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Interiors International, Inc. Put your back splash starting 2"-3" above the outlets on the sink wall. When you get to the corner go up to the bottom of that cabinet at the lest of the stove. Then finish that wall going up to the bottoms of the rest of the upper cabinets. You could do a frame of a accent tile above the stove.

Susan Jablon Mosaics Hi Jabelone!
It looks like your kitchen has a very cool and modern design. A neat idea would be to do a stainless steel backsplash in a non traditional shape behind the range that goes up to the upper cabinet, and for the rest choose a different tile that goes to the bottom of the upper cabinets on the wall with the range, and continues at that same height on the diagonal wall and the wall with the window. If you want to get really funky, you could take the tile to the ceiling on the walls without upper cabinets, but some people find that to be a bit overwhelming. I like the idea of using a 2inch square stainless steel mixed with a 1 inch square glass tile, same shape, different size. You could also do a really cool mosaic in a bright color. Good luck with you design, I'm sure no matter what you choose will look amazing!

olldcan Stainless steel penny rounds or back painted glass in the colour of your choice would be nice.
[houzz=.00SF Stainless Steel Penny Round Metal Mosaic Tile]
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mpoulsom If you can afford it, I would put tile all the way up the wall and incorporate floating shelves on each side of the sink window.

litzie132 You could turn that corner into an accent wall for the tile in your backsplash, if it was particularly nice tile (ie: apartamento residencial l vila olimpia)

Or you could run the backsplash all the way up the wall to be level with the hood, and maybe add a shelf or two to that corner (Rustic Modern). You could also put a few shelves in that corner, and run the backsplash up to the level of the bottom shelf, giving it a natural cutoff point. i've become a real fan of shelves in kitchens lately, they're really convenient.

Or, you could do something completely different and minimize the backsplash and instead have wallpaper (2010 Colorado Homes & Lifestyles "Home of the Year")

lefty47 HI -- Just use one beautiful medium to small size tile in a simple modern neutral color and do the whole wall , if you can afford it . Remember it will be there for a long time so you will want to love it and not have it look dated in a short time. Love the examples shown so far.

Norma Sassone 6 - 8 " backsplash in glass tile with cool wallpaper above it. 4 units of open shelving over the wallpaper.

r_tan I see your dilemna with the far left outlet location (left of the DW). From the photo, it seems like a full tile splash will bisect the outlet plate. Add any possible tile trim piece may make this will be an awkward installation. I would agree with your original design concept with a simple 4" splash with a full splash behind the range. With the contemporary look, a glass mosaic (with a glue to wall type installation) would be the biggest bang for your buck.

ent91 what about modular art tiles to create a feature wall?

Jabelone Wow, great responses and suggestions. The budget is okay but not unlimited. We are willing to do the whole wall in tile but then it would likely have to be a less expensive tile like subway tile. The kitchen is open concept so we might still have questions about where to start and stop. Never thought of wallpaper or modular tiles - might be interesting. In either case, would the tile/wallpaper go above the cabinets too? The ceiling is vaulted in wood and open to living/dining areas. There is a similar angled corner on the opposite side of the house with a woodstove in it visible from the kitchen.

Open shelving is a cool idea. I like how the shelves would provide a nice transition point to stop tile if we only went to the bottom of the cabinet height. It would either have to stop far short of the angled wall near the window or the shelf would have to be angled too (on the left window side) or the shelf would stick out in front of the window (know what I mean?).

r_tan is right on about the outlet plate being on the tile line too.

feeny Here's a similar wall where they have kept it bottom-of-the cabinet height going around a bare wall and window frame:

suzanlush Great ideas and I love the suggestion of modular tiles but only if it's a wall that doesn't need to be cleaned regularly. There are so many of these beautiful kitchens on this site that probably never get used other than heating up pre-packaged items, in which case this would be ok, but if there's a cook in this kitchen who actually sears steaks, pan fries, or simmers sauces...something that's easily maintained would be better.

Jabelone Here's a few examples of 4 inch backsplashes. Different styles of kitchen but would the same ideas work?

