No to gray. Your floor is beige /warm, and gray will clash. The floor appears to be in good condition -- no reason to go through the very difficult task of removing the tile.

This kitchen is fairly "busy with the contrast of the white cabinets + black handles /stove and dishwasher. So you need to keep your backsplash simple. White paint to match the cabinets is a good idea. If not white, what colors appear in the room to the left? If you have blue, for example, consider extending that blue into the kitchen.

At the same time, bring in a floor mat, dish towels and some artwork over the stove in COLOR. Do you have a light in that cut-out over the sink? A pendant in COLOR would work well here.

Also add some all-the-same baskets above the cabinets. This'll give you a little more storage, and it'll bring in something soft /organic.

I like Mrs Pete's idea of bringing in some color. Is the floor in good condition? Because it looks fine with your cabinets and counters, at least on my monitor.

Take a peek at a tile site with a visualizer. You can upload your picture to see an idea of how something might look. Then order samples - more than a few of each tile to account for variation. (Also to Mrs Pete's observation about things being busy, I'd look for tiles with low color variation, like V1 or V2 on the scale of V1-V4.)

Here are some color ideas to see if you like the idea of color. These are from Tilebar. I looked for warm colors since your other elements look warm (to me.)

Los Lunas Green

Kalay

Los Lunas Blue

I like this mix of neutral tones in your kitchen. I found this one at Tilebar.com

Paint it as close a match as possible to the countertop color.

work w the tall doors.....you need something right at that eye level......[backsplash area ] to balance it out..... as well the floor tile being on the diagonal.....Id take something like this w a geometric pattern that melds things . it looks good .. you have space to warrant some detail yet its not going to overwhelm if you go w a pattern. I dont think your kitchen is busy at all..... note the blend of tones of these samples...keeps it light but a little more going on than just the white and cream counter and floor you have. bring in a bunch of tile samples from whatever tile store you have. Youll find the right one. you can do more than just paint. If you bring in a light fixture you have choice of metals to work w these kinds of tones too.

Athena Gold Geometrica 12X12 Honed Marble Mosaic, (4x4 or 6x6) Sample · More Info

Milano Silver Pattern Stone Metal Mosaic, 10 Sheets · More Info

Thank you for suggestions. As I mentioned white cabinets with black hardware white speckled countertops (white with very little gray and silver confetti) floors are typical Florida ceramic tiles (taupe sand color and cream). They are in excellent shape. I put two pendant lights black and simple over the breakfast bar. I tried attaching a better photo but had a little difficulty removing so i will try again. I like the tile suggestions from above. Wall color can also change from the taupe here are some additional photos that might be a little clearer. Sorry my vase is usually on table