i love the bronze for the warmth yet its a nice modern tile for the space. Someone recently did a black tile backsplash [ can't remember the post] w white kitchen. think about modern black tile. altho w black appliances maybe the contrast w bronze is enough and better than more black. maybe green??? Samples just have to be brought in. Do not care for the textured white as I see that as competing w floor too much. Contrast , up against all the white would be best from what I see.

Thank you for your response. I agree with incorporating some contrast, but what we've learned with our samples so far is that even the lightest of grays can sometimes create a dark'ish strip against the high gloss white and white countertop. We would like to stay very light, almost white, but we ask ourselves, where does the white end? It's tricky getting something to contrast without overpowering the backsplash area. We've recently though of even a full glass backsplash, but fear it may come across too stark. Tough point for us, as we've put a lot of effort into the kitchen but we feel really stuck selecting a very modern, minimal backsplash. Hopefully someone can see an idea we don't. Thanks

I did two different white tiles in my bathroom and the different whites worked great. with the sleekness of your cabinets i vote for a textured white tile, one with a gray undertone. photo shows you how whites can contrast nicely. Personally, i like the one with the v lines. Adds tecture but is also kind of mid-century modern.

How difficult will it be to wash those textured white tiles when they get food or grease splatters?

I would continue to explore sheet glass options. With a saturated color…orange? Citrus green? behind the glass. I understand your concerns about detracting from the gorgeous cabinets. I do have one concern with any backsplash that you choose and that is the window trim. It seems that in a modern kitchen like yours, your trim is rather traditional in appearance. I would explore European kitchens, modern kitchens, etc. on this forum to see how they are done. Your kitchen is lovely…and I urge you NOT to rush. There are fabulous pros here who are well-versed in modern design, not Mid Century, but California or European Contemporary MODERN. They will give you good advice.

I love the bronze! It looks like your appliance handles are bronze/brass…yes? And your light fixture above the sink. A bronze backsplash is a good way to tie those all together. Are you leaving the brick wall the color it is or do you plan on painting it? If leaving, I think the bronze tile will go well with it and give the space some warmth/coziness. Modern can sometimes look too sterile if you’re not careful. Of course, it’s a personal preference so it depends on if that bothers you or not. For me personally, I love the modern look but also like it to have a cozy factor.

I like the bronze for your space . . . it's going to be beautiful!

The bronze will work. Consider a stacked installation to keep the modern vibe.
I happen to like the white textured tile too. Not as dramatic, but it would provide a subtle texture and continue the monochromatic theme.

Are you keeping the brick oven wall? (I hope so!) Does the bronze complement it? It looks good on screen but in person is probably more important. :)

If you use the bronze, I'd use the brick as inspiration for the tile layout.

Ooh. Your kitchen is beautiful and I love both tiles. You can't go wrong with either one, but I'm more excited about the bronze.

Thank you for all the advice and positive input so far. It's so nice to hear others perspectives, especially when it's just been my partner and I throughout this journey. Sometimes you wonder if you're getting tunnel vision and not seeing things from a fresh perspective. As for the brick wall, we had highly considered painting it white/greyish but now that the kitchen is coming along, we are changing our minds. The contrast between modern white kitchen and vintage brick wall, actually works well and brings some warmth. The bronze tile is still a consideration as it's a bang on match with the GE cafe appliances champagne bronze hardware. The faucet is a very similar bronze too, as will be the cabinet pull tabs. Tough call though as we had only jokingly grabbed that bronze sample just to see, but now it could actually be a contender. The momentum towards white is very strong though so the idea of a dark bronze backsplash is kinda unnerving. It is very nice in person however, and shines nicely with the under cabinet lights. Alternatively we go white or light grey, but I spent the day putting up white samples and came to the realization that we have a LOT of white! I feel as though anything with pure white, even textured, might come across washed out. All glass is still an option, but the colours are limited so we would most probably stick with a light grey or white, unfortunately anything white glass sometimes comes off a little blue/cool which clashes with our desire for extra warmth with the bronze hardware. Another area we find tricky is how the shape of backsplash tiles can change the vibe from modern to country or vice versa, seems like that's an area we need to be careful with if we want to stay ubber modern. We'd still like to hear what others think. If there's any modern kitchen designers who would like to offer opinions, we'd love to hear them too.

