@cupofkindnessgw why is that? Thanks for your comment!

Absolutely NONE of those. They are all to busy and clash. You need a simple shape, without all of that eye bleed.

Color. You need a COLOR! The word that comes to mind with these is bleak. These are all bleak. And sad. And dreary. Like the movie, Pleasantville when Reese WItherspoon and Toby Mcguire transport to a 1950s black and white tv show/town.

@rehb

I really like all of your tile selections however, I think that the accent piece over a range is often the first thing to look dated and tired. I have one in the house we are moving into and it's just so-so. I don't care for the fact that it sticks out beyond the rest of the backsplash either since it has a frame around it.

Honestly, your gorgeous range hood is enough to draw attention to your gas cooktop. It really is!

What about a simple piece of stainless steel behind the cooktop and up into the hood?

Also, your husband doesn't care for subway tile, why is that? And more importantly, what do you think about subways?

Finally, you can bring amazing color into your kitchen with decor items, like a bowl of lemons or pots of herbs or a collection of cutting boards or an espresso machine or the penultimate: children's artwork...

Your kitchen doesn't look bleak or sad to me, but filled with possiblilties and plenty of space to make delicious meals and great memories. Do you have any inspiration pictures that you could post?

Or the opening scenes of The Wizard of Oz when its all black and white in the dust bowl of the Depression. Remember how great it is when Dorothy opens the door and everything is in color?

Also, range accents are 20 years dated.

I voted 5, but I like 7 as well. My issue is that I couldn't really see most of the backsplashes. They we faded (or had no color) or it was the lighting casting down on them. In any case, #5 looks like the backsplash that I will probably be using in my upcoming kitchen. If you do a range accent (which personally I'm not fond of), be sure its one solid piece like in #5 so its easier to clean. Here's a screen shot of my backsplash. My cabinets are light gray here and the backsplash white with a darker grout or I'm considering a honeycomb backsplash.

My line of thinking for our kitchen is to choose something that will be more of a blank slate and have other items in the kitchen to bring color. I'm not going to be redoing my kitchen as color trends change. Remember also these are just rendered 3D images and the reason for the colors I am choosing is because there isnt much natural light available in the kitchen. For this reason, I want light and airy colors for my kitchen. The mother of pearl mosaic I felt would reflect even more light and add some sparkle.

I have always owned homes that had dark wood cabinets and black granite countertops. Are they "warm"? Yes, but for 30 years that is what I always have had. To me, those are bleak and sad.I'm just sick of them and that look. So that is why i went for quartz counters and light gray cabinets.

@cupofkindnessgw My husband, for whatever reason really hates the dickens out of subway tile. I like it, but since I've chosen a lot of the selections for our new home build, I did want to consider his likes/dislikes. He likes crazy patterns and he will put two busy prints together just for the sake of being different and lively. The backsplash accent is at his request. It's my compromise with him haha!

Finally, I made my decisions based off of many pintrest pins I've collected for a couple of years because its so difficult for me to decide on my own. When you are building a home, you get to a point where you really start to second and triple guess your decisions until it gets really stressful and you really wish someone would come along and make all the decisions for you. It's been very difficult for me, because I am an extremely creative person. In fact, its what I do for a living. Maybe its hard because I am a bit of a perfectionist. I'm thankful for all the input. Some comments made above were a bit ouch haha, but I'll just chalk it up to the fact that design decisions are like political and religious views. I know its hard to help a person online with design dilemmas especially only knowing a part of the picture, puzzle.

Also here is my actual kitchen:

@rehb I certainly understand a kitchen with a lack of natural light. My window is in about in the same spot as yours, but as you can see in my renders its quite smaller. I'm going with lighter colors as well. Adding pops of color is a great idea. I really like the honeycomb tile you posted above. The white honeycomb is nice too.

I went with gray cabinets because every cabinet Ive ever seen in a house was builder grade and light brown. bleh Not something I want in my house...I want to be different. My MIL had a lazy Susan in her house and I hated it because I was the one who fetched anything that fell to the back and kept it from moving. She also had one of those 6" cookie sheet cabinets next to her dishwasher that I never liked either. She had lots of sheets and they would get stuck in there. lol Two things I'll never have in my kitchen besides brown cabinets. Some things just turn people off after having experienced them at some point in their lives.

I too second guess everything. I still am not 100% set on the backsplash because what if I'm wrong or maybe like something better that I haven't yet found. It makes it harder too when there are thousands of designs and colors to choose from.

