I have a bold countertop also. I chose to match my backsplash tile to my white upper cabinets (but I have 2 tone cabinets, so I had to be really careful). I would do either that, or a light gray from your countertop. So glad to see a wild stone being installed! Happy cooking :)

PS. definitely don't run that same stone up as backsplash, granites like this are overwhelming when vertical.

Thank you so much for the feedback! I was thinking about white, but was concerned it would be too start against the countertop. Can you share a photo of yours? Would love to see!

No to white. I would do a very light gray to match the gray in the granite. And the parameter to me reads gray.

But, I have never seen dark trim above white cabinets. Do you have an inspiration picture of this?

Oh I love both of those bold countertops

Love your counters, I'm also a lover of bold counters. Keep the backsplash simple. The counters are the star. Larger tiles so you have less grout lines. I would choose one of the light colors from your counter. Get some individual tile from the tile store to see what works best before you commit. There also no rule that you have to have a backsplash. Sometimes a painted backsplash is all you need.

WOW, love the stone Lucky! Your entire kitchen is beautiful!

Eld, the paint is a light grey. I actually do not have an inspiration photo for the crown. I have 5" dark crown throughout the entire downstairs and so I just thought it would be nice to run the same in the kitchen since its all connected. The cabinets were installed a few inches from the ceiling to allow for this. Are you thinking maybe this is a poor design choice? Opinions welcome :)

I would not do a dark drown above the white cabinets. You will be adding a permanent horizontal shadow line across your kitchen and drawing attention to the crown, which should not have a starring role in your kitchen.

I say hogwash to the shadow. lack of lighting creates shadows.

IMO, doing more white is going to look washed out and make your countertop look too light.

there was another commenter on here who had similar granite. I talked her into going w/the basalt tiles and she's glad she did. Granted, she had oak cabs and hickory floors, but the basalt just went perfectly w/the stone (notice, she also has ample under cabinet lighting)

here are some other black tile examples. (and, you can always do a lighter grout, even a gold grout, if you prefer)

I would do a black tile, black hardware, wood floors, and bring in some walnut shelving or cutting boards.

I would NIX the SS hood, do a white hood to match your cabs, and a nice, warm piece of wood trim on the bottom. Like this. With the white crown trim

photoshopped the white hood

Zellige^

or this cool herringbone with a soft gray grout would look good too

or maybe you'd rather do the gray glazed type of tile? shown here w/the hood

If you must do white, then do a zellige or similar handmade look tile (rather than those plain old 3x6 white subways!) pair it w/the gold hardware, black accents.

let me know if you want tile recommendations

Cloe tile in the black. I like this layout too. or the herringbone

Bedrosians Makoto, 2x10, matte

thinner black slate tile w/white grout

Fireclay tile. they have a load of colors. this is the Wave design

Seneca Tiles. Nickle blend. (you could do all 3 of these, or just one or two colors)

This calls for lots of samples, and I prefer fun samples. If fun is not an option, then I do like the black/near blacks.

Everyone, thank you so much for all of the amazing recommendations! I love browsing the houzz site looking at other peoples posts, so it's been really fun to have my own. And to have people take enough interest to give me their opinions - it's so touching and I truly appreciate it :) I'm going to take these to heart when I head to the tile store. I'll have to let you know what I decide on!

I wonder if anyone else has done dark crown above their cabinets? Chispa and Beth both made good points. I think a photo would do wonders!

is there any green in the granite? looks like a green-gray. Might be a nice option for tile color (the lightest version)

I've never understood backsplashes..... With such a bold countertop, just install a 4" high edge of the granite all around the top and leave the walls painted.

Beautiful countertop. Beth always has stellar ideas, but honestly this might be one time I don't think I agree ( although maybe I am not visualizing it right). I would definitely go simple and do either white, pale gray, or something similar with tile.

I could see as cathi suggested painting the backsplash but tile is a really good surface for splash and stain.

I had a somewhat busy countertop and used the irregular shaped white subway tiles and am very pleased. ( my only marginal regret was going with white grout. I didn't want too much contrast, but I think a wee little bit would have added interest).

salonva,, I have to agree. When we bought our camp it had black antiqued tin tile for the backsplash. We called the counter area the black hole. You had to use lights on the sunniest of days to prep food. It had no reflective quality and sucked up all the light. Painting it a light color made the world of difference.

sometimes the summ of color tones creates shades from the blending....the first black tile shown would be high contrast...the greenish tiled splashes are those I'd consider as that shade seems a tone that is created from the blending of everything in the counter. and the white cabs would cooperate with such a choice.

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l.

You have a grayish tone against your counter now in the drywall. If you like that, find a gray tile.

I love @lucky998877 kitchen, so I think that the backsplash color should be a white that works with your cabinets. Maybe look at Fireclay Tile's white colors?

I'd also like to suggest you consider a matte finish for your backsplash.

if you were doing the whole house like this, the dark crown w/the white cabs would blend in better

I LOVE your bold choice of countertop. My first instinct when I saw your photos (before reading all the great ideas) was "dark". I agree with Beth that you should bring home darker tile samples as she has shown. If that ends up being too much black for you, then a light gray might be best. I doubt white-white will work since it has to really blend well with your cabinet color or it will be "off". I think your kitchen will be a knockout. Don't fight that gorgeous stone. Work with it.

(And bring home a few of each tile you're considering. One single tile makes the decision really hard.)

I agree with Chispa. keep the crown the samecolor as the cabinets. Who draw the eye up there when there are nicer things to look at in your kitchen.

For me, its a distraction.