Don't have any pictures yet since my project only went out for bid last week but I see that your kitchem and mine are simular. Both are Brookhaven cabinets. Mine will be five piece Shaker style doors, and slab draws. The wood is cherry. My backsplash will be a simple white subway tile. I felt that using a beveled tile would be too busy. Behind the the range will be a SS panel. SS should be easier too clean than grout.

If you want the island and soapstone to be the focal point, then don't draw the eye to the backsplash. Keep it simple.

Bill

Bill - It hadn't occurred to me that soapstone would make a good backsplash...love that idea. I'll search for examples on line.
Our cabinets will be the Edgemont style and the wood is Maple. What other cabinets did you consider? We looked seriously at Grabill but I couldn't justify the cost with every other thing that seems to be creeping up past budget limits.
I should know the answer to this, but what are slab drawers? I have research overload and feel I haven't paid as close attention to the cabinet details as I should.

Hi Secondhalf, I think that Bill may have meant stainless steel (ss) backsplash?
But for a soapstone backsplash inspiration picture, this is my favorite:
{{!gwi}}

I have Antique white by Brookhaven. I also have a white subway backsplash. Have you seen my kitchen?

Here is a link that might be useful: My finished pics

No good pics, but my cabinets are ivory white and I used Horus Tiffany crackle subways in their creamy color. I am very happy with it--goes perfectly with the cabinets.

Brianadarnell - no, I hadn't seen your kitchen, but thank you so much for directing me to the pics...I love, love, love that soft antique and several people had been trying to tell me not to go with it. I was ignoring them, but now I have even more reason not to doubt my instincts. Gorgeous.
Francoise47 - thanks for the clarification...I'm just now getting used to all the acronyms. But that soapstone is wonderful. I might just consider it and be glad for my mistake!!

Like you, I wanted our granite to be the focal point instead of the backsplash competing with it, so we went with subway tile. We switched to 6x6 squares with a border over the range and sink for interest.

I have white subways and a herringbone area behind the range.

My cabinets are BM Simply White with a white bevelled subway 4"x8" with a liner of glass subways 1"x3". Granite is gray, black and white, oak on the island.

I have soapstone counters and creamy white subway tiles and soft white cabinets. Grazia Rixi, mandorla color. They are crackled. Its sort of a chameleon color that looks diferent in different spaces. I was doubtful when I saw it in the store, but it worked in my kitchen. Im sorry I dont have pics to show you, but you can probably find pics on garden web or online. It will really be a personal thing, depending on cabinet shade and lighting. It took me a while to find the right shade. I also did a herringbone pattern behind the range and love it. Its still simple enough, but adds some interest.
Also, I would not do soapstone behind the range, grease spots will be very obvious, and as much as I love soapstone, I think it would be too much maintenance behind the range.
You said you are doing a black and white granite on the island? Did you pick it out yet? I found it very hard to find shades that blended well. Creamy cabinets, creamy backsplash, soapstone and you are adding white to that mix? It may work, but it may not. Good luck!

Our previous kitchen was white with absolute black granite and creamy subway backsplash. Here's a pic of how it looks closer up and then a bit farther away. It definitely blends to the background and is the right choice when you want the granite to shine.

secondhalf, my kitchen is small and G-shaped, so it's difficult to get a very panoramic shot. My cabinets are BM Cloud White and subways are Sonoma creamy crackle. Side by side the tiles are darker, but in reality they conspire to look the same. I had wanted a darker, more gold/yellow tile for a bit of contrast, but the GW posters talked me out of it. I still wonder if a different tile would have been better, but if you're after calm and non-diva, this color combination is for you. Crackle is more subtle in large amounts. In fact, I have to get pretty close to even see the crackles, however, I think it gives the tile a little more life to it.

My cabinets are BM Canvas, BS is Jeffery Court Pearl White beveled subway. Seeing other BS is very helpful, I decided on mine after seeing petra66.

We used Sonoma Tile: market series, Ashbury Series in Mojave with bead liner and Tumbled Honey Onyx:

Hi ilene-84, what color granite countertops did you put in your kitchen?

taggie- do you recall the name/brand/color of the tile you used?

ilene-84- what did you use to terminate the backsplash? I did not see any matching bull nose pieces for this particular tile at home depot.

Thanks!

Hi Secondhalf,

We all but finished our kitchen several years ago, with great help from this forum. We have soapstone perimeter counters and an ivory subway tile backsplash. I still love the ivory with the black as a less stark option to pure white. I never did post photos of our final renovation, but I thought you might like to see some photos we posted on our blog several years ago.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tile Backsplash Update

Here is a photo of our kitchen under construction. While the backsplash is not exactly creamy, it is available in that color and I love the texture, which has a lot of definition. I believe it is H-line ceramics. I paired it with a soapstone like granite.