Nope, I didn't do one either. Frankly, I couldn't think anymore, but I'm actually so happy with how simple it is. I'm a less is more kind of person too.

What I'm not happy about is how they made my cooktop cutout too wide and had to rip out the countertop and the first row of tile!

I've never seen any that appealed for me in MY kitchen. There are some really beautiful designs out there, and I think some folks have put some incredible thought and talent into the.

However, my visual clutter phobia (since I live it in) has me looking for something that doesn't catch my eye. I do love the white on white pattern above, and I love an interesting piece like the NYC bridge medallion! :)

I currently have drywall and am so glad to at least have that. Sometime? I'll even get it finished!

I don't plan on doing one - I think they are for the most part a thing of the past - but not a distant-enough past to look OK in my mid-1850's house.

If I liked the look I would install one regardless of its recent vogue-ishness, but I don't. To me they are a piece of the same kitchen genre as curliqued corbels, fat turned leg/pilasters on cabs and sanded-down "wear marks" around edges and knobs. In other words, a highly stylized, pseudo-furniture kind of kitchen decor, c 2001-2010/11.

If the above is your heart's desire, please don't take it personally. It's popular and you're happy.

But I plan on a plain background above my range.

L.

I did, but wish I hadn't. But-DH loves it, so there you go.

no special design above my range...

I am so glad you posted this. DH and I have been back and forth as to do it or not. We finally decided no. We have some white painted and some chestnut stained cabinets and marble counter tops. BS is crackle white, I think even though we do have the 36 inch stove it may be too much going on with another focal point. I think the nice range is enough of a show stopper and the fancy design although nice and different is not necessary. I scoured tons of Christopher Peacock and other $$$ kitchens and so many designers don't necessarily do it! Less is more for sure!

While our backsplash is not as plain as some, there is no extra feature behind the range.

I tend to think that the elaborate tableau/focal point/feature wall behind the range carbon stamps it to a certain time period. I don't think they were very common until say the 80's?

Not to say that there are not many lovely, nay even beautiful examples.

I think it boils down to the personal taste. I don't particularly care for decor that I think is self conscious or tries to hard. Even when using very high end materials, I like to use them in a way that seems simple, humble, and just incidentally gorgeous. (one hopes)

cbusmomof3 - what color tile is that? looks awesome not pure white but not

yellow cream.. any hint to where i can find it? more photos?

We didn't do one over our range:

I did insist the tile "had" to go up the ceiling over the range/hood though. Doing that, and the tile itself, were as special as we went for our backsplash.

No special designs over our range... Though I love the herringbone pattern in white if also doing a white subway backsplash. I feel that it breaks up the "whiteness" of the overall BS in a nice way. We ended up with a colored ceramic tile that I hope would go nicely with our super white without taking too much away from the countertops. I was also looking to inject some color into an otherwise grey and white palette without looking too feminine or masculine. Lastly, I searched for ceramic tiles with variation in color so that there would be very subtle drama in the background.

Can't wait to see what you end up doing with that gorgeous stone!!

Me neither...kept my 'racing stripe' going around the entire kitchen...

We were going to put a rectangle of simple mosaic above the range. When the time came to install it, we decided not to do it, and just go with the same tile all the way across. The mosaic was a simple basketweave with green dots, and I really like it. I tend to like more detail than less, but it just seemed when it came down to it, that it wasn't the right choice for the backsplash. Now to figure out somewhere to use that mosaic :)

Yet another white subway tile backsplash with nothing fancy above the range (and I thought I was being so original!) ;-)

Really, some of the designs are nice (I love that herringbone thing) but we move frequently and try to keep things pretty neutral for broad appeal. This house already had enough "weird" with the red cabinets, and I love the simplicity of the plain white subways, even if it's not the most exciting choice.

Another plain one:

We ran a blue pearl diamond all along the perimeter to tie it in with the countertop. No special design over the stove.

It's very interesting how some of the gorgeous tile themselves, become a focal point you notice only after seeing the big picture. You know? When details are able to begin to stand out?

Some of these tiles are works of art in themselves. I loved a crackle tile someone had in another thread. I wish I knew who, but I can tell you the close up had so much depth and character! Some of these here, with their gleams and glistens, are such "pieces" in their own right.