I feel that gray pearly (or white) honeycomb you posted above would look lovely w/the cabinets you have. The rhombus with a light or medium gray grout too. Have you thought of going and picking up a few sheets to just sit up in the kitchen and live with it for a while?

obviously a simple white glazed ceramic tile. if he doesnt want subway find a simpler arabesque shape..the cabs are traditional so thatll be fine. they all vary a little bit now so have a look and bring home a few.

Cozy Chic Kitchen · More Info

White Macaubas Quartzite Kitchen · More Info

White Danby Marble Kitchen Countertop · More Info

Post back when the counters are in and have some tile samples lined up along the backsplash.

i like my range accent tile. not my problem if the next owner doesn't like it. i would recommend having a good tile person to help out and bounce ideas off of. I went to a tile showroom and they didn't seem interested in helping too much. Went to a second place and the people were so helpful discussing different combo's and what didn't and did work with our countertop choice.

I would think that you would want a gloss. There's not a lot of natural light in your kitchen, and getting some reflectivity would be nice. It can also be somewhat of a jewel for your kitchen, too - without being too busy.

I'd like a high gloss white / diamond in maybe a 2x6 size in a herringbone - no accent behind stove.

I have to say I like the fan tile the best ( no accent at the hood ) . It's interesting, the colors are subtle. It is a little busy, but because the colors are muted it won't be overwhelming. The kitchen looks like a decent size so it can handle some pattern. It would be beautiful.

I agree with your husband - I dislike subway tile!

I like the fan but no accent behind the range. :-)

IMO if you like accent tile behind the range, go for it! It's not a model home, and you're not staging it to sell, so do whatever makes you happy. If you or a future owner tires of it, a new backsplash isn't a big deal.

I don't like the fan shapes. That tile is really pretty close-up, but from far away I think it just looks 80s.

Personally I love the rhombus the best. It's not all that hard to change out a backsplash later on if you get tired of it. But if you want to go for longevity, the hex tiles are the most timeless.

I like the fan, I like the rhombus. The fan is more glam, and I think may not age as well as the rhombus. The rhombus is a time-tested field tile shape and is interesting without being over-the-top. I do not like the accent over the range, I find them fussy and they break up the room. (I didn't vote because all the options had an over-range accent).

I like the fan, but not the accent.

I like the fan with no accent; or the last option -- color! :)

The arabesque is stunning, I really love it, but here's a question for everyone, is it a bit too feminine?

why does everyone always want to rush the backsplash? the countertop isn't even in, so why the haste to pick something today? Wait. I waited one year before I did mine.

As for your choices, there are better options.

Let me show you a bunch of examples and see if it helps.

All of your marble choices are Carrara. you're doing a Calacatta look alike on the counter. Calacatta tends to be a tad warmer, as are your cabinets and wall color. Carrara is a cool blue gray. This is why it's so important to wait until the countertops are in so you can see how everything looks in your lighting. Where are your samples? you can't choose off the internet without seeing it in person and against your cabinets.

Your choices aren't cheap. don't waste money.

This would similar to one of your choices. this is a water jet Calacatta and MOP mosaic. (and not cheap) Does it help to see how it looks laid out?

similar to your other one in the Carrara marble. has a much cooler tone to it.

My kitchen is a similar sized backsplash like yours. I have the Silestone Eternal Serena and a Calacatta marble island. AFter looking at a million samples, I decided on the Calacatta oro tiles paired w/vertical gold schluter grout accents.

I also can't stand plain subway tiles. But this seemed to be a nice compromise. what you can't see is the black/white cement tiles and the black inlay zellege tiles off to the left. I don't mind a little busy, but I can't do chaotic.

So while I don't think your choices are too busy, (Please don't do the stove accent. you don't have a large enough area to carry that) I just think you can pick something better.

If you feel you must have the accent, then do the other tile in a plain subway. doesn't have to be plain white, but it should match the accent.

See how they did it here? And the second pic below this. The accent is the star, everything else is supporting cast.

large accent w/a large kitchen and tile space. again, the other tile is a subway.

Smaller, shorter backsplash areas seldom look good w/a stove accent because it's too small.

Like this one. Do you see the diff in appearance? even so, this is a calacatta w/a calacatta subway.

If I had done the accent over my stove, it would have look cramped and way too busy.

