Are you doing a splash on both sides of your kitchen? Less is more in a small white galley kitchen. I have one too and only used a 6" strip of countertop material as a splash, instead of a big tile splash. I really helps the room look a lot brighter, less busy, more cohesive.

Can you post another current pic of the other side of the room with the fridge and big grey curtain? A lot of gloom existed there before and I wonder if it has changed or not. Are you adding under cabinet lighting?

Hi Kendrah! Appreciate your insight. Here are pictures of the side of the kitchen with the fridge and from the vantage point of the other side of the room. We don’t plan to install under cabinet lighting as of now.

Was there a particular reason you didn't run the quartz up the wall?

Your lighting is totally inadequate.

Get an electrician and spend the money lighting up the hard earned $$$ you spent.

You can live with paint on the walls for a solid year, to to NO ill effect.

Once that is addressed?

Drag home samples of every plain white you like. Plan grout as white as the field.

Keep the backsplash simple, an updated larger subway size. Absolutely no to gray.

Forgive my bluntness, but a dark backsplash is not going to add to the gloom that exists due to the sea of gray you have right now. Try to add some warmth in the room, like a colorful/patterned backsplash or wall color.

Is the tile floor new? I would have run the wood floor into the kitchen to warm it up.

I'm also confused by the first photo--did you photoshop the tile in the picture? If yes, try photoshopping a colorful or patterned tile and see how you like it.

Once you decide on the hard installed items, you can further warm it up by using accessories in your chosen palette.

Another vote to get the lighting sorted first…you’ll want to see your tile options under the correct (modified from what you have now) lighting conditions.

Notice that even with loads of sunlight pouring into the kitchen, unfortunately you still have a gloom factor working against you with the shadows on your counter from the uppers, the large grey swath of the side of your fridge, the grey undertones in your floor, and the shadows your uppers make on the ceiling.

Getting under cabinet lights will make a world of difference and should be your top priority. If it breaks the bank then wait a while to install a backsplash. I lived without a backsplash for over a year and like it so much I decided not to have one at all. It is so much easier to wipe a painted wall with a sponge than to clean grout.

Also, what about adding trim to the top of your cabinets so they go all the way up to the ceiling?

All excellent points of feedback, thank you! To answer a few questions:

We plan to add trim to the tops of the cabinets! We are doing it all ourselves so it’s slow going. If you all have any tips for this, we would love to hear them!

Not a bad idea to hold on the backsplash and add the lighting! I will look into it. Any suggestions on brands that you all have used or like?

The reason we did not run the quartz all the way up the wall is mostly due to cost. Also, I think it might have been a little overpowering for our small space. If you all have any pics you could share of quartz all the way up the backsplash in a small space like this one I’d be curious to see them!

On the lighting note, we have the option to change the recessed lights one shade “warmer.” I wonder if we should do this to warm it up. My partner prefers cooler lights and I prefer warmer but if I show him your comments I may be able to convince him to switch!

Yes, the tile is new. I would have loved to run the wood floors in through the kitchen but I had no less than four flooring contractors come out to give us estimates and was quoted $3000 and up! Can you believe it? We live in Los Angeles, so everything is outrageous. That’s more than we spent on the flooring for the whole rest of the place! Unfortunately, given all of the work that needs to be done throughout the place, this was out of our budget :(

Sorry for the confusion! Yes, the first picture is “photoshopped” with the brown tile backsplash. This was what we had originally chosen and then I used the tile visualizer and realized I didn’t like it! Which is why I turned to you folks for help!

I saw some comments about patterned, simple, not gray, and larger subway tiles. Is anyone able to offer specific linked suggestions? What can I say, I’m getting sucked into the millennial gray trap! Lol

By the way, the weather has been awful here so I’m not able to add a current picture with sunlight, but we actually do get a fair amount. It’s only from one direction, however. Also I didn’t think of the shadows from the fridge and upper cabinets. That’s great insight and something we will have to work against. Here’s a listing picture to give you a better idea of what the lighting looks like in the summer. I will also update this thread with new pictures once the sun comes out again!

Thanks again, all! Your insights are invaluable to me! Making all of these decisions solo has been incredibly nerve wracking!

In small spaces like this running the countertop material as the backsplash makes a great statement.

Wow, absolutely stunning! We purchased the countertop material at a discount through a local stone yard but I feel pretty sure we could find more of the same if we decided to go this route. Thank you for sharing!

You don't have a lot of backsplash area, so you could splurge on a really interesting tile without breaking the bank.

Here are some ideas, the first is a white on white kitchen with a beautiful turquoise arabesque tile accented with a colorful rug:

Mediterranean Kitchen · More Info

Rancho Santa Fe, California · More Info

Dark and moody tile, but has a bit of sparkle:

2009 Southern Accents Showhome · More Info

Still neutral but a nice handmade tile with an interesting pattern:

KitchenLab · More Info

Green rectangles with a variegated finish:

Zinc Extractor in Villa Kitchen · More Info

Blue and white:

Misty Blue · More Info

Navy blue in a fishtail pattern:

Concord Avenue · More Info

Handmade/distressed field tile with a green and white pattern over the range:

French Provincial Style Backsplash · More Info

This red and white checkerboard is eyecatching to say the least!

Berkshire Country · More Info

Diana, those are spectacular! Thank you. You make a good point that we have a smaller space to work with. I particularly like the dark and moody sparkly and the green! Great idea to pull in pops of color with unique tile. We appreciate you.

Tile retailers you might look into are Fireclay Tile, Walker Zanger, Ann Sacks, Waterworks, Villa Lagoon, Tile Bar, Artistic Tile, Sonoma Tile, Pratt & Larson, Tabarka. They are fairly high end, but you'll find interesting and unique products that you can't get at the big box stores.

Awesome, the specific suggestions are a huge help! Can't tell you how many times I've been back and forth to Floor and Decor at this point and come back empty handed.

I love the idea of using the same quartz as a backspash. It’s calm, versatile for styling, and has no grout! It needn’t go all the way to the ceiling if it’s too costly. I wondered if quartz is safe to use behind a range, but got all kinds of conflicting answers on the internet. Here’s a photo where it’s clearly used, and three additional photos for possible heights. Although I couldn’t find a photo, a six inch backsplash as suggested above sounds handsome and affordable.

Absolutely love these pictures! The last one could’ve literally been on my Pinterest board. I had hoped to have “greige” cabinets in my kitchen but unfortunately our supplier only had white :( still have secret hopes of painting them one day. Thanks for these suggestions!

Another note re your quartz on the back splash - the time to consider that has passed. You would have had your same slab used and the veins would have lined up. Otherwise just looks like a mess with your particular quartz.

Oof - appreciate the practical feedback! We certainly don’t want even wonkier looking counters. Hadn’t considered adding a pendant in the middle of the recessed lights, we had that set up in our old place and it was lovely. Also thanks for the feedback regarding the warmth of the lights! Didn’t realize this would make it MORE dim!