Where's the sink?

Have you brought home any samples, as that’s the easiest way to decide. Given the dark cabinets, counter and flooring, I’d opt for a lighter shade that complemented the wall color for a light, seamless effect. If interested, changing the hardware would be nice and you can buy in bulk at many hardware stores and also on Anazon.

As you can see bad choices of samples, & the one we started applying would look great in bath. Was going to change hardware to black but really like your picture. Changing sink also. This kitchen is dated & I'm having a hard time with settling down on tile.

a fresh coat of paint to lighten up the whole space.

I like a stacked pattern for a small space.

Black tiles, or preferably, if you can find it, do the backsplash in the counter top.

Seamless look for a small area.

Wall color will make a big difference in the scheme of black and natural wood. Been around for a long time, and it still is a neutral which can't be beat. B.M. Revere Pewter:

Notice in this inspiration photo how art is framed in the wood tone. I think accents like this would really help make the kitchen look updated.

you really don't need tile on the end of the sink wall, just the back wall.

I agree - the tile samples that you have are probably not the best for your kitchen.

First - faux marble tiles are used a lot in bathrooms - that's why it's looking/feeling like bathroom tile. I'd use a real marble mosaic tile before installing any of the selections that you have on your countertop.

The mosaic sample that you do have looks like a faux multi color slate tile. I had a 4" square slate (turned so it looked like a diamond shape) + outlined with some slate mosaics installed for a backsplash back in 2006. It looked like this:

I also had black granite countertops + stained wood cabinets. I think adding a faux (or real for that matter) slate tile would be a mistake. It would cause your kitchen to look even more dated.

If the countertops below were black, this backsplash (Bedrosian Cloe White) would still look nice - however, I am not sure if there are other colors in your black granite that would cause an issue with this tile.

Kylie M Interiors suggested this paint color + backsplash for updating stained wood cabinets + black granite countertops:

Here is an example of a kitchen that she helped the owner update:

If plain subway tile (3x6) is too boring for you, there are different sizes + install patterns you could use (although, I wouldn't use a dark grout).

You could find a black tile that looks nice with your granite (not plain solid black - this tile below looks like a marble to me - you wouldn't have to use marble) - but I would do something similar to below - only use it part way up the backsplash + add a small shelf above it. You don't need to add bead board - it could just be painted drywall above = less busy).

You could also paint the shelf the same color as used on the wall instead of trying to match your stain (or instead of a shelf, you could simply add a painted trim piece between the tile and the painted drywall. If the backsplash covered the entire area between the countertop and the cabinets, I think it would look more like a black hole in your kitchen.

You could also use different shaped white tile (instead of rectangular) for your backsplash also - or a patterned tile with black and white.

A green tile may work (doesn't have to be in a busy shape like in the photo - I just grabbed one with a green tile) - again, using an actual color for your backsplash depends on whether your granite has colors in it - and exactly what colors those are.

I think the counters are quartz, which would be fine for a backsplash except behind the range.

I’m guessing a 4” square tile will fit pretty well behind your sink, but if it doesn’t, you can use a subway tile aligned vertically there. This is 4” square tile in Ivory by Fireclay Tile. You can find much less expensive 4” tiles in Daltile Colorwave that you can buy at a big box store. Daltile is excellent quality tile and it has trim pieces and bullnose tiles should you need them.

I would go a solid surface, cleaning greasy grout is terrible. Even if it’s just behind range. They make all kinds of tempered glass check Amazon, or sometimes you can get remnants of granite, quartz etc.

When counters are light stone I am all for back splash same same seamless. You have a lot of dark going on. I would need to lighten things up. I'm not a fan of busy these days. Instead of black how about a stone that's lighter solid piece for a seamless look.

Thank you to everyone for so many helpful suggestions. We ended up going with an updated subway light tile from Aggranite.

Can you post photos of the finished installation?