I would keep it simple with the regular white subway tile, with white grout. The glass tile looks too modern and cold for the space. The white is too bright on the arabesque tile. If you want to "liven and brighten" stay away from gray. You could also use the same quartz as your countertop for a backsplash.

what color are your walls? maybe u can tie the wall color with the tile. if u go white, make sure it matches your counter.

i would not do gray anything or the arabesque. i would do subway or 6x6 squares. no glass or mosaics.

A picket shape would be nice.

Thank you everyone for responding! My walls are gray with light green undertones in bright sunlight. I am adding pulls soon and the white dishwasher and stove will be replaced with stainless steel as well.

i would have loved to use the quartz for the backsplash as well but it was too expensive!

The white subway tile I have in the photo is 4x8.5, would a smaller size look better? And how important is it to match the white of the tile to the countertop? Whenever I try it’s either too bright or too yellow.

I appreciate all the advice!

maybe a very light warm green and then u don't have to worry about matching the counter exactly.

you already are having issues with trying to match the white of the counter. if u don't match it, it will always look 'off'.

that's why i would do a color so no worries about matching the counter. that said maybe a very light warm gray.. whatever u go with, be sure its 'warm'

i would do a standard subway, not a long one. long subway is more of a modern look and your kitchen is not modern.

Can you have the cabinets painted? If not use the plain white subway. Too much going on with the cabinet door style to use other.

I used a cream subway tile with my wood cabinets. I have a lot of grain in my cabinets and wanted to keep a simple, non busy look. I do keep some items on my counters, and did not want the backsplash to add to the confusion, but help give they eye a place to rest. You do not have to exactly match the countertop because it is on a different plane and will reflect light differently. I would be cautious with glass because sometimes they look blue or green after install.

My kitchen - there is both white and cream in my countertop though that is not apparent in the pic:

https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~110720042

This is my wood kitchens idea book - most have pretty simple backsplash:

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/75202366/list/wood-kitchens

We think a subway might be nice, however make sure it's the right color. Maybe a nice cream color would work really well with your countertops here?

I would go simple white subway, but not the samples you have. Those look too cold when your countertop is a warm white. Go shopping for a warmer white, no glass.

Marie, thanks so much for sharing your idea book, it was immensely helpful. Unfortunately it just told me that nothing can modernize oak cabinets and at best my kitchen will look very mediocre until I have them painted.

I think ill trust everyone‘s advice on here and keep it simple with tegular subway tile due to the overall style of the kitchen and cabinets, but I might do a herringbone design to keep it from looking too boring.

I really liked these looks (Except glass sounds very risky after reading some threads here)