go for the gray tiles. it will make the kitchen serene and sophisticated. the other tiles are a very specific style that you'll be tired of in a few years

What a beautiful kitchen! I think the gray would allow you to have a more neutral pallet, then you can bring in pops of color with your wall paint, or accessories. It would allow you to also have the option to change your accent colors a bit easier than the patterned tile. You could also look into mixing tiles, the gray subway tile with a patterned tile section over the range possibly.

I would choose a high quality subway tile (beveled edges-gloss) in a color that matches the cabinets to keep the flow of color easy on the eye. Your range and island are the real eye catchers and a busy or colorful tile will take away from the gorgeous cabinets and design. Designers are keeping the area behind the range plain.....all of those box and arc shaped designs were distracting and were often out of proportion....Use accessories for color. Lots of magazines show this newer look....Less is more!

Thanks so much for the comments!

go for the subway tile--- timeless!

I like the simpler tile better. There will always be things on the counters (dishes, mail, backpacks, etc...) so the cleaner the background, the less messy the overall effect.

what is the countertop on the island?

The counter is a quartzite called "white macauba". It was hard to find but our slab yard found it in Brazil. It doesn't stain or scratch like carrera, but the color is a little different. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have more questions or want to see more pics.

I actually ordered that same quartzite. I'm in the middle of my kitchen remodel and the quartzite is going to be installed in a cople of weeks. It really varies quite a bit, mine has more movement in the gray lines while your is more linear. I have an exhaust over the range that is covered in plaster with a strip of green and yellow tile similar to the Mexican tile that you had as an option. I'm in the middle of selecting my backsplash too and leaning towards a white or off white subway tile backsplash along with the same tile but smaller as a herringbone framed out above the range. Not sure if that will be too busy or not. I like the idea of your gray subway tile best among your options.

What range hood is that?

I'm actually not sure, it was here when I bought the house about 4-5 years ago. I'm pretty much designing the kitchen around that and I'm only keeping the two upper cabinets, lower cabinets and hood with tile, everything else will be removed. I can't seem to upload a photo of it on my iPad (?). If I can, I'll start a new thread, I need advice on where to stop the backsplash tile!

I'm not sure if lauriebtown is referring to another picture, but the hood in my kitchen is a Wolf. It works really well and goes with any range since it doesn't have any visible markings on the front. Hope that helps and sorry if you were referring to another hood :)