Gorgeous and subtle. Even the ones who injected a stripe or a diamond. Not overdone, just a pretty detail!

My DH really wants one so we will probably do it. Otherwise, I wouldn't.

we kept our simple too! We wanted the beauty of the glass tile to speak for itself.(maybe not the BEST picture, but the best one I have available at the moment)

If you don't want a special backsplash in that area, you can always do something temporary and easily changed at your whim like a nice photo/picture taped to the wall.

I like the backsplash tiles being simple. Well my kitchen is still underway and we still have time to pick our tiles.

cat_mom, I love your backsplash tiles. Can you tell what kind of tile is it? Where did you buy them?

research_queen, I suppose you got espresso cabinets. I got the same dark cabinets and your backsplash is very nice. Can you tell what kind of tile is it and where you bought them? Also what countertop is it? We are in the process of selecting granite and so confused. Also your island lights are gorgeous. where did u buy them?

Thanks Priya_Kitchen! Our backsplash tile came from Artistic Tile. It is their Stilato mosaic, in Wolfgang White. We purchased ours at their Paramus, NJ store.

FWIW, while searching for bathroom and other tile during the past 5 years (since completing our kitchen), we've come across other glass tile mosaics that appear to be quite similar to (if not the same as) ours.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wofgang White Stilato

I'm not planning one: we'll run the tile wall-to wall along that counter, and all the way to the top of the gap behind the range, but it's going to be plain cream subway.

There's already a lot going on in that area, and we don't need anything to POP, crackle or snap at me.

Thanks for your kind compliments,Priya_Kitchen! The cabinets are actually walnut with a darker stain, but i am not sure what it is called.
The backsplash is a glass mosaic called Vetro Lux in Bianco it has a shimmer to it, which I love. I cannot find a link for the one I bought, but here is a link for something that looks similar.
The perimeter countertops are bianco romano, and the island countertop is labradour antique (there are lots of blue flecks in it).
The island pendants are manufactured by zaneen lighting (zaneen.com) and they are twister suspension's.
Hope that helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: backsplash

No special design behind my cooktop but it is the only backsplash area that I have. Colors are off a little in the first picture. The second picture shows the true colors of the tile.
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

We got an uber-cool stone for our island and realized there would be just enough of it left over to be able to use the remnant as the range backsplash. It seemed like a great opportunity to be able to see the quartzite from the next room, which we wouldn't have been able to do as much if it were just the island top. Otherwise I would have preferred to have no backsplash at all, or just washable paint.

I kept mine plain:
Just after grouting the tile. Still needed to caulk the edges:

With stove and range hood in place:

Ours is a modern kitchen with no uppers save the OTR cabinet. And the big wall behind the range is the only wall in the entire kitchen. So I wanted a big, yet simple statement there.

We are doing a traditional "colonial" style kitchen and decided to keep things simple for the backsplash. Also, we splurged on the range and didn't want anything detracting from it.

We will have white (with a hint of gray) cabinets on the perimeter, a stone gray island and baroca soapstone counter tops (almost pure black with white veins). We then decided to mimic the soapstone (in reverse colours) on the backsplash with a calacatta extra marble slab. It's not installed as the kitchen is a huge work in progress but here is a picture of the slab:

Ah, Jakabedy, so it's YOUR backsplash photo that has been in my picture folder for months! Can you tell me what it is?

may flowers -

Then I'm glad I popped into this thread! We're two years past kitchen completion, so I don't visit here as much as I used to.

The tile is from Lunada Bay tile, Sumi-e stacked brick in the sendai color and the silk (frosted) finish. Mine came from Mosaic Tile Source back in the fall of 2009. But a quick search reveals they may be out of business. I did find the tile at the below supplier. Maybe you can contact them and figure out how to order it. It does look like there are many more blends to choose from than there were almost three years ago.

I will add that the install of these things was a bear. The tiles are face-mounted on paper, rather than back-mounted on a mesh like most mosaic. So you're sort of working blind and have to worry about getting the paper off at just the right time, and possibly picking out little bits of paper with tweezers (ask me how I know this). And you have to maintain the "stagger" between the tiles when you can't actually SEE under the paper. Finally, not all of the tiles may set just right, so you'll have a few popping out and you'll have to go back and reset those. But I still adore the tiles, I think they'll be fairly timeless in my particular installation, and they have held up beautifully.

