That's only a couple of dollars worth of tile. Even if you're talking $40 a square foot tile, that's under $150 to tile that space. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Shop around to find a cheaper tile if you need to, but don't skip tiling that area.

As usual, GreenDesigns nailed it!

Agree with GD. Create the BS look you want with lower cost tile. How much has you budgeted for the BS? What ideas do you have for it?

It is also perfectly OK to wait awhile before proceeding with the backsplash. Its okay to delay something for financial reasons. It's very often smart, and not done often enough IMO. If you look at the current thread started by Breezygirl you will see that her lovely kitchen has been ABB(All But Backsplash) for 18 months and she has lots of company, me for one!

Agree with the others. Take it all the way up and wait to install it if you need to save for it. Will be worth it.