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[houzz=San Carlos Residence Two]
[houzz=America's Cup Kitchen]
[houzz=Custom Kitchen]

eagledzines Stainless steel tile under hood and from counter to bottom of each cabinet beside hood. This will tie in your hardware. 4" backsplash on the rest of the walls--either white or stainless. Espresso stained shelves to match your cabinetry on both sides of the sink to tie it together--not angled on the right, short enough to fit comfortably between the window and the cabinet to the right.

litzie132 You could go straight up to the window with the shelves like this one (so would need to be custom shelves angled as your corner is, if that makes sense): Downtown Mill Valley

Or you could do a kind of feature with the shelves, and have a few shelves that are either much narrower than the corner wall ( Leslieville Lofts - obviously picture kitchen materials not bedroom books!) or the shelves could be unaligned or different widths, like this Capital Hill Kitchen or Collector's Shelves (not those type of shelves...just the arrangement where they're uneven and different widths. Couldn't find an example in a kitchen.

Re wallpaper/tile above the cabinets line - I'd say wallpaper yes, up to the edge of the ceiling, tile no, up to the line of the cabinets. But I guess it would depend on the type of tile.

Kathryn Peltier Design You have gotten a lot of good ideas here. I just want to add that putting a 4" backsplash on - unless it's very unobtrusive - just creates a line above your counter, similar to the old preformed p.lam. counters used to do. Personally, I think it just clutters the space and in an accent color, would be the first thing your eye would go to (I don't like the little turquoise backsplash) Is the 4" based on the space between the countertop and window trim? If so, and to expand on that, why not start with the 4" band above the counter, do a 12" band of white subway tile above that, another row of 4"accent and then another row of 12". That will take you nominally 24" up, but the last row of white will be allowed to blend into the wall. I would take the tile all the way up to the ceiling on the angled wall. If you could change the dimensions to a 3"band of accent and a 9" band of subway (I think the most pleasing proportion is 3:1) it would then fit in right under your upper cabinets, assuming you have an 18" backsplash there. If you wanted to take it a step further, you could even have shallow shelves installed, the edges of which would continue the accent "bands"(i.e. they would be tiled on their edges). These could either go all the way across, part way, or be staggered.

Another concept would be very narrow stripes. I think the key, though, is to do something interesting on that angled wall - if you like this idea better, it could even become ALL accent tile with the bands flowing into it from both sides.

Natalie Hi---all the wayyyyy UP! Maybe some SS shelving???
Wonderful Kitchen...
Good Luck!
[houzz=jamesthomas, LLC][houzz=Backsplash detail]

Kathryn Peltier Design Here is a photo of the pattern I had in mind, only here they started with the subway tile.

Jack Mathew The cheapest way would be to tile and personally I think the color of the tile should be a neutral to balance out the kitchen , you have timber floors and timber trim around the window , you have the dark color on both the island and main cabinets so with the white on the island bench I can see you have the white benchtops but I think a white or neutral tile would complete the balance.If I had the budget I would use a off white glass splash back up to the range hood height , even perplex looks great and I think with the modern kitchen you have ( which looks great btw ) glass would be the icing on a already beautiful cake

ModCraft As it does look like you are aiming for a modern look, but mention your budget is not unlimited and you will mostly go with a subway tile- you might consider using dimensional tile in one spot such as the area above the stove to add extra interest and a spectacular look...in honor of reaching 1000 likes on Facebook, ModCraft tile is running a tile giveaway of 10 sq. ft of dimensional modern tile. Maybe you would be the lucky winner! http://mod-craft.com/

vtlady52 Love the ideas already shared. I am also curious as to the 4" idea you had. That sounds like a trim piece that is usually included with a counter top. I would not use that unless financially you have to.
Cover the wall with your tile to the bottom of the cabinets and cover all the space behind the stove. You can use an edging tile for a more finished look, if that is a concern.
The outlets are not an issue. If you are doing this yourself, ask the tile store to cut the tile for you. If a tradesperson is doing it, they will be able to cut that tile to fit. No biggie.
The corner is not an issue either. The tile edges that meet right in the corner may have to be beveled to fit properly. That may be where you would start the tiling. You might want to match the size of the tile to the width of the corner. So, if the corner is 30", you could use 3" wide tile (10 across) or 2" (15 across) or 5" (6 across) but would not be able to use 4" tile without it looking unfinished. Other than that, it would be fine.
With your kitchen (gorgeous, BTW) I would do stainless subway tile. It would be timeless (the subway tile itself) and modern (the stainless.) If you want something a bit more timeless, do white subway tile. That is beautiful, goes with any style and is very marketable if you sell your home.
I would stay with your neutrals. Color is nice but would look out of place in your kitchen. All you would see is the color and not the kitchen.
Please post pictures when done.

