I lived in two houses built in the 1830s with marble fireplaces and large flues made for big fires.

Most residential ranges do not require anything more than drywall as a wall surface vertically behind the cooktop. I have never seen a conventional freestanding range that required anything more than it's own short back guard and several of the slide ins with 1" or so back guards that I looked at (and there's not all that many in dual fuel) did not require anything specific behind the and the vertical side wall clearances were something like 3" for most of them. They are designed so the vertical wall clearances are essentially met. Overhead horizontal clearances for cabinets or whatever are a different story.

Pro style and true commercial ranges are a different story, but very few slide ins that actually overlap the counter are actually pro style.

My problem exactly. I used beautiful marble tile as my backsplash and the oven vent scorched the tile. It doesn't clean either. Too expensive to fix

My problem exactly. I used beautiful marble tile as my backsplash and the oven vent scorched the tile. It doesn't clean either. Too expensive to fix

Too expensive to fix? Yeah, what's the lives of your family and firefighters worth anyway?

my backsplash looks just like this pic from sheldon above, so you are saying this is unsafe, not just an eyesore? this happened almost immediately in our new kitchen

Jen you need to read the manual for your stove. More than likely you are missing a riser which is designed to deflect the heat from the wall. The riser is ugly so is never shown in marketing materials even though it’s required. As shown above yes it’s unsafe