You are correct. Sorry, it is totally wrong. We have a saying here, “ one star in the kitchen.” Yours was the granite since it was installed first.

These two are competing with each other.

They also don’t seem,at least from where I am sitting, to be in the same color tone.

Side story: choosing the right backsplash can be very hard. Many members here have been where you are.

I was in your situation twelve years ago. In my case my granite was too brown for my white cabinets. As a result i had to find the right tile to bridge the two. I thought a white could work. It was horrible. Ripped it out that very next day. It took me 6 months to go to every tile shop in a 20 mile radius before I was recommended one tile from a very small independent tile shop that was the perfect segue from white cabinet to brown counter.

When something looks wrong, your eyes constantly go to it.

Sorry, but in my honest opinion, this is a do over. Yes it’s an expensive mistake. Live with it and start saving for a new one. Even if you start putting things in the counter, it just isn’t enough to disguise it.

And yes, sometimes only seeing a small sample can not give you the whole picture.

That is where research comes in.

Yup, that tile is way too busy for those counters...nor are the colors complementary. Rip out, and redo.

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it is a mistake, a very common one, that's why i'm almost always against pairing marble with granite. They have too much of character, each one of them, to be put in such close proximity together .

Also people often try too hard to repeat all the colors found in stone, in backsplash..making more possibility for mistakes and busy look, and color discordance. Idon't know whether it partially what happenned here.

Upside (can be downside also)-they did a great job, the tilers, from what I can see. It is hard to rip out knowing that..

another upside-we've seen worse. Plenty. Much worse. Don't know how much of consolation is that. Given it's a pretty kitchen, and you obviously want it armonious everywhere. But on some invisible scale of mistakes..somewhere in the middle?

another upside-it's just a backsplash. And I suspect we also concentrate on it solely as you show pictures of it, so of course it gets our full attention while the big picture might be still better.

It can be that it'll continue to irritate you to no end, and you'll redo it then. It might be that you'll have more things on the countertops and just in general will get used to and will stop paying attention.

If deciding to redo-granites love either one color next to it, or very subtle color change, like in handmade glazes, or mixes of gloss and matte. You can do shapes if you like them, or use interesting placement like herringbone you have now. But I'd go for simple ceramic, not stone.

Another bonus-you have a lovely granite. Easier to find another beautiful tile that will work with it.

You’re not happy with it. Bottom line. While you’re saving and searching for a new one, is it possible to ‘glaze’ it to have it blend in better?? Your kitchen is lovely.

I have that same counter and due to decision-fatigue during our build, I refused to pick a backsplash. We eventually threw up a lip around the counter with the same granite and are sticking with it for now. I've sampled lots of whites/creams for a tiled backsplash for the future, but man! it is tough to find a match.

Unfortunately have to agree with the above -- too busy, and wrong tonal family.

Can you paint it? I don't know anything about painting a backsplash, but there have some threads on it.

I have to agree...too busy and the wrong color. The good news is the rest of your kitchen is great. I would follow Maureen's advice while you save up for a redo.

Maureen has some good ideas. Another one would be to paint the wall the same shade as the cabinets.

Do you have under cabinet lighting? That can change the appearance of backsplash tile but I can't make recommendations - maybe someone else will chime in.

I'd also be sure your switch plate covers match your cabinet hardware/ tile color.

My backsplash is too busy for my granite ( which actually looks a lot like yours) but it's pretty tile, and so is yours, so I enjoy its prettiness. Don't fret too much.

I agree that it was not the best choice - the tones are a bit off, and mixing two types of stone almost never works (as in this case). A better choice would have been a solid color porcelain or ceramic tile that complements your counters better.

That said, your kitchen is lovely. I'm not sure I would tear it out, versus just adding accessories and living with it for a while. (I tend towards thriftiness and hate to see things go to waste, and if you're not like that, it may be worth it to tear it out sooner rather than later.)

In someone else's thread, Beth commented about light color temperature, and it seems that you have a similar situation: your ceiling lights seem to be casting warm light while your backsplash and lower cabinets look cooler. So you might also see if changing the color temp of your lights, e.g., with a warmer color temp on undercabinet lights.

Thank you everyone for your time and advice.

I would change the wall paint color before tearing out a brand new tile job. With 1 less thing to look at (the contrasting paint), the space will feel different.

I’d faster swap the counters than the backsplash...

Oddly the view of the room from the furthur back makes it seem like it works. id say atypical but what has to happen is you get things on counters and allow the splash to recede w it’s white tone and move on to using the kitchen.

Oh I for sure wouldn't tear it out. Neither I would paint it-it's a pity to cover it, frankly.

Say I inherited similar kitchen? I'd be upset about it all right for a bit and make grand plans on how I'll change it one day maybe, and then I'd put there all the stuff i like to put on countertops , and go on with living my life.

And see how i feel about it.

Things need to really drive me crazy to prompt me to redo them. I suspect, with all my sensitivity to how stones etcetera work together-in this case, I'd stay sane:)

Of course chances are in any case I'd drive around and look at beautiful tile-actually the only stores I really, but really enjoy, out of all of them.

Trinawright, it was brave of you to submit this question, because some posters relish the opportunity to use a supercilious tone. The clash factor is subdued in the wider scope pix. I do think decorating the counter wilth neutral items,ie cutting boards will help considerably. Live with it for several weeks and see how you adapt. Your kitchen is still very nice.

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The samples I had didn’t have gray/blue solid pieces and the marbling seemed slight. This was a new sample just in- Calacatta White. I had already ruled out Calacatta, Calacatta Gold, and Carrara. I couldn’t find any pictures of Calacatta White online. During install I was focused more on the process and the whole picture, thinking the white grout would subdue everything, but somehow it’s worse.

The tone of the granite really does change depending on the intensity of light coming through the window. Sometimes it’s cream and sometimes it’s more of a bright white. So basically, I either hate it, or think it’s just ok at any given moment. It feels like more of a curse than a blessing to have an eye for the discrepancies. I have a mind to go to the seller and let them know the new product they offer varies greatly from their sample. I’ll have to try some of your suggestions and go from there!

Those samples look totally different; how frustrating!

I'm sorry you are unhappy with your backsplash. We just installed same/ similar countertops and are looking at backsplash now. Many of the tile stores have suggested similar to yours. We almost chose a marble but have since decided on a taupe subway tile.

Although you may not love it, it looks nice. I agree with some of the others,... you are focusing on it now but in a month you won't notice it as much.

trinawright you installed it yourself?! It looks like a very good pro job!

The seller will tell you it's a natural stone and variations are to be expected, you can tell them of course, but I'd be surprised if their answer will be different.

That you hate it..listen, give yourself some time. I hated so many things when I saw them first. I liked tiles without grout best lol. I liked the grout when it was already in, but I kinda liked it being non-grouted:)

I didn't like faucets, and electrical outlets, and AC vents. I understood I had to have them because I want heat, water, and electricity, but they still were holes in walls to me. They irritated me, for real.

It's different of course from backsplash-but it's similar in a way that our brain needs some adjustment sometimes. And that we concentrate of the newest element too much, at first.

It does look like a very good color match (in general I think you're good with colors; like your wall color too, suspect that monitor changes it a bit for us on some pics)

it's more a matter of two strong minded stones being together. Under these circumstances, I'm surprized it actually looks not that bad.

Give yourself some time, and see how you feel about it.

Either you'll think it's okay, more and more, vs sometimes hating it, or can happen you'll hate it more -and then well, you'll know you did everything in your power to live with that beautiful marble as long as you could.

it is a lovely kitchen overall. Please share more pics if you'll be in the mood to do so, after you put there things you love