Not sure about the tiles in this photo, but it has the right shade of grey it seems with the white cabinetry,

My bf tried his best computer design!

Really love that glass backsplash.

Other options. I don't know how I feel about the small mosaics however. Maybe bigger herringbones might be more suited.

I like the textured white tiles more than the bronze but I'm a big fan of keeping the backsplash close in colour to the counter. I think the glass tiles are strong contenders as well (keeping in mind glass tiles look different once installed.) As someone else mentioned, a textured tiled backsplash can be a pain to keep clean so something to consider. But go with your gut. If you're not feeling an option like the small mosaics, discard it. You want that instant feeling of "oh, this works and I love it!" when you're looking at everything at once.

I am not a fan of textured tile for a backsplash especailly behind a range I love backpainted glass and IMO a color would be awesome maybe a nice pale green or blue .

with the sheen /gloss of the cabinet doors is more sheen really the correct way? sometimes a change in gloss level/ pivot to matte or other ...hand worked etc....can play up the gloss of the doors in this case, a little bit better. More is not always better. the bronze in the photoshop above makes the cabinets stand out in all their glory. The cabinet details are an element ....[really nice].....contrast shows that.

The bronze is distracting. I think a large format white. I like the idea of using the countertop material

In seeing the options and a mock up of the bronze, I would go with the white hexagons. The bronze seems too big a contrast. Smaller tiles are a definite pain and textured can be harder to clean, so the white geometric gives both interest and fills the requirements.

How adventurous are you willing to go? Do you like modern-modern or quirky modern? If the latter, I think your space would look great with the Nola tile by Riad Tile. I did my laundry room floor with this in black. It comes in other colors, as well. It’s a cement tile but you can get it in ceramic (Riad isn’t the only company who makes this pattern — it’s just the company I used, and they specialize in cement tile). They’re hexagon tiles so depending on how you lay them out, the pattern changes which means you get to choose how the design comes out. Here are some examples:

Bronze is too much for me.
I like the hex one.
Or maybe just continue up with the countertop.

BBL, Will look around for some more tile options...

Years ago, I used the very small-scale, large format option you are showing in white in a bronze color for a backsplash.

In your space (which is coming together very nicely!), I think the bronze will be too jarring with the rest of your finishes.

@Stacey, did you consider the other metals in that Bliss satin metal collection? Wondering how the pewter and nickel would look with your floor. (Btw, are you in Canada?)

Could you get hands on some more of that cool fireplace brick?? The brick would really tie the space together, allowing all the differently styled elements to “sing” with one another - I always think of brick in the kitchen like a warm inviting, cozy, hug :), yes I would like to have a glass of wine in there while someone cooks for me! If you can’t find the brick, you could find a similar size and paint the brick white or even paint both the fireplace brick and backsplash to match.

Omg that bronze!!! So cool! I think it really works if you’re brave enough!!

What do you think is the most attractive feature
of your kitchen? If you go bronze, the observers eyes will go straight to the backsplash and ignore the rest. Figure out what you want to highlight and if it’s not the backsplash then pick a quiet backsplash that disappears.
Could always echo the bronze of the appliances another way (Ex. Utensil holder, cookbook stand, etc).

Could always do a mock-up too if you really want a non white color (Ex. Get a roll of wrapping paper in the color and try sticking it
To the backsplash area with painters tape. Then step back and look at it from all angles and see what you think if it’s overall effect in the kitchen.

Definitely ask yourself what you’d still like to see 5 years from now…..

Something a little softer with a touch of gold/bronze and still modern?

I was leafing through some older House & Home magazines yesterday and spotted a white kitchen with a gold tile backsplash that made me think of your options, @Stacey. Found the pics online. You'll notice the rectangle of gold tiles is flanked by white backsplash at the bottom (counter material, I suspect) and a large window near the ceiling.

