an overall plan/pic would be helpful

flooring, layout, light

for now, I'd say that only you can know, based on your personal tolerance to high contrast, and the location of your house. whether cement tile will be busy or not/ universal or not. No tile is truly universal..they all work in a context. Or don't.

Another thing..I wouldn't do accent behind the sink, not with cement plus subway, and I need to think of a proper explanation for that. As of now, just my intuition

Yet another thing..I'd either go bold or go home...either pattern all the way..maybe one wall only...? depending on your layout. or subway all the way.

are your cement tiles 8 by 8 or 6 by 6? obviously needs to be taken into account, cuts and all, to imagine the future look, repeat(which will influence "busy-ness"), etc

consider your space as a whole..and how much you love the tile.

sometimes one loves tile X so much they decide to use it allover

sometimes one loves tile X so much they decide not to use it at all, because the accent won't satisfy them, and they don't have money to afford it, or spatial plan that makes sense to use it allover

sometimes one just has doubts, not really loving the tile, rather just liking it.

I don't know where you belong:)

I'm in camp number two))

We dont have space over stove like normal. We ha e OTR. I will send more pics. Its a U shape kitchen. Using white alot to keep open but trying to prevent being boring

Excuse the work mess. Fridge will be in center of last pic. Using champagne bronze pulls and faucet. Floor will be heirloom oak viny plank

thank you, pics help

Seeing your kitchen- I might use cement tiles allover (maybe not black and white even though it's pretty and goes with your colors-just my personal tolerance to high contrast is not great; but if you love it and tolerate it well, then it can look cool).

Then I a) love cement tiles b) come from a country when they're used a lot, successfully c) live in Southern CA right now. So, my preferences and location support use of a bold tile. But I, personally, need to make sure I'm truly loving the tile I'm going to make a statement with. Every tile is a commitment of sorts, the more I think about it, but the level of commitment is different. Depends on your emotional involvement as well.

in short. I think it'll look nice. Or has a potential to look nice. But I'd do either this or that, not an accent-and take into account myself and my house.

Some of the backsplash I've been playing with

I honestly really love textiles but can do that with decor. Main goal is to keep a roomy feel in a small kitchen bit be able to change accents when I want. So the base will be white, stainless appliances, champagne bronze hardware

wouldn't mix stones. say wouldn't put marble next to the granite

either cement tile (but I hear your hesitation...so already under a big question mark), or simple white (can be subway, beveled, arabesque for interest if you love shapes..just wouldn't do veining)

obviously if you're into changing accents while having more calm background-you can do LOTS of very non-boring things having just plain/less plain white tile

you can do both:) but then you need to know yourself. to take risks, to be pretty sure.

The issue isn’t the high contrast ties, it is putting black and white tiles in your kitchen, given the light floor. They would unbalance the room and not integrate the existing colors.

As a textile lover whose open plan apartment highlights my collection, picking tiles during my recent kitchen redo was tough. You might consider interesting shapes in white, with a light/medium colored grout that goes with your colors. Walker Zanger has some interesting options. This is from their 6th Avenue collection.

Can you post a photo of a sample of your granite with your cabs? It would be helpful to see the material in your space with your lighting. I agree with april about not using a marble splash with a granite counter, though.

Unfortunately we do not have the countertops yet. I wish I did

Found these today. How would these look with black counters? And what type of grout if so? Gray?

A. Super cute

Cute, but with that texture, might (well, probably would) be a bear to clean...

My thoughts exactly! I don't want to clean that especially in the kitchen.

A., your tiles are gorgeous. Like, g o r g e o u s. But it's a gorgeous brand too. Their shapes(and textures) will look amazing because they're very high quality, custom made tiles. That cost accordingly. All my tiles are custom made-and some were affordable, and some, I used just a tiny tiny bit, and some (the most coveted ones), I still keep the sample to look at and continue dreaming:)

(I'm into tiles which makes me unpleasantly picky, I guess. It's balanced out by my complete lack of interest in appliances))

I'm not sure I agree about imbalance of black plus white-and light floors.Right, it can be top-heavy- or it can be smashing. There's might be enough white to balance it out. Of course depends on the lighting, ceiling height, etcetera. I do agree it needs to be highly considered choice-well most choices do, even if it looks very modest and understated in the end.

Generally speaking..I'd put it like that. The more statement you want-the better should be the tile. Itself. Or it starts being slightly irritating. To me, at least.

I arrived to that conclusion after seeing many many many tiles. And the tiles stores were the ones I suffered the less, because I do love tiles like crazy. Yet still took me many..okay lets say weeks even though probably were months, to arrive to that conclusion-and to make my choices accordingly.

But, Crystal, if, say, you want simplicity and interest-you can go for handmade..even the simplest shapes will give you slight interest and variation, being all just a tad different, and they can be ..well not cheap but not outrageously priced either.

