SFGate

Aja Mazin Does it glow in the dark?

Interiors International, Inc. It looks too busy together for a small space like a back splash. Find a tile the same size as the gold that is bright and then use the gold as the ascent strip. You can do 2 tiles wide in the gold. Here is a pic of one done in white and brushed aluminum.

piranha123 thank you! this is exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to hear :) Adding a few more pictures (the pic with cabinets is not my home but I have the same cabinets)

feeny Much, much too busy. I agree with others, go for a simpler backsplash, preferably without too much contrast in tile colors if it is a mosaic.

piranha123 Thank you. Between the gold mosaic and the diamond stone tile, which do you think looks better?

feeny Gold mosaic. I find the diamond stone tile a bit gaudy and dated looking. While I'm not a big fan of shiny tiles, what I like about the gold mosaic is that it is not high contrast. It presents a relatively unified field. If, however, you wanted to go with a very simple design in 3" or 4" square tiles, or something just a bit lighter with some (but not too much) variation in the color, that would look good too. But I'd go very simple, not that kind of harlequin pattern.

feeny An example of what I mean, using 3" (I think) square stone tiles:

eagledzines Definitely the small gold mosaic and that alone.

maryloumamye Personally I love black granite but I think it is a very heavy look with the darker cabinets. I think I would choose a countertop in the brown/beige tones pulling tones from your cabinet. Just seeing the cabinets, I thought if they were mine I would do a biscuit color subway tile with a three or four inch stripe using a glass mosaic tile in the brown/beige/biscuit tones to pick up on your cabinets. The glass tile will provide you with the "bling" or shine in a classy way.

I would put the stripe about one third of the way down from your upper cabinets. This way it won't be hidden by the items placed on your countertop. Well that's an idea for you. Good luck. :)

Ingrained woodworking Inc I like mosaic better than diamonds. Definitely not both. Don't forget to consider the location of splash outlets and switches. Might dictate the height of an accent band. I like the larger square tiles of similar colors to yours someone posted. Glow in the dark would be way cool. Maybe under can lighting is black light? Just kidding.

onthefence I prefer the mosaic. I love the example in 3" Feeny showed above.

I know that pictures here can be deceiving but it seems between the darkness of your countertop, the shade of your cabinets and the darkness of the mosaic the area will be really dark and heavy looking. A lighter stone I think might work better.

piranha123 thank you all, I am seriously considering changing my current thoughts. Looks like most of you like the mosaic and are concerned about the darkness that it may cause. I'm going tile shopping today to look for tiles based on your tips. In the meantime what do you guys think of this option? Similar to what Feeny showed but with darker shades. Ingrained woodworking, is this what you were describing?

abbshel I like this current choice so much better and think it will look great!

onthefence That's a really nice mosaic! I like it a lot better than the gold one.

One suggestion though. When you have an idea of the one you want, get a couple sheets and tape it to your wall to get a feel for it. Or see if you can find a photo of it shown as a backsplash. There is a backsplash tile I've wanted forever. I happened to see a photo here of an entire wall done in the tile and it's kind of overwhelming. I know now that whatever I do I'll want to see it in place and as a whole backsplash.

Aja Mazin I detest glass mosaic.

It will soon become as relevant as shag carpet.

piranha123 these aren't glass

wild development I definitely don't like the first one with the diamond squares as that's very dated. The mosaic is pretty but I would use it, or anything else as an accent sparingly not as an entire back splash....I had a client do their entire back splash in 1 x1 glass squares (against my advice) and it was way too busy and overwhelming. With accent material in back splashes, less IS more....Buy a sheet of whatever material you are looking at and make color copies of it and literally tape them up as a back splash so you can see how bold it will look....if you do a couple bands or inserts with a calmer field tile I think you will be happier long term....a back splash isn't something that you can easily change so make sure you pick something that you can live with and won't mind looking at first thing every morning.

CASTLE Design Studio LLC Hi P123, great that you want to use quality, real stone. First, I wonder about the existing materials (like flooring) and style of the home. Secondly, I wonder about lighting. Curious, D

onthefence piranha, I meant to ask you before - what kind of wood and what stain are your cabinets? I really like that color and grain.

piranha123 Thank you all of you for your suggestions and comments! Houzz is a great place to have a discussion on design choices. onthefence the its maple and the stain was called cognac - I can find more specifics if you'd like

onthefence piranha, thanks so much for the cabinet info! Just the fact that it's maple helps a lot. It may just be the way your photo reads on my monitor but I almost see a hint of gray which I really love. I've seen a few custom stained maple cabinets close to the shade of yours and it's really appealing to me.

It's funny - I was thinking of your backsplash just the other day. Did you end up going with the lighter shade of stone mosaic you showed above or did you do something else?

piranha123 thanks so much onthefence, yes I did :) here is a picture, let me know what you think: