Too dark, too dreary. Too heavy with a light counter or without a light counter.

Well I think it’s fabulous

I think you may like it at first but then become tired with the look. That’s a large tea for black tile. Will there be shelves to break up the area?

I think it's awesome. Though I don't know if I'd take it all the way up to the ceiling - I'd likely just take it up to the bottom of the hood.

I love a dark splash. (anything diff than a white kitchen with white tile or gray!!) It looks like you have good light from windows (plenty, actually) so it should be fine.

I could never find the finished photo to this kitchen! I love this black tile wall though!

Sandy, yes there will be shelves there. And I agree that there is a risk of us getting tired of the look.

@dspmusic every looks gets tired once you look at it everyday for years. Beth posted some great inspiration photos

The inspiration photos showed white cab, white window trim, no curtains, some had black counter and some had white counter. The black tiles had a visible grout line to show off the tile shape. The white balances out the black up all the walls. Black and white is a classic color combo. And I think once a pop of strong color is added with accessories, it will be stunning.

Thanks for the additional feedback.

Beth, your inspiration photos were very helpful.

Before posting the first message in this thread I had mostly talked myself (and my wife) out of the black back splash, but now I am leaning toward it. We do like all white kitchens, but they often scream "put on your lab coat before entering".

Good point made regarding getting tired of any look after some period of time. I am confident we fall into that category.

Are black counter tops are too dark? Maybe go with a charcoal gray?

I had very dark counters and backsplash and couldn't wait to get rid of them, and I live in sunny CA and the kitchen get lots of south/west light and even has a skylight. The dark backsplash just sucked the light out of the room.

here's your penny w/glossy charcoal (see my next comment for countertops )

all gray w/black

love this one w/the warm wood, and glass soapstone countertop. black Zellige tiles.

black matte w/matte gray countertop

look at the Eternal line from Silestone. I have the light gray one and even considered black for mine. I just don't have the light from windows like you do.

I think my fave pic from the ones I posted is this one

It's not the least bit dark. using white countertops or even a light gray, would be your best bet w/the black.

https://tilebar.com/shop-by-colors-now/black.html#/filter:filtertileuse:Backsplash

there are so many cool looking applications. have you seen this tile?

With the right cabs, countertop and lighting, this would look amazing.

I love this tile too.

most of these others all have white countertops

i love this with the black window.

your set up is similar to this, yes? Does this look overly dark to you? I think it's gorgeous.

can't post a pic, but look at his tile and how they have it in a 90 degree herringbone.

https://www.discountglasstilestore.com/contempo-4-x-12-matte-black-deco-porcelain-wall-tile-on-sale-3-79-sq-ft/#gallery-1

I have black cabinets and appliances with light backsplash and counters, same general idea. I'm very happy with it.

you really want to make a statement? try the black tile with some of these countertop choices

I have black cabinets with pale aqua glass backsplash and busy, colorful granite. Love it. Go with what you like; first instinct is usually the best.

I have an all black tile backsplash. It wasn’t part of the original plan, but due to some changes with the windows, we needed to do it. We love it. We have white quartz counters and walnut cabinets. Not sure we’d want it, though, if we didn’t have plenty of light. It is very dramatic. No question.

you have the finger tiles! gorgeous design.

Black tile is suepr sexy. I love my blacksplash. We have black lower cabinets and white uppers with butcher block and zero pot lights. there's nothing dark about the kitchen. Do what you like and you will love it!

Beth, you are making this hard for me! The photo you mentioned is your fav and the one with the zellige tiles/wood counters look fantastic (we were leaning towards walnut countertop for the island, but talked ourselves out of because of the maintenance, especially with the prep sink) . I like the “making a statement” countertops, but don’t think i want to make that much of a statement!

One thing to keep in mind is we are talking 20+ feet of wall (the wall that the range is on is 17.5 itself). That’s a lot of black, even with white countertops.

Here is a photo of the kitchen with the old window configuration. Light should be similar with new config, maybe a bit more (all light coming in from the side of the house). The back of the house is wooded, so not a lot of light coming in from there.

why don't you wait for the everything to go in. you'll have a better idea. what you can also do is paint the wall black where you think you want the tile. That will also give you an idea.