Get your samples on hand so you can place them against the wall.

Also a Calacatta. you see the warmer tones throughout?

Linear random bar calacatta. you can get this in any shape or form. just like the carrara.

what about some type of Zellege tile? either the 4x4, the hex (2") or a 2x6 or 2x8?

I llove this one too, but it is a carrara.(3 diff finishes) You'd have to see how cool it looks in your lighting. it does pair well w/the gold and warmer wood tones.

any of these ? gray scallop, white/gold cheveron, or the nabi jewel

Nabi Harlequin.

If you still like yours better, I'd still tell you to wait, get a sample, and place it against your countertop once it's in. IF you still like it then, get what you like. (I don't like the larger hex tile.

Listen to Beth H. She has great ideas

Juliet said, ”Color. You need a COLOR!”

I am not kidding, those exact words were the first thing that popped in my head. Although I do like the grey color of your cabinets, especially mixed with the gold.

I think the tile used in this kitchen would look amazing!

Here it is with white cabinets. I think your grey and gold color scheme would go great.

Here I added it to your kitchen. I understand why some said it is like watching tv in black and white The computerized rendering makes the whole kitchen look super blah and gloomy. I am sure in real life your kitchen won’t be that way. You will have a little bit of natural light from the window which is good. But I think once the overhead lighting is turned on, it will be fine.

What I think is so cool about this tile is that in certain lighting they are iridescent. I love that overall from a distance it looks blue and grey, but it has other soft colors as well. I can even see some golds which ties in your gold hardware.

To me the iridescence makes it sort of like a neutral in that you can add whatever color you like in decor items and it will coordinate. As you can see, the designer used red, orange, yellow, and green and they all look beautiful. I can picture so many other colors as well.

Here are some close ups showing how when the light hits just right it has the iridescent colors. That shimmering glass tile would make me smile everyday.

It might not be your cup of tea, but I sure had fun playing anyways!

I almost did a feature behind my range. The folks here talked me out of it and I am SO glad I took that advice.

I would also echo the advice to not rush. Please wait until everything else is installed and then bring samples home to see them at different times of the day and night. I am sure you will find the perfect one that you both love.

I really like the frameless range accent picture that Beth H posted. Such a clean look.

I'd skip the range accent. With the various decorative tiles you're auditioning, you don't need one and it interrupts the rhythm. But if you must do a range accent, do not use that large format tile. It doesn't go with anything.

ps, I like the fan-shaped tile the best of those you've shown.

I think I found a new backsplash with the helpful input from everyone!!!

And @rebunky that is so sweet of you to create a mockup !! appreciate it!~

Thank you so much @Beth H. : you put so much time and thought into your answer! I never considered the different colors in marble and marble look a likes. Makes total sense! I think you are right about the accent above the range. We had a home that had a huge hood and it had an accent. My husband loved it. It was a nightmare to clean though because it was natural matte travertine tile. Since we do not have the large range hood this time, I think a continuous backsplash would be great. I was just worried it would be too plain.

I chose the blue tile, though I think another color would be ok - like the blue/green one by rebunky. I also like many of your other tiles, as well as those others have posted. You’ve got a nice expanse of wall to play with. I am personally not a fan of using a different tile above the range. I think it breaks things up too much. But if you love it - it’s your house and the heck with resale. You’ve done a beautiful job with your choices, rehb. Congratulations on your new home 🥂👏🏻!

I was weeding though all my saved kitchen photos. Look what I found!!!

I think this tile would be perfect! It has a filigree design on the uniquely shaped star tiles. I am not sure, but it could be from Pratt + Larson tile?

I tried zooming in so you could see the detail. You could skip the filigree, but I think it is so pretty.

I am sure it costs a small fortune, but just thought I would show you in case you could somehow swing it.

If you do a range accent, do it from the counter all the way up. Don't box frame it.

EX:

I agree with other poster - a range accent often dates a house. A backsplash IMHO shouldn't be the standout in a kitchen. It should basically recede and let appliance, counters, cabinetry take front stage. That's one of the reasons subway tiles are classic. They provide a great background for other elements.

^^ agree with @Norwood Architects - Not sure when the backsplash (which is often just a weird squatty wall around the perimeter) became the spot for a dramatic kitchen element

If you are a lover of tile (there are so many gorgeous ones!) then you'll probably go with quiet cabinets and let the backsplash be the star. That's not a new thing. It's just a different perspective.