Can you cover the long wall in a single sheet of glass? What about large format glass tiles, that might be a compromise. The kitchen is very modern looking so a beveled subway or penny tile would look odd to me. But a glass tile in a 6x12" size or even a 4x12" size would look good. You could check out other shapes and patterns - hexagon shapes or laying glass subway vertically might be interesting.

Glass would be really easy to clean, though. What does your husband not like about sheet glass?