You have a backsplash. Are you planning to remove the current 4" backsplash? What about a 4" x 6" subway tile?

You already have a backsplash - the countertop strip that goes up the wall about 4". You do not need tile in addition to that and if you wanted to add tile, you'd take those down.

Yes, remove the 4” backsplash. We considered subway tile but it will have a lot of grout.

I love the look of these rustic tiles with the clean lines of your home. It adds warmth and texture.

Should you opt for rustic tiles, this console under your TV would make the two rooms more cohesive.

Not a pro. I don't think large format tile to minimize grout will be a good move.

How much are you cleaning your walls? That's how much you need to worry about cleaning your backsplash. Likely, it's not that big of a deal anywhere other than your range & maybe around yoru sink. I wouldn't make design decisions about it based on that, personally. A decorative wall (which is what this is virtually everywhere except the range) is not the same as a shower or a floor.

If you want to keep things neutral get white or cloe subway tile. 2x10 maybe. Use a light gray grout and it won't ever look dirty.

I wouldn't go rustic. Everything else leans modern so adding a different style element will look off, IMO.

Otherwise if you want to do something fun you could do a blue tile to bring in some color.

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This site also has some great ideas. I love the floral one, but that's definitely a bold choice:

https://www.fireclaytile.com/blog/full/beautiful-blue-backsplash-kitchen-ideas

I would also swap your stools for something in camel leather for some warmth.

How often have you cleaned your “backsplash” walls in these past 2 years? That’s an answer to help you decide.

Considering the below ideas, if we do go with a either a blue tile or a rustic tile, this is a big kitchen. Would it be too much as there are cabinets on the right hand side and in the butler pantry as well. If we get these colored tiles there as well, will it become overwhelming?

You don't have to tile every backsplash. You could just do the sink wall and range wall but not the fridge wall.

Is it correct that you lean more contemporary modern and painted existing shaker cabinets to blend in with your taste? The cabinets are more traditional with shaker and crown. But you floors, stools, counters are really stark contemporary, cool. What role do you want a splash to play? Bring warmth and more details or keep things contemporary and blocked?

Yes, we lean more contemporary modern. We like the grey color of the cabinets but the builder had only more traditional style with the shaker and crown.

We can go either way - bring warmth OR keep things contemporary. It just needs to look nice and not look out of place.

We painted our kitchen cabinets Revere Pewter while waiting to redo our kitchen and they looked just like yours! Love that color on cabinets:) An oversized white subway with minimal grout lines would look great and be easy to clean.

The choice of backsplash is very subjective, so I don't think you are going to get what you want from this post! Some people love color and/or pattern and others don't.

I used this mosaic for my kitchen and it goes all the way around a large triple window with high ceilings. My cabinets are all white and my counters are Taj Mahal quartzite. Not everyone would make the same choice, but the space is large and a white subway tile would have been so boring! The white marble goes well with the white cabinets and the brown marble ties into my wood floors and stained ceiling beams.

Have you spent any time going through Houzz kitchen photos? There are probably tens of thousands and you'll spend days going through them! Set up some Ideabooks and when you see a backsplash that looks interesting save it to the Ideabook. Hopefully you will start to see a theme when you review your saved photos. You can then figure out what tile was used and get samples to try at home. Visit local independently owned tile stores for a bigger selection and more unique choices.

Obviously my theme was that I preferred the photos with a bolder pattern for the backsplash.

You also don't have to use the same tile everywhere. You could do something different in the microwave run or pantry.

You know you can use solid surface (e.g., Corian) as a backsplash. There would be no grout to clean, and seams would be invisible. You can also have it fabricated with a shaped profile, although that look is a little less modern. It sounds like this might be the right material for you. Several houzzers have used the material in kitchens with tile bacsplashes that have spots that wouldn’t take their tile well visually. Think solid colors.

The other option that comes to mind is sheet glass, very sleek, very modern, but you would need to find a specialty fabricator.