Plus, don't forget, you'll have a lot of white surrounding the black. It's hard to imagine now, so that's why I say to wait.

other option is to only go halfway up the wall w/tile ( I usually like a full wall to ceiling, but in this case maybe 1/2 way would work out for you) Again, you'll have to wait and see until the cabs/countertops go in.

look at Seneca Tiles. they have this Blend of glaze colors call 'Nickel Black blend". looks like this

I love the shades of the black and charcoal in the blend. and you can adjust the percentages to whatever you want

considered it for mine but in the 1x6 layout like this:

This one is just a Black Slate tile in herringbone

are you doing walnut shelves? I made my own walnut shelves for mine and did the black cement tile on my coffee bar. (walnut and black are best buds!)

I also did the black zellige tiles in an inlay herringbone in my floor

Hard to get a full on pic together,,,

and I have walnut in the living room right off the kitchen ;)

this is the view behind the coffee bar (an no, I haven't decided on my own backsplash! )

Amazing!

Yeah @Beth H. : I haven’t ever seen so many photos of your house- really fabulous.

really katie? I though you've seen these. I just recently took the coffee bar pics, so those are new.

Beth, your place looks fantastic!

thanks dspmusic

So what kind of backsplash do you think I should do??! I have a black window over the sink that I'm going to inset w/the same walnut (and run the tile right up to it and to the ceiling). I have an L layout. not a lot of light. what would you choose being that you've seen everything else? (the island looks blue here, it's really a dark gray)

here's a shot of the unfinished window. the piece in the middle will be the black, and the inset around the window will be walnut. (like the hood vent and shelves) the only light is this covered window and that door from that other pic I posted. (excuse the mess here! )

whatcha think?

I'm leaning toward this

Oh, found another black tile wall for you! here's the walnut island, brass accents, and will you take a look at this tiled herringbone ceiling between the beams??? hello!

So many great options and inspiration photos. Each combo imparts a different feel to the room. May be time to step back and think about the “Overall feel” you want for the kitchen and see where that leads you.

We have black penny tile just like that to the ceiling, black cabinets, and mont blanc quartzite countertops. We love it. It's not for everyone...very dramatic and different. We do have a big window that lets in a ton of natural light, and we made sure to put in good lighting in 4000K. So we do not find it dark.

If you like it and you're not planning on moving...go for it!

Beth, I am biased now that you've mostly talked me into the black. You should go with black zellige (which is what I am considering)!

lol dspmusic, that was my plan. I didn't get enough of that black zellige to do all the splash. (it was on clearance when I got it, before I decided on the kitchen). But also, I don't have the windows and the light like you have. I'm just afraid it would be too dark.

Love black tile backsplash but not on counter top, it will show every waterspot and spec. We have black counter top in master bath; beautiful, but pain in the butt to keep clean..

Beth, my next step is to source samples. Seems like there are very few suppliers of zellige tiles in the U.S.

i've ordered from Cle'Tile.

https://www.cletile.com/collections/glazed-terracotta-tile-zellige

but most of the true Zellige are made in Morocco and shipped here.

There is another company that pops up that has a great selection. Out of L.A.

https://www.ziatile.com/zellige/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpIqS95nB6QIV4wl9Ch3DwgbzEAAYAiAAEgKxv_D_BwE

And these guys

https://www.riadtile.com/buy-cement-tile/?fwp_shop_grid_categories=zellige-tile&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpIqS95nB6QIV4wl9Ch3DwgbzEAAYASAAEgJM0fD_BwE

How is your project progressing? I’d love to see pictures

We just had a black backsplash installed a few days ago (thanks, Beth!) Here’s a before and after pic

We also have black grout but it looks lighter with our under cabinet lights.

debbbie, what a diff! I love how you did the tile. Doesn't look the least bit dark either.

is it glass?

Nice tile!

Sandy, my project is coming along slowwwwwly. Don't think we will be at backsplash stage for another 8-10 weeks.

As much as I like the idea of a black backsplash, I think we are moving away from it. Given the size of the wall (and no upper cabinets), we think it's going to be too much black. It would be quite striking, but I don't think we are that cadaverous!

Debbie, your blacksplash looks great.

Phenomenal decision. Let us know when you have your counters in place.

Dark tiles seems like a great idea with the right counters and light! Yes, it’s daring, and that’s what’s awesome about it! Reconsider 😊

pls do not. dramatic color works in refined and controlled space. your entire wall of kitchen? way too big. having said that, if it is black glass, it may work. but your entire decor would need to be changed to industrial modern minimalist.

Tia, it's already done.

Update - finally decided against the black.

Going with white zellige. Now struggling with countertop:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6017866/countertop-decision-help#n=0