MG Mack I think red glass tiles would look stunning with the black cabinetry.

constancemary Right you are susanlush and feeny! A backsplash should be easy to clean. I love the floating shelf idea. Can you tile the surfaces under your island in the same tile...if so then pick a bright tile.

MG Mack I'm not impressed with the grey cabinetry but these are the tiles I'm referring to.

constancemary And paint out the kick board in the island black.

daniel calderon Sorry I'm off the topic but I would like to contact you to ask you something about your island. How can I contact you @Jabelone? Thanks.

angierollings How about glass painted with a couple of coats of paint on the back. Seen this done, very impressive and economical.

mpoulsom Jabelone, I am still in favor of the tile all the way up with floating shelves, but I found a pic of a kitchen that did it partially up with a shelf at the top of it. (I don't like the way this one is short and ends on either side, but you could do one long continuing shelf on either side of the window matching up to the bottom of your cabinets.) This is just to show you another option, if tiling all the way up seems to be too much for you personally.

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vtlady52 Angie,you are totally correct. I have seen this, too, and it is Amazing. It is wicked easy since it is a big piece of glass. You can paint the wall or the back of the glass. You can rent those glass suction cups to do it, too. That would take care of the corner, too. I believe that you would use clear silicon to seal the edges.
Well, I just goggled a back painted glass backsplash. OMG. Companies do it for you. (I do think u can do it urselves. Here is one site: http://www.backpaintedglass.com/showcase.php
NOT cheap...$19oo per sq' to $35oo per sq'. Whew.
Did anyone out there do it themselves? I was actually thinking of doing it myself in our kitchen.
It is such a great look.

Kathryn Peltier Design I redid our kitchen back in the early 90s. I had glass sandblasted with a vine/leaf pattern. That part wasn't cheap and the glass wasn't particularly either, but they had to cut around duplex outlets, switchplates, etc. I have no recollection of what it cost, and even if I did, I don;t know how it would translate to today's dollars. Ours is installed with mirror clips top and bottom which barely show, but for a modern kitchen, I would probably have holes drilled in each corner and install a st. st, bolt./rod with a decorative cap. I'm sure www.outwater.com has something that would work. I don't have a handy photo of my backsplash - you can just barely see it in this photo - but people always think it was painted behind when it is just the green cast of the glass. If you don't want the green cast, you have to ask for a special glass and I can't remember what it is called at the moment,

vtlady52 Kathryn, your kitchen is amazing. I really love the backsplash. Beautiful!

susanstein great kitchen. we did subway tile with dark gray grout that looks super...and reasonable

Kathryn Peltier Design @vtlady52 - thank you so much! We've enjoyed it for years. It was actually the cover and feature story in the 1995 BH&G Kitchen and Bath edition.

kitasei Kathryn - I think it is called iron glass.

Kathryn Peltier Design Yes, that's right! But, I think it is Low Iron Glass. Thank you.

newhouseforus I love the look of back painted glass. That's what I'd go with. It is easy to clean and lovely to look at.

Elise Moore Design @Katherine Peltier - the glass you are referring to is called Low Iron. It is more expensive than regular glass, but doesn't have that green cast to it.

sstribling Low iron glass looks wonderful sprayed black on the back/ bottom. Go with that. It is beautiful and so easy to maintain.

Leigh Maddox Interior Designer I agree dwith mpoulsom ... back-painted glass is chic, clean, and easy to fit into angles or corners.

vtlady52 Kathryn, I have looked to see if I could find the 1995 edition of BH&G magazine. I am emailing them. I want to see the rest of your kitchen.

Kathryn Peltier Design @vtlady52: LOL I don't know how successful you'll be! My printer/scanner died and I have a new one. If I get it set up, I'll scan the magazine article. Some of the specific shots of the room were also in Cottage Style (BH&G book) and a couple of other of their publications, Thanks for your interest :)

vtlady52 Awesome. I hope BH&G will have it and let me buy it. I will let you know.

Scott Design, Inc. Look into Lustrolite panels. They are used in vertical applications in bathrooms, showers, kitchens. They are lighter than glass and already come in black and other colors. You can cut it with typical woodworking tools which means you can shape it on the job and create something other than a lineal backsplash treatment. Saw it at a trade show.

gemskees For ease of cleaning, you could incorporate stainless steel sheeting just for above the stove where the most splatters and splashes happen, and then tile everywhere else.