Choosing the backsplash is one of the hardest parts of kitchen renovation. So the smaller granite piece is your countertop? and the larger piece behind it is the floor? or is that a typo in your post? I like the hardware (looks like mine, perhaps that's why duh :)) Do you like subway tile or something a little more interesting? It's really a matter of what you like and what would look nice with your countertop.

Bottom is floor tile and small piece is granite countertop. Since kitchen elements are simple I want to play with wall paint color and backsplash. It's not visible on my picture but countertop details are grey, brown and rust

option 1 or 2?

Subway tile with a gray grout for sure! It would fit the era of your floor and wouldn't be busy with your granite.

not sure I can really offer an opinion..i chose large pieces of tile for my backsplash so I wouldn't be counting tiles every day :) and I wanted my kitchen to be peaceful since it's small and I thought I would bring in the color so I could change it whenever it wanted.
I kind of like the option on the left though, but it's really up to you and what kind of look you want for your kitchen.

Black subway. With black pulls.

We did the backsplash in the same material (silestone in our case) as the counters and we LOVE it. Clean and simple, no fighting between patterns or colors....

I have used mirror, not tiles but full pieces custom fit. I love it! It is easy to clean with no grout issues and reflects the sparkle of the kitchen. Of course when the kitchen is a mess, it reflects that too!

I like the feel of what you've picked Vera, but may look busy to use the small tiles with your granite. What about something like this? I love the look of travertine... http://ceramictec.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/a1-tumbled-travertine-subway-offset-creme-2x4-kitchen-backsplash-lutz-tampa-brandon-bradenton-weslet-chapel-palm-harbor-largo-new-port-richey-florida-install-installation.jpg

Thought I would share a few as I have similar finishes...I'm struggling also!

I have the same granite and got overwhelmed with the busy-ness of it so opted for a bead board backsplash matching the cabinets for the time being. So far, so good :-)

I like idea of using Travertine

That's what I like about the mirror. My counter is solid black. Cabinets are high gloss Nef rosewood. All together it is calming and easy to spot where things including splashes and crumbs are so that it does not add to the chaos of a busy kitchen.

Info mom could you post a picture? I would like to see it!

*indomom--sorry auto-correct!

Marble would be beautiful in a subway pattern .... Or bright white beveled tile.

what about glass subway tile in a color such as green or blue? The translucency of glass would minimize the impact but would be a quite way to introduce some color to the space.

jleigh66, I'll post a picture this week-end. It's in our mountain house :-)

I'd use a metallic tile before using mirror (Sorry elaynemt) but the subway tile in gray sounds perfect. I love all of your choices so far. You have great taste!

Hi,
We always put a quick note to verify our experience: Brigitte and I have consistently designed between 70-90 kitchens/year for over 34 years. We've literally designed thousands of kitchens. We also design/build full structural including below-grade foundation plans.
Anyway, we have a whole "board" dedicated to backsplashes on our Pinterest page. It's at http://www.pinterest.com/windycityjohn/kitchen-backsplashes/. Along with that, take a peek at our Houzz page. We have numerous kitchens we've done with your cabinetry finish. Hope this helps a bit.

The backsplash is the one thing that can wait. So long as the sheetrock is painted and protected (and you CAN tile over painted sheetrock), you're good to go. Do the rest of the kitchen, and once it's all together, then maybe you can get a better idea of what you want to do with the backsplash. Also, if you wait a bit, you might allow your wallet to "heal" a bit, so you don't have to cut corners, and you can do what you really want to do, instead of what you can afford. A lot of what I do is new construction, and I've had customers go as long as two or three years before coming back to me to do the backsplash. It's not a problem.

For jleigh66: Bead board backsplash matching cabinets

Deep charcoal penny tiles with dark grout.

Countertop installed today

I like the idea of gray or taupe subway tile, depending on which works best with the granite and floor tile.
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Nice kitchen, by the way!

Great kitchen, love the fridge. If you go gray with the backsplash, consider painting the lit cabinet back wall grey too. You must be happy with the way the counters turned out!

I like your comment mathcate travertine creme subway tiles. I'm not a big fan of gray glossy option. My preference is more rustic, natural stone, earthy colors. I just found pictures below online

Very happy with everything so far, just need final touch

veracv - I like your first picture just above but I think the second one clashes terribly with its countertop. I think you can do something like the first picture but please be very picky and very certain the colors work well. You don't want the backsplash to fight with the countertop. I'd hate to see your great kitchen get messed up with too busy of a backsplash. Here is a helpful backsplash article.
http://www.mariakillam.com/which-backsplash-tile-goes-with-granite/