I would just make sure you're happy with the way the tile can be laid out. If the tile setter has to make a lot of cuts to make the tile fit, it could ruin the look of the shape.

I would choose the larger... the less grout the better, in a kitchen.

Great advice!!! Thank you 😊. That makes a lot of sense. We do have a window and other smaller, odd areas, so I am going to look into that closer. TY!

Thanks Lyn! That makes sense too. Very helpful.

Your counters are beautiful!

@chicagoans thank you! 😊

I have a much smaller kitchen than yours and I went with 3 x 12. I am very happy with that size and I feel like the tile makes my kitchen looks marginally wider because of the longer length. I don't think you will have many more grout lines when you compare 3" verses 4" tile. In my kitchen I have 6 horizontal grout lines including the top where the tile meets the wall cabinet, verses 5 if I had used 4" tall tile. I was able to get 6 full tiles between the countertop and wall cabinets (18" backsplash) which looks great! So there are no sliver tiles anywhere in my kitchen except for the 1" slivers directly under the hood. Take into consideration below the window too--how will that work out with 4" verses 3"? I drew the tile pattern arrangement out on a large sheet of paper and then hung it on the wall to determine which size I liked best for looks.

@theresa21 that's great to know!! No matter which size I go with, we'll have some odd ends. I will take your advice and look carefully at those areas and also under the cabinets... the larger tile fits 4 rows w an inch or less not covered...will need to check with the 3inch tile now.

I think the color is more important than anything else. Find the tile that matches best.

Your countertops look like Fantasy Brown. There's many kitchens on Houzz with this countertop, so you might get some ideas for tile size from them.

Do you think the larger(4x12), would look better than maybe a 3x9 or 3x8 going up to the ceiling?

Thanks @shirlpp! The picture shows the countertops much darker than they are... it's taj mahal. It's been difficult to find a color backsplash we like with it!

Taj mahal can sometimes be tricky to find a backsplash for. A tile that looks good at one end of the counter doesn’t look as good at the other end because of the variation in TM. you might want to find a tile that has some slight variation in color also.

@AnnaDevane that is a good point and so true. I should move the sample around to see how it changes. I was set on warm whites, but now we need to go with brighter, truer whites because otherwise they look dingy or yellow! So much for my original vision! 🙄 thanks for the tip...I will definitely keep it in mind!

Despite its small (4x12), the display will look great and be simple to maintain.

I have a small kitchen too and I am looking for a 3" by 12" tile, but I am open to whatever works best. I like the brick-like proportions of longer tiles. But honestly, any tile is a vast improvement over the fake travertine 6" by 6" tiles installed on point (diagonally) that are on the backsplash now.

I’m trying to decide between tile size for my small kitchen also. Either 3.5” or 4.5” arabesque white tile. The 3.5 I found in porcelain. The 4.5 I only found as ceramic.

@kitchengalley Honestly, both of those look nice! I think the smaller tile can be a little busier - but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Maybe check where you will have a lot of tile cuts to see if one size will lend itself to less odd cuts?

Your larger tile looks nice through the top of your wall. Great choice

I didn’t think about odd cuts. I had the 3.5” tile ordered. It might have about 1/2” cut on either top or bottom of the backsplash. Thank you for your thoughts