Gray would be the absolute last choice color for those warm bones. You need to work with a kitchen designer for colors and suggestions. A kitchen isn’t isolated from the rest of the house it’s in. It has to work with that. You need a whole plan, not 76 different crowd sourced suggestions that all clash with each other and never come together or fit the house.

In picking a tile, I would look at the tiles already there. It seems the creamier color blends with your counter. I would look to match the light cream.

I’m not a fan of any of your choices of tile. Keep looking.

I would touch up your cabinets as they look fine, at least from where I am sitting. I love gray but would not do the cabinets in gray. I am okay with the island gray.

I would skip accent tile behind stove.

Can you show your adjacent areas. If you stay with the white cabinets, I don’t think a gray idea will skew everything around it.

You can absolutely make these decisions by asking here, so I disagree with hiring a designer.

I have been here for over a decade. Yes you will get many opinions. But what happens is you start to see a majority. So,I also disagree that the ideas will clash. There are just so many decisions here, you are certainly not starting off with a blank slate.

I actually think your backsplash tile is fine; it's the contrasting grout that is making it look busy against your countertop. Do you have extra tile? Enough to redo the tiling with a white grout instead?

If not, I'd go with that simple white subway tile you show--white grout only.

Pick a simple tile(subway) with colour from your countertop.

This is Santa Monica Ivory - from Tile Bar.

I would also not introduce grey paint to this room.

Thanks so much for all of your responses. I am including a photo of the adjacent eating area and living room (fireplace area needs a makeover- floating dark wood mantle, white background of some kind)— if not grey, what would be a good overall paint color? No biege, drowned in a sea of biege for last 10 years in previous house! Hubby and I like soft, clean, semi-modern. We like blue, white, grey, purple (not on the wall!), some soft greens or yellows...planning to get new couches etc. I don’t like current kitchen tile at all. Want simple and sleek.

I also think what is currently installed ties in with the counter pretty well and you would do well to only change the grout to something not prominent. I can't tell if your island is black or blue, but those are relatively neutral and the backsplash seems fine with it. Changing the grout will have a big impact; the square tiles seem more classic to me, especially seeing your prarie-style windows, and keep the kitchen space a bit more timeless.

If you forge ahead with gray, you will be creating a big clash. And this is yet another reason to work with a designer. People tend to pay attention to advice they pay for, even when its truth that they don’t want to hear. They tend to disregard free advice when it doesn’t agree with the decision that they already made and just want confirmation strokes for making. You need to open your mind, and empty your pocket a bit.

Thanks. I prefer a larger, more uniform tile, not the small multi toned squares. The island is a very dark brown w/red in it.

The doors are all a very dark grey, Which I never would’ve thought to do, but I like what the previous homeowners did with that.

I would leave it at the dark grey doors. And if you like what the former owners did with the doors, maybe embrace the current paint, too - because there is nothing wrong with it. It seems like the former owners knew what they were doing in their design choices, overall.

The grey fad is over. And grey walls at this point will only give you a dated look - not to mention a substantial clash with the other colors/finishes in your kitchen. Plus, grey does not complement the wood floors.

The current paint works. If you want a change and don’t want beige, look at the warm whites. Colors like Benjamin Moore’s Ballet White and Swiss Coffee. I like BM’s Natura Line.

Thanks again everyone! I will definitely keep an open mind, and I’m not going to rush in to anything at this point. I actually dislike the main part of the kitchen counters, but I do love the island counter. That may be part of the problem that needs to be fixed. Maybe I can donate or re-purpose those counters and get new ones. But again, no rush and I do think the current paint color looks OK, although it will be adjusted at some point, one way or the other. Besides it being a fad, I adore grey. The only reason our last house was painted a soft beige is that all the main areas, is because that’s what everyone was doing at that time. And I regretted that decision. But I love gray, and I know there are many variations of it, through which I will have to sift. Maybe we will fall on a warm white or a soft greige. I do appreciate all the advice, and I will consider getting a decorator, and that is another tough decision altogether.