Skip any shelving. It will only accentuate the asymmetry. Hang some art.

I agree with above. Especially if you’re not keeping your everyday dishes on them - b/c then whatever you do put there will collect dust

Art would look great on the large side and letting the window have space means more light

if you are still set on shelves, you can see the ones hung by Young House Love here - pretty similar set up to yours. Their shelves were the Lack ones from Ikea which I think are 11” deep

https://www.younghouselove.com/a-white-christmas/

Thanks for the suggestions. I really want shelving on that wall for a few reasons. My kitchen is open to the laundry room (by a doorway directly to the left of the refrigerator) where I am going to put in a wide plank acacia butcher block counter top over the washer/dryer. That counter will be visible and I'd like a little wood to repeat in the kitchen. I want the wood to help warm up the space since the kitchen cabinets are a darker gray. Also, I don't mind the asymmetry, I think it adds some visual interest.

Art to the left of the window. Longer shelves to the right. That will give asymmetrical balance.

Wavy subway tile and laid in a herringbone pattern? Have you seen this tile done that way? It could end up being too many patterns and not as visually pleasing as you are imagining.

@chispa, I didn't know how to best describe this particular subway tile. The edges are slightly irregular and the wave is not super pronounced. You can see the irregular border with the darker grout in the picture, I would opt for white or the lightest silver/grey to not accentuate that. Here is a link to the actual tile: https://www.flooranddecor.com/search?q=artisan%20frost%20ceramic%20subway%20tile

I had hoped to get away from a completely smooth tile for a little interest. MSI makes a tile with that same bit of wave but the outside edges are completely smooth. The only problem is that it is 4x12 instead of 3x12. Since we have 8' ceilings and there is a window on that wall I thought the narrower tile would work better.

Although DH doesn't cook he doesn't want anything but a 3x6 subway tile (did that in the hall bath upstairs). I've looked at and purchased loads of other sample tiles to no avail. We found one that we really loved but it had a raised border and neither of us like the look of outlet covers over the border or of cutting into that border to seat a cover lower. I am frustrated and lost trying to find a reasonably priced subway backsplash option that he will like (neither of us like the glass tiles). Lest you think he's a beast he isn't, he came from a home where nothing was remodeled for over 40 years and with the exception of a few large floral patterns that he never liked everything in his family home was "simple."

*Sigh* Maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board.

@eaw 513 I looked at your tile, not so much wavy, but more of the hand-made look with irregular edges. Look at the magnified photo at your link and look at how the grout lines are irregular. My fear is that it might not look so great in a herringbone pattern. You might want to look for other photos of hand-made or hand-made look tiles laid in a herringbone, to see if you are ok with that look. Then decide if it works or not.

just an FYI: think about where the dishwasher is and where you will store the majority of your dishware. ours is not near a cabinet and I have to walk back and forth across the kitchen unloading it. I get in the way when my husband is cooking, but even when I'm alone in there, it is the WORST.

8" to 9" deep shelving is plenty of room for most display purposes. If you're considering displaying pretty dishes on their edges, you might want either a routed groove or a flanged edge to keep the plates in place.

@eaw 513 was just browsing Houzz photos for something else and came across this photo of a similar backsplash to what you are considering.

Notice how the grout lines aren't perfect with the herringbone. It doesn't look bad, just what will happen with hand-made look tiles. Do you like the look? You would need a very good tile installer to make this look as good as possible. Slightly wider grout lines will give the installer a better chance of pulling it off.

A Kitchen to Grow Up In. · More Info

@B F, I went with drawers on everything below the countertop (except under the sink). I will store all dishes in a drawer to the right of the sink along with most glassware. This way I no longer have to hang over the open dishwasher door to reach the cabinet above it! The drawers are my gift to me, well, along with a waterfall edge counter on the peninsula (not in the CAD drawing). I saw dishes stored that way in a Houzz article and can hardly wait to implement it.

@chispa you're right about the tile description. I knew I wasn't describing it properly. Thanks for the picture, I absolutely L-O-V-E that look. We have a GC who is very meticulous and his tiler is too. He did a great job on our hall bath upstairs. After seeing your picture I like the look of the white grout so I think I'll end up going with that. I love zellige tile but it's too thick for my wall. This reminds me of it.

@Sabrina Alfin Interiors thanks for the suggestion. I have some interesting pieces that we collected while living in Europe. The idea of a groove or flange to help keep everything in place is great. I'm specifically thinking about a round wooden bread board with "Give us this day our daily bread" in Dutch carved along the edge (from The Beguinage in Brugge, Belgium https://www.visitbruges.be/highlights/beguinage) and our fabulous espresso cup set from Rome with orange Vespa scooters on the cups. Going through our goodies for display will be fun!

I tried to thank you in the app but it is not responding so thank you for the advice, it's much appreciated!