Here are some options that we are considering

Are you keeping that finish on the cabinets? It looks like it needs a refresh...

Sorry I just saw that you had them refaced... I have to say I don’t think they look great. How much did you pay? It appears they didn’t correctly sand before staining and the result is streaky. You need to chose a simple backsplash with all that grain.

Do not use anything busy. I have an oak kitchen and even though your countertop is not busy, oak with grain next to a busy splash usually doesn't look great. I rarely see new homes with busy backsplash these days.

This is crema marfil marble - from the comments so far .. I think everyone is leaning towards keeping it single colour so perhaps this is a good idea

the herringbone is a nice choice.

what happened w/the stain on the island? sorry, but that just did not come out well. did someone just wipe on a darker stain? You know what would look better? trim out the island and paint it. paint a creamy color that goes w/the floor.

you see what they've done with this one? the left is the before. it's like yours. do some wide trim molding and paint. or just get some in oak and stain it the same color. at least the island will look finished. and you can get rid of the quarter molding on the tile. just bring down the trim molding like they've done in the pic.

Hi Beth - what stain are you talking about? Sorry - I was asking about backsplash choice - there is no stain on the island

Hello everyone- so herringbone seems to be the choice - now it is between glass or marble??

Ideas?

The countertop is dreamy marfil

Aman, of course there is stain on the island. the wood is stained. that's what I was referring too. I was mentioning to trim it out so it will look better. you have such pretty countertops and backsplash, I think you would be happier if you saw how the trim work would look

as for the tile, does the natural stone match the quartz counter? can't tell from the pic. the glass one will also work. which do you prefer?

before you do any backsplash, that 4" piece needs to come down. and not sure why they stuck one next to your wood cabinet on the side. did they put that 4" piece over existing tile? were you going to take that off that wall?

There is stain on the island. How else would they have darkened the oak?

I think she thought I meant the actual island 'countertop' ? lol. i don't know. all of the wood is stained Aman.

Aman, before you go any further you need to step back and look at the base of the island. It appears that this "refacing" was a DIY project? No matter how many pretty things you add, the island is going to be a distraction from the stain prep & application problem and the different direction of the grain on each side which is only emphasized from the poor stain job. Sorry, just hate to have you put more money into the kitchen and you be disappointed down the road..

I would ship lap the island and then paint it a soft light color, use the light herringbone in glass for a backsplash.

i tried to mention doing that, but she said she, 'only asked about backsplash'. lol

do something like these and paint the entire island.

this one hasn't been painted yet,,it just shows adding the trim pieces. all of it would be finished w/ white paint. (or whatever color you want. you could do a dark gray or even black on yours)

Beth - You are right - I actually thought you meant the countertop..

Anyways - I see what you mean now

Will perhaps redo the stain in sometime- have spent $1400 on stain already

Meanwhile the backsplash is the current project and there is a new choice with 4 inch crema marfil hexagon

Please provide your suggestions

Sorry about the misunderstanding- I am obviously a novice here

Aman, no problem. glad you figured it out. sorry you spent that much on that staining., it's not the best job.

as for the tile, I believe I already answered that a few comments up. I said either one will work. the crema marfil tile you have, that's the real stuff. the real marble. your countertop is imitation crema marfil. sometimes putting real against fake doesn't always look very good. since you're there in person with it, what do you think?

the glass one is nice too. I like that it has some contrast and that the darker pieces of glass go with the dark cabinet colors. The other one will somewhat blend into the background and look like the countertop. the glass one, more color contrast, more modern looking. which do you prefer?

It’s looks alright to me - I am finding it difficult to envision- I find it easier to match colours than to match stones with veins - the quartz and marble are not perfect match but are very very close and perhaps they will give a clean similar look

Would you have any pictures of quartz and marble together?

those are very close to the countertop and offer no contrast. do you want that look?

,,, there are other crema marfil mosaic tiles w/the dark brown marble accents. have you seen these? any of these would look nice

would you be upset if I suggested new cabinet hardware? sorry, but your handles are a bit dated and don't go w/the new stuff

Both the colour and the handles make sense - Thankyou Beth - you have been very helpful !!

I will be looking for the brown outlined mosaics now

Aman- can you post a photo that encompasses more of the cabinets & kitchen than what you have posted already. It appears the cabinets have an arch on them? If so, that may affect the shape of tile you go with, too. And more photos of the kitchen will give us a sense of how much backsplash will be seen.

Beth - Are you in Canada ? Would these tiles be available in Canada - not sure if you would know the store

Many thanks for your advice and ideas

Aman, no i'm not, but these would be avail. they are pretty common. what you're looking at is 'Crema Marfil mosaic tiles". The darker brown you see with it is called Emperador Brown.

you can order them online, or google that title to find local outlets in your area. And, they aren't too expensive. if you notice, two of the pics have the name down in the corner.

for instance, this is a popular online tile store, and they ship to Can. scroll to the bottom and they have a Canadian link number under the shipping headline

https://www.glasstileoasis.com/crema-marfil-emperador-dark-thassos-white-fs-71-cream-beige-flower-stone-polished-tile-254.html

and they have many other selections

https://www.glasstileoasis.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=crema%20marfil

But check your local stores first,,,this is a pretty common stone.

A herringbone pattern might be nice, however none of the current backsplash options look amazing. Perhaps take a look at the backsplash suggestions Beth posted as a lot of those give great contrast. We think you will want something that isn't just one color, but also nothing too busy,

I agree Michelle ... I am looking for the herringbone with dark emperador border