I think carrying the counter material up behind range would be stunning. You wood is yummy!

I would tile the whole wall, nothing too in your face so the view is the star.

So many questions :-)

Is there a hood? what does it look like?

Do you have a tile picked out? What does it look like?

Will you use the counter as the backsplash too?

Will there be lights above the windows?

Will there be valances above the windows?

Will there be shelves?

@njmomma - It'll be a stainless steel chimney hood

I don't have tile picked out. I don't know what I want. The images you included are all beautiful.

We will not be using our counter as backsplash

The only lights we plan to use are recessed

We plan to keep the windows bare (no window treatments but if the summer sun gets to be too much, we will revisit this idea)

I don't think we will use shelves on the back wall but we may put shelves on the right hand wall (to the left of the fridge)

Leave the apron off if you are going to tile the wall. It will look so much better IMHO

@amateurdeziner, good point. I really hadn't considered tiling the whole wall, but I agree, if we do, it makes sense to tile under the window.

@cubby14, I really have not considered tiling the entire wall but as I sit here looking at the kitchen, I do think it would look nice. Would I need to tile the right side to the fridge as well?

@njmomma, any tile style suggestions?

With the wall being long/wide would you suggest an elongated tile and run it vertically? I'm sure I'm not using proper terminology.

Depends on what you are putting on that wall. will there be shelves? If so I would just tile up to the bottom of the shelves like in nj momma's first picture above.

I think an elongated hex or picket tile, laid vertically, would be beautiful. Interesting but not dominating. Vertically stacked subway would also look great, but more modern than you might be going for.

Love your cabinets, your windows, your view!

@cubby14, At this point I don't know about the shelves as I don't know what I would put on them. I don't really have pretty things to display and in general prefer a simple clean look. So if I don't do shelves would it be fine to leave that wall void of tile? I do think the tiles under the shelf give it a nice finished look. Maybe I should have extra on hand should I go with a shelf down the road.

@mcarroll16, thank you, we are pleased with how things are coming together.

I like the elongated hex. What color would you go with?

It depends on your goal. If you want to keep the focus on your view, go with white tile. If you want the wall itself to be the feature, use a color. Apple green, or any shade of aqua, are my personal favorites, and would look great with your wood.

I prefer to keep the focus on the view. When it comes to white, would you choose something glossy or matte? Something textured or flat?

I like glossy. Just personal preference. It feels lighter and cleaner to me. I think texture is great on a simple shape--square or subway. If you're doing a more complex shape, then I would go with a flat tile. I think "let one thing be the star" applies to the components of each element, just as it does to the overall design.

This is my absolute favorite textured tile. Easy to find in a short or elongated subway. I wanted our backsplash to be their square version, but couldn't sell DH on any of it.

And my second-favorite textured tile, same maker. It's available in the same gentle wave as the Genesi, or in the texture pictured below.

@mcarroll16, those are beautiful. I appreciate your input, it's been very helpful!

Happy to help! Please post pictures of your finished kitchen. It's going to be gorgeous.

Heh. Just realized that the textured Sfumature conflicts with my general instinct on simple texture for interesting shape. Don't know how to feel about that.

I'm about to run out and see what kind of selection the local shop has available. I'm terrible at making decisions (can you tell?!), so I have a feeling I will be back with photos.

Don't rush, you can use a kitchen without backsplash! I'm also still deciding on my backsplash and we moved in 1.5 months ago! Have a sample I love, but for some reason just can't place the order! Also have a big window to work around, but will most likely keep it at the regular backsplash height, mostly because the tile I am considering is pricey.

@chispa, yeah I don't think I'm going to be able to decide anytime soon as there are way too many options! I would love to see what you're considering. I went and looked at some tile this afternoon and quickly became unsure about what direction I want to go in.

From what I can tell, I'm going to need to cover 47sqft with tile for the whole back wall. I just learned that my GC's allowance for tile is $192. I have no idea how far that will stretch.

Um, not very far. That's about $2/sq ft (ignoring sales tax and the fact that you need to buy extra). You should figure out how much extra you are willing to spend, and then shop accordingly. At your GC's allowance, it's big box stores, not tile specialty stores. But consider a little splurge here. 47 sq feet at $13.95 is $656. If your budget has any wiggle room, this is a really good place to splurge. Or a good place to stop, paint, and wait a year or two until you've saved a bit, to get something you really love.

@Lianne, I am considering this tile from Sonoma Tile in the photo below. I also have white cabinets and Taj Mahal quartzite.

Cedarbrush - Spanish Modern · More Info

Did you drop a zero on that tile allowance? That is pretty low!