I love your cabinets! I think a meduim to lighter shade of gray would look cool. Then use bronze for accent color.

Textured gray or bronze the reason is that because your cabinet finish is glossy

you can’t repeat the metallic or shiny color in other finishes in your home.

Here is another idea for you. Similar tile is available in a variety of colors from Heath. Sorry, the photo won't upload?!

Definitely Bronze. Look how the elephant pops out. The Bronze is essentially the color of the brick. It will pull the color over to that side of the room, thus creating balance.

I think any colour would work especially if there are elements of it elsewhere. As to texture, had you considered a visual texture as opposed to actual texture? Just thinking of cleaning lines & grooves.

What about using your countertop material as a backsplash? If you are considering the bronze could you buy a few tiles to prop up and see what the effect is- it could be stunning.

Not a fan of heavily textured tile in a kitchen as it attracts grease and grime.i think the bronze is too close to the color of the brick. Perhaps use an accent color that you are using elsewhere in the room or adjoining room would be nice. How about black, turquoise, blue....

I personally like the bronze or the textured white (the first and second pics that show up in the question for me). If you could get someone to do a mock-up that would probably help you out. What about a dark green for a pop of color/contrast?

Cleaning would be my main consideration. My sister ended up using a cookie sheet behind her range so the tile wouldn’t get greasy or dirty.

i wouldn't use any textured tile on the backsplash because of the obvious additional cleaning.

Using a darker tile on the backsplash is preferable to using white.

I think a pale gray glass tile laid in a herringbone pattern would look great. You have a beautiful kitchen.

Amazingly your kitchen is quite similar in style as what we have. I've just done the backsplash 2 weeks ago. If you want to venture in a little bit of work check the picture attached to see what I did...
Do not pay attention to the suffit, it is not done yet and my blind was not installed yet...

I love HU-711525193's tile backsplash! It provides a textural aspect because one assumes texture with the variance really being just the different colors. Also, IMHO, I had a kitchen that came with beige countertops and beige backsplash. It always seemed dark, and it truly was. I chose a beautiful granite with the whitest whites and slashes of deep brown and black. But for the splash, I went with very inexpensive tiles from a big box store. They had a bit of texture, but they were a shiny finish, so cleanup was easy. And they were solid white! I was amazed at how much brighter the kitchen was with those nice white tiles! I did add undercabinet lighting, too, but the white really made me feel like the kitchen was cleaner, and brighter, so I could "see" what I was doing in it. Thus, I vote for the white textured, with a shiny finish.

I think Sofia has the right idea. White tile with bronze (sparse and random) accents, or white tile with a bronze grout, or white tile with an accent strip of bronze (horizontal, vertical, whatever you like)

I think the white tile with bronze accents (like those shown by Sophia and new03mom) would look beautiful. It would give a softness to the kitchen that is currently missing and avoid anything too high-contrast.

I too agree that a softer tile with white and bronze accents would be a nice option and give some dimension without too much contrast. Something with both a matte white and gloss white finish would be a great compliment to the gloss white cabinets. Would recommend you having your options rendered in a 3D drawing before making a final decision to have a clear direction before putting in the time, effort and money of installing the tile.

Additionally, I think a light german smear for the fireplace could be a nice feature to consider.

I don’t believe anyone has suggested this but I would do a combination of plain white subway tile (glass or ceramic, whichever you prefer, but the glass would probably pick up your cabinets better) and the bronze subway tile.

The distance between your upper cabinets’ hight and your counters change behind your stove so I would highlight that area with the bronze tile. You could do that several ways but the two I would suggest is to either do that entire area in the bronze tile but run the tile perpendicular from the white subway tile or to just run a line of the bronze up and down on both sides just inside of the cabinet bump up and contine the white tile in between those lines. Either techniche would highlight that area. Considering you already have the under cabinet lighting there…

Alternatively, I would use the textured tile front and center in this one of your photos (whichever color you prefer, of course) but mount it so the groves are up and down instead of sideways as it would be easier to clean that way.