Here is a link that might be useful: Source for Lunada Bay sumi-e tile

No design here...the tray is just there, on a plate stand.

Thanks, jakabedy. Our tile installer just suggested them because he did a gorgeous job with them. What a coincidence! I'm in Portland and Oregon Tile and Marble has them!

holden.sk, that is a beautiful slab, can't wait to see pictures.

caminnc,

Thank you for the kind comment! I can't wait to see the finished kitchen so I can actually take pictures - 6 months and counting.........sigh.

Looked better when it was finished...same stuff across entire super duper long cabinet run. :)

Not much space over my range, so no design.
{{!gwi}}

I was at a 20's neighborhood home show a couple weeks back. They did something similar to francoise47's. It was a much more rustic tile (not tumbled marble, more of a roughish sandstone textured feel/look. . .they did a rectangular design in two other sizes of tile (two inch square and a 3 X 6 that matched the rest of the backsplash (4x4). . .sort of a tone-on-tone look. . very understated, but finished off the area over the range very nicely. Didn't think to take a picture (:((.

We put a shallow niche behind our electric range, set into the stud wall. Today as I type, it is holding two containers of oil, salt & pepper grinder, container of garlic, container of soy sauce, and container of goop for cleaning the range top. This is a working kitchen so I need these items frequently and they're there, ready for me. Very glad to have it. Our niche is oak framed and has oak plywood across its back. (Matches woodwork in the room.) It runs from just below the curved range back to just behind the built-in range hood. The niche is bounded by upper cabinets flanking the range.

In our old kitchen, with a range with a flat surface on the top of the rangeback, we posed some of these same items right along the top edge of the range back, but they looked junky and did not stay put. This is a wider surface and it's more functional and less tacky.

A homeowner who dislikes having kitchen gear within sight would put a flower arrangement or some narrow opaque canisters or nicknacks or a piece of scrubbable art into the niche.

Fivefootzero, I like that buuny platter there. Nice idea to have a changeable focal point.

Enduring, your backsplash continues to be one of my favorites. And you did it yourself!

We plan to use ivory subway tiles on all our kitchen walls, including the wall behind our 43"-wide, ivory Cornufe range. Since we will not have any adjacent uppers in order to keep an open feel, I think mounting a stainless steel rack, with hooks, shelf etc., across the subways, and/or a wall medallion (we are considering Sonoma Tilemakers' Montrachet Clicquot, which is 18"x18") will add needed interest/color to the space (and in the case of the medallion, provide a tie-in to our exposed brick, kitchen chimney). Keeping the range splash looking classic is smart, but avoiding a clinical look also should be a concern.

We are trying to make backsplash decisions too. How about a stainless sheet? I have see some kitchens designed this way, cleanup should be easy.

The entire time I was planning our kitchen I'd planned on doing some sort of tile inset behind the range. I even thought about doing a niche. But once I picked my tile, it seemed like it, combined with the island stone and the pendants, was enough. I think adding more to the mix (even the herringbone pattern I'd originally planned) would have made it too busy. I'm very happy with the way it came out.

We are at the beginning of a remodel of a 1950 home so this site has quickly become like the big wing of a mother duck to me that I run to over and over when all these decisions make me dizzy. After looking at the brazillion photos of backsplashes, I agree with most of you about the simplicity being the better choice. But the reason i'm actually writing this first post here is just to say how refreshing it is to read your comments; after being on other blogs (like Apt. Therapy)where the people viciously attack each other, it is such a relief to get to know you all through your words that are complimentary and helpful at the same time! Classy is the word for you - thanks.

We went with the same backsplash throughout, but it is a bit busy:
{{!gwi}}From Kitchen Plans

Hi babs711, I love your tile. Will you please let me know the name/manufacturer? Thank you!

beautiful thread..thanks for bumping it up

I searched the name and finished kitchen. Settecento Gray/green

Mine is plain. Beveled white classic subway tile. It's the best I could do. I'm not very creative.