I would wait I til the cabinets and granite are installed. I am at this point already I have been carrying around a piece of granite and a cabinet sample. I can't believe what a difference it makes when you actually put up the piece of tile where it will be. Some that went well with the small pieces I ended up not liking. Good luck, I think picking the backsplash is the hardest

If you feel really comfortable and have too much time before cabs and counters are in, then go for it. I wanted to wait myself. It was one thing to carry around a 12"x12" piece of marble and a cab paint swatch, but another thing entirely to see 2 full slabs installed in a room full of cabs in my actual lighting. I'm glad I waited.

Most people on this forum seem to wait until cabinets and countertops are installed. I guess it might somewhat depend on what your granite choice is and the size of your samples. I had a good size sample of a granite I liked and good size sample of the cabinet wood too. I knew I wanted a mosaic mix of at least stone and glass. I only went to one tile store and only brought home one sample because I knew as soon as I saw it it was what I wanted. It had glass, stone and stainless in the mix. I decided on the granite and tile that day. I put the granite on hold the next day. And I purchased the tile before the kitchen was even started because I didn't want to find out later that it wasn't available. So not waiting can work too.
Just for the heck of it here is a picture of the tile I fell in love with and my granite sample
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

I'd wait if I were you. I carried around a sample of my granite, cabinets and the "perfect" backsplash tile for weeks. The tile was absolutely perfect and I'm so glad I got really sick for a week and didn't get a chance to order it. Once the granite was in, the tile looked very different and I hated it. But then my granite is very busy and very strong. If you have something with little color variation, you're probably not taking as big a chance ordering before the counters are in. But I've seen several posts here from people who hated their backsplash so I'd much rather err on the side of caution.

You want wait until the granite is in and you can look at it in the light in your kitchen. What you, think may go with a small sample may look alot different when you put it, by your whole counter.

I'm waiting until the granite is in. It's strong, and I want to see cabinets and granite in place before committing to the backsplash. We also have a hood vent that is glass and stainless, and my contractor is going to install that once the granite is in so we can better picture the space as we make our BS decision. Then he'll pull down the vent if necessary to install the BS. Unless there is some time factor driving you to make the decision before the granite is in, I don't see any reason not to wait. Though you certainly can drive yourself crazy looking at all the possibilities now!

I would wait. Everything looks different installed in the room with the different lighting. Even our paint on the walls looked different after our granite was installed. Now we want to change it.

I waited and still figuring it out.

And here I'm thinking of choosing my backsplash first, counter second...but then...I'm planning on doing a very simple counter. Either black granite or black ceaser/silestone. I think...or even black laminate if the backsplash costs too much. ;^)

Speaking of backsplashes....can anyone help me id this one?

{{!gwi}}

Source:

As best I've been able to research, it's from the March issue of Sunset Magazine, 2007. I will email Sunset on Monday. I have a FEELING that it's very expensive handmade tile...but it's almost exactly what I want.

Waiting is a mistake, if you mean wait to start tile shopping. We get loads of posts from people who get their granite installed and suddenly can't find anything that goes with it.

Start shopping and collecting samples now, narrow your choices down to a few, and then wait for the counters to make the final selection. But don't blow off shopping for it; start now.

It should be in in a matter of weeks. My goal is before July 4 for granite install. I have limited it to Daltile since I can get materials at cost and they have a lovely selection. I may grab sanjuangirl and head over there next week since it is my last week before kids are out of school:-)

I made my decision after cabs and counter were done. Once they were in, what I'd thought I wanted earlier was off the table. The look of my kitchen changed so much that I needed to regroup. I ended up with a safe, neutral subway. If I had it to do over, I would have thought more about the backsplash earlier on and it would have influenced my counter choice. It's not as simple as what lipstick/earrings shall I wear today? Foot-square samples of cabinet and counter don't have the same impact as an entire kitchen of the material.

I'd still wait to commit, but I'd throw it into the mix from the very beginning.

mjsee, maybe these guys can help

Here is a link that might be useful: Bathroom for less

I vote with the wait until your granite is in. Although I think it's fine to have an idea of what you want for your BS and just validate it once your granite is installed. Send me an email and we can check out Daltile together!

Great idea to try to go tile shopping before the kids get out of school. Taking kids, at least my kids, to tile stores isn't fun. For them or for you. That's one of the reasons I still don't have a bs!

Mjsee--choosing your tile first and working from that is a fine way to go, especially if you fall in love with a tile and want a very consistent counter material. Then you won't end up like so many of us posting about our search struggles.

I will caution you to be careful with Daltile since I had a very recent, very bad experience. Our tile guy bought what we requested and many things were not in stock. Very long story short, most of it came in little by little over the next few months. After 2.5 or 3 months the master bath floor was still not in (they missed two different dates on this one) and it wasn't going to be in for two more months. Everything else was already installed and designed around this floor and I had to pick something else. Just make sure they actually have it and don't trust any future dates they give you because they are just guesses and you may never get it. Oh, the customer service can't be considered bad since it is completely non existent.

tulip-thanks for the heads up with Daltile. Curious if you are local to showrooms/yards or if you are sourcing from out of state, etc? I'm about 5 miles from the tile showroom and slab yard, so maybe I'll be able to get a better idea of what they actually have available before I order it.