Personally, I don't like when tile stops at the bottom of the cabs, it draws too straight of a line and, IMHO, you need to vary that line (the height of the tile) to create interest.

I think you should run it to the bottom of the hood. On the dry bar, I think to the bottom of the first shelf, but maybe the 2nd?

This may sound OCD, but when I had to make this decision, I took a roll of white paper, drew out the splash in rough with a metre stick and mocked it up. I really wanted to be sure :-)

ETA: Your kitchen looks lovely so far. I hope you post finished pictures.

For the coffee/dry bar, we might recommend taking the tile all the way up, even between the shelves. For the kitchen, where the hood is, we might recommend taking the tile to the top of the cabinets. Here are a few visuals from our kitchen designs which might help more.

West Coast Modern on the East Coast · More Info

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Coffee station - bottom of first shelf and the bottom of the vent hood. The only reason I don’t say above the hood vent is because your cabinets do not go to the ceiling so I think asking it to the top or above the cabinets would look odd. Taking it to the vent hood bottom might look cleaner. As for the coffee station again if you go above the bottom shelf the question is when do you stop. The logical IMO is at the bottom shelf. Looking forward to your decision and pictures. Looks like you are off to a great start in your remodel

What is the color of your cabinets?

I personally think running the tile all the way to the ceiling would look phenomenal. Both on the bar side and the kitchen side. Since you do not have any "eye catching" pieces as far as color and pattern in the kitchen (which isn't a bad thing!), I think taking the tile to the ceiling will add a wow factor while keeping the look timeless and simple!

Hey everyone, thank you for the comments!

They just installed the tile a couple of days ago, and we had them run it to the bottom of the shelf and hood. Here are some photos.

I see what some of you are saying about the wow factor of going to the top of the cabinets. Think it's worth the extra time and cost to have that done given how it looks now? I'm torn now!

@Toni Hamlett the cabinet color is SW 6072 Versatile Gray. To me, it doesn't read gray but more of a taupe/mushroom, which is what I was going for.

Beautiful kitchen! i personally love the look of tile all the way up

Looks fantastic. All the best

It looks so good! I really liked the idea of taking the tile to the ceiling specifically because I think it will add a lot of visual interest, as well as draw the eye upward drawing attention to your tall ceilings. Since your cabinets stop short of the ceiling, your eye line gets cut short, but having the tile keep going to the ceiling will have your eye continue up and add height, visually, to the room! I do think where you ended it looks great as well, though!

@Katie Rusch what is your wall paint color?

@Sumod hi again :) Our wall color is SW 7005 Pure White.

We did a flat finish for the walls and satin (same color) for the millwork.

If I could do it over, I would not pick a flat finish for the walls. Our base paint isn't washable like it's said to be, and every little ding/scuff/touch shows.

@Katie Rusch thank you for the pain color. Would you think having semi-gloss for the walls would be better instead of a flat finish? We are a household of active boys that love playing outdoors.

@Sumod You're welcome! Personally, I wouldn't choose semi-gloss for walls. In prior homes, I've had satin or eggshell and found them more scuff-resistant and easier to clean than flat, without too much shine/glare.

This is the base we used (recommended by our builder), and I would steer you away from it - the review on this page says it all https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/cashmere-interior-acrylic-latex-flat-enamel-pl-9520095

Sheens are hard and such a personal preference... just don't chose flat through-out your house, it's my only regret!