I can see your preference for shapes..something art-deco-ish a bit..it's a lot around now by the way, in decor, fashion, you name it. It's on the rise. As black and white also are. (well they always are, but now they peak in popularity, so to say). So. Would you say it's an influence of what's around (nothing wrong with that. I madly love Otomi pattern for years already-but first I had to move to Southern CA and see it for the first time-or else how would I lay my eyes on it?) -or was it always your preference?

Try to see what you're drawn to most. How the tiles feel? texture-wise? material-shiny, more matte? juxtaposition of colors? variations? shapes? dimensionality? How much it matters to you, how much you agree to spend on it? Our levels of emotional involvement in different items are different. That's also important to know, in order to make long term decisions.

(lazy_gardens, I also have this pin..with diamond shaped tiles. Great space allover)

Go simple white or off white, depending on your true cabinet color but consider gray or black grout. Gray is softer look. Black stronger. Accessorize with color you love.

Cabinets are pretty white. I'm really drawnnto subway with gray or black grout. Just did my shower in it. Just feeling like I'm choosing too safe. The arabesque is pretty (not liking ine above due to gold) and I'm picky about the shapes. Some arabesque look generic. I really lime patchwork or textiles that kind of why I like that white canvas above. Its plain white but has texture just not sure I want white grout. Any suggestions on that?

I think arabesque looks are going out. The cement tiles are very popular. But they are so very specific. Heavily textured tiles are a bear to clean. I would avoid. Take a look at tilebar.com and see if anything strikes your fancy there.

If you do a google image search of black pearl granite, you'll see that a lot of images of black pearl with white cabinets pop up (apparently it's a very popular combination). Take a look at some of those and see if you like the backsplashes (which are often white). Personally, I think a white backsplash is a safe but somewhat boring choice for this kitchen. Black pearl is a nice granite but not a showstopper and the cabs and floors are basic/neutral, so I'd be picking a backsplash with star power!

Do you have suggestions? Its a small kitchen, U-shaped

Here are a few things I found quickly browsing Floor and Decor:

Something like this (Calacatta Labrinto) could be fabulous if you like a bold geometric look, although I don't love the veining in this particular tile:

Here's something (Equilibrio Blue II) with a bit of color, although a more cobalt blue might work better with the blue in your granite:

The black version is also nice:

This (Festival Dark Blue Multi Penny) may be too dark for your space but it would help incorporate the warm tones from your floor and hardware and pull the blue from your counters:

Villa Sea Blue Frame Arabesque would be a way to work in some color as well (again, maybe not the right blue for your counters):

Anyway, I don't think any of these are necessarily the perfect tile for your space, but they should let you see how many different directions you could go! Have you been to any physical tile shops? IMO that's a better way to judge than just shopping online. Take a chunk of your granite with you when you go and get prepared to be inspired!

Yes I work at Lowes but everyone buys here. I've been to floor a decor. Going again today

These will be dizzying as hell..price, I can't even see, and they usually do publish it..but all this thread made me think of Kelly Weastler..somehow..(no, I didn't like her book lol. but she's a talented lady)

so, just for the sake of it. I do like the ojai pattern. Then I'm always drawn to more fluid designs..if geometry then dots..

https://www.annsacks.com/collections/maven-by-kelly-wearstler

(that's the reason I'm very, very afraid to make specific suggestions. All my possible suggestions -I can't afford them for example. and it's just one site. and just one collection. and I know many. as I'm sure many others here do as well. I also vaguely remember something magnificent with stars..but not sharp, pointed stars..stars with slightly swimming lines...more white than black on the tile..i wonder though what the material was, might be terracotta. I just can be sure it was out of my budget.)

I posted pics with my last post, not sure why they're not showing up! But yes, I agree with April - it's hard to make specific recommendations without knowing budget and taste. There are just SO many tile choices, which is wonderful because YOU can find the perfect tile for YOU, but it makes it hard for someone else to find YOUR perfect!

another option(mentioned already)-pick a color. but one needs to be sure it will work with the rest and love it.

yet another option(mentioned already)-indeed go with your initial plan of white subway(or not subway..some field tile), darker grout, and indulge in enormous possibilities of styling possible. You won't experience it as boring.

but I admit, as I love patchwork myself, and I love textiles, I'm a bit stuck right now on possibilities of pattern/color for your space. Usually hard to afford to have it next to a stone since stones are busy-veining, patterns, etc. Yours won't be..as far as I know..I might be mistaken too.

Thanks everybody. I do appreciate feedback. I've never had backsplash before so this has been a journey. I wantnitnto look great but on a budget too which is hard

Your post that you like patchwork or textiles caught my attention. Winchester Tile Co, is an English tilemaker that has US dealers. They have a line of patchwork tiles, but I also had just seen this tile of theirs on Houzz and thought it might work with your colors:

Have you looked at TileBar online? You can order samples reasonably and a lot of their tile is also reasonable. I got a black and white modernized version of patchwork tile sample this winter that I loved (DH not so much). But I think they have some really neat tile.