People lived for decades without tile back-splashes. Look for a paint made for kitchens and baths, that can take a scrubbing. .

Ita smallish area, I say backsplash it up!

Have to say I am trying to be economical to a degree, redid my master bath and it was a complete gut job, its beautiful but I don’t want to break the bank this time, agree that good paint with a sheen will be fine. Haven’t had a problem with the wall getting messy up til now. I will let my costs dictate, unless it‘s a wash. If the cost is the same or close then I will prob lean towards the tile. I don’t live in a super fancy building, don't need to keep up with the Jones’! I’ll keep you posted, it’s several months off.

the 4" strip will be the cheapest option and is often included in the price of the quartz/granite fabrication. (you'd have to verify). at most those strips run about 60 bucks for a 6-9' run. they are pretty cheap to do.

what you could do is the 4" piece, apply a light dab of adhesive on the back, and a year or so down the road if you tire of the wall, carefully pry away the 4" piece and do the tile.

most of the newer done putty cabs have tile splashes.

I can't upload the photo, but if you scroll down towards the bottom, she had similar cabs like yours that she painted in a putty color. she went w/BM Manchester Tan with a touch of white tint mixed in.

https://www.housefullofsummer.com/blog/kitchencabinetpaintcolorrevealbeforeandafter

Beth it’s funny, I saw this kitchen remodel when I was searching for cabinet paint colors. I'm going a touch darker but in the same family. My gut reaction is that the tile is a more finished look. I would use white tile of some kind, along with the whitish countertop. But if the strip is included, then it’s hard to justify the cost of tile. The idea of doing it in the future is a good one too!

find out if it is included. if it is, and it's installed, tell them to use minimal adhesive so you can easily remove it from the wall in the future.

all you do is score the caulking in the joints, on top use a razor knife, and lightly pry. if they don't use globs of it, this removal is much easier and won't rip off all your paper

something like this Cloe tile would be a nice choice w/quartz and your cabs.

If I do tile I will do white, that looks a little too gray for me, esp with the warm counter and cabs. Trying to avoid gray tones completely, did a gray and white kitchen first time around, this one will be warmer in tone. Good to see an example of removing the strip, thanks. I see my contractor tomorrow, he should be able to provide more info re costs.

Yes to everything @Beth H said.. and you can forget the 4” tile, paint the wall and take a break. I redid a whole house years ago and when I got to the backsplash, I was out of decisions. I painted with an easy-to-clean paint to try out a backsplash color and over a year later, I got my energy to go tile shopping. Would skip the 4” piece if tile is the ultimate goal. I think all kitchens look cleaner without it.
My friend’s new kitchen doesn’t have tile either. She and her husband wanted to see the rest of the kitchen finished. They have a small area so feel that they can splurge once they find something they love. Meanwhile, it’s painted and still looks great. Your color scheme sounds very pretty.

good idea Red.

Westfan, if the 4" piece is extra, and you intend to do tile later, skip the 4" piece.

I had plain wall in my kitchen while I waited one year to decide on which tile to use! It looked like hell (it was skim coated green board with splatches of primer) but it held up just fine.

Westfan, you said you are avoiding gray? When you first mentioned putty, i thought to myself ”another gray kitchen.”

Looks great!