Paint first, then decide.

I love how your cabinets look with the floor! For the backsplash, I would not do simple subway tile but would look for beautifully patterned and colored cement tiles.

warm cabs, warm floor,.. go with a warm b/s. bring home samples to see in your space. look at them in the day time, at night, for a week or so.

you can go crazy or calm, depends on the look you want. just go "warm".

pick your b/s, then paint. paint can be matched to anything today.

You have a solid colored counter top, solid cabinets...I would do a back splash with either a pattern or a shape that has movement. I would paint last.

I think Calacatta subway would be a great backsplash for you. I would get slightly larger than usual tiles- maybe stack them in a grid for a more modern touch. Can you get some samples and play with them?

I didn't find many images with dark cabinets and Calacatta subway tile. Here are two:

Thanks for the replies so far! You all are being so helpful!

Painting before isn’t an option as my ceilings are 24ft and will require a professional and that’s not in the budget this year. The walls are getting gross though and we need a backsplash ASAP. We went under contract a week too late to be able to pick paint color and I hate hate hate the yellow toned SW Antique white. I painted my bathroom alabaster and it looks much better. But I think with the living room being so light and open alabaster might get washed out and blend with trim. Ah decisions.

Kulrn: I actually love something similar... https://tilebar.com/vzag-white-gold.html but my house is all open. Plus I fear it might date quickly. I thought about making a feature spot with it over the stove though. Then doing calcatta gold for the rest. I wish there were more tile options with gold pops.

Rita: Do you all think a 4x12 tile is big enough or should I go bigger? I think the other size I saw was 6x18. The space between my bar and sink is 4 inches so 4x12 would be ideal to not have To make difficult cuts.

Do you have a Tile Shop near you? They have beautiful displays, mostly of bathrooms with a few kitchens. If you browse through the aisles, you’ll have an emotional reaction to certain boards or displays. Then you can start to narrow it down. I always go through the whole store and look at everything before I choose tile for a new project. Everything is at eye level so you can see it up close, and you can move and compare boards and play a little. Looking at Internet pictures doesn’t work. Bring your other sample finishes into the store: countertop, cabinet, paint, hardware, etc.

Whatever you do, don't do an accent tile. That would date it more than anything.

I love glass subway tile for your space. They have many colors.

Hi Megan,

I am not a designer, but recently did a complete kitchen reno, and am very pleased with it. Are walls staying that colour, or are you changing it once you choose a backsplash? Since all of your surfaces are plain, I think you need some pattern to add interest. I would take a sample of your cabinet colour, countertop, and large paint chip (unless you plan to change it) to your tile shop. Find 2-3 backsplash samples that you love and complement your samples. Borrow the backsplash samples you like best to see how they work in your kitchen in both daylight and artificial light. That technique worked well for me. If you plan to change paint colour, use this same process. With paint, you can also buy a small sample to try on the wall.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

https://tilebar.com/nimbus-gray-blend-bricks-marble-glass-tile.html      This is it! LOL And you have to paint the kitchen later a tone from this backsplash that matches also your floor that is beautiful. White, or the tan/taupe in this tile, would work because of the black cabinets, but you can see all your current colors in the fireplace surround example, including the gray painted wall you are considering. A lighter shade of gray, almost ash or silver might be nicer in a kitchen, so the light is not all absorbed by the cabinet and the wall... Nice backsplash here..The white around this fireplace mimics your counters, etc etc..<https://tilebar.com/nimbus-gray-blend-bricks-marble-glass-tile.html>   The pictures are NOT blurry in the link here I promise. They would not download here with out a blur, probably from the thumbnail to larger size here blurred them.

Tilebar.com has 5 for$5 samples. I also went to a local tile shop and bought several samples to see in the kitchen. It's amazing how quickly you can narrow it down that way. Also, there is such a wide range of prices/sqft. It may help to set your budget first so your eyes aren't bigger than your wallet!

Nimbus Gray Blend Bricks Marble & Glass Tile again. On the tilebar.com website, just search for the title here, and it should come up. I see the link is a fail, when I click on it from my post above..

Thanks again everyone!

My budget is about $20/sqft. But I’m willing to go up if needed since I’m doing the work. My pipe dream is the dwell studio hex twist like so....

But $60/sqft is pretty steep.

We do have a large tile place I went to yesterday but the lady helping me seemed new or something and it took 20 minutes to answer ever question I had because she had to go ask someone else. Finally I asked if they had anything like calacatta gold in a 4 inch wide subway tile. The only thing she found was beveled and I hated it. Maybe I’ll try emailing them instead.

While searching on here I found the perfect tile but I can’t find the manufacturer. I also think the paint color would be a good option but again this designer isn’t very forthcoming on supplies. Bummer.