Instead of patches of backsplash here and there, which will look skimpy .. skip it and paint the walls.

You NEED something to protect the walls behind a stove from greasy spatters. The rest is just decorative.

I think I would do the backsplash on the wall above the sink just along under the window stopping at the dishwasher. I can't see why you'd need to do the wall near the door. But it would add some detail and I splash at the sink, paint would get yucky for me. Is there enough granite to do to the left of the stove, or just directly behind it? Just curious.

I'm with lazygardens. Just skip it for now.

You don't need a backsplash. Because you have a high-backed range, the idea of an elaborate backsplash is moot anyway. You do need to keep the kitchen visually united so it is a single unit. Scrubbable paint in same color above and below cupboards will do this. I don't like the idea of only tiling the left of stove and the area by sink. The fewer ways you "cut up" the room to make sub-sections, the better. Just remember that you will have to repaint as a part of the maintenance of the kitchen when the surface of the paint has been worn away. This is a consequence of the scrubbing process. A textured wallpaper is also a viable option, but it may not be cheap. (We had a scrubbable faux rough linen wallpaper in old kitchen for 30+ years and I'd do it again gladly, even in the era of elaborate tiled backsplashes.)

You might consider integrating the parts of the room with something that runs horizontally around the entire room such as a narrow line of contrasting paint or moulding at ht of top of door or at soffit ht. or countertop ht but it's not necessary.

Is a backsplash necessary, other than at the range (heat) and perhaps the sink (water)? I see kitchens without backsplashes, it is a clean simple look. You might want a 2 or 3'' tile curb to prevent dishes etc from dinging the paint. If you want more decoration, look into painting techniques - stenciling, sponging, suedeing, striping, etc. I'd say you can get a more unique and striking look with creative painting than through the average tile backsplash.

Shelayne did a beautiful low bs with reasonably priced tiles. You may want to do a search for her pix on here (It is late and I am tired, lol).
I also think you could skip the bs if finances are that tight. It looks just fine to me as is. You can always add one later.
I have also seen people use decorative tin tiles or beadboard as an alternative. IKEA also has some reasonable bs options. You can see those online.
I'd hate to see you spend what you don't have, be stressed and feel guilty when you looked at your bs. Just enjoy what you have for now and keep it simple if you can.

I made my own tile out of concrete, then stained and sealed. Labor and time intensive, yes, but for very little money, I think I got a gorgeous result.

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close-up

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I used a combination. I laid down copper leaf on a primed 1x4 (raw lumber), then sealed with a heavy duty polyurethane. My walls were painted & then I did a geometric copper leaf design on top. Polyurethaned the wall. When that was dry, I siliconed in the coppered lumber. Cleans up great!

Behind my range is a piece of fired copper. We wanted E-Z to clean. We finished in 2005 & it's all holding up just wonderfully!

Here is a link that might be useful:

lazygardens and writersblock,

With my Mom's cooking (and mine too!) you're right....we NEED something behind the stove.
We used the stove for just a couple, maybe 3 days while there was only the paint on the wall behind it and wow.....just a few days and I was scrubbing the painted wall and then having to touch-up the painted wall because the paint hadn't cured enough and was coming off on the cloth I was using to scrub it!
I had to think quick, and that's why I used the remaining granite 12" x 12" tiles (what I used for my countertops) behind the stove.

My mom is 80+ and one of her loves is still being able to cook for her family. No way was I going to take that away from her after being without a kitchen for 9 months...thus, granite squares went up REALLY quickly, like in an hour. LOL

This past couple weeks all I have to do is reach back there with a damp cloth and wipe.....off come the sketti sauce splatters, the enchilada sauce splatters, the pancake mix splatters....easy peazy. :)

But the original tiles we purchased (the granite squares), the guy no longer carries them (they were a discontinue/old stock item) and since I wasn't able to find a perfect match to the granite tile, I opted for a different type of tile for the backsplash (not purchased yet) but one that I feel goes with the granite tiles.
It was just a matter of $$$ which meant I needed a good start/stopping point for picked-out backsplash tiles.

pondlily,
Unfortunately, I only have two pieces of granite left and looking for several weekends (both online and in person) haven't been able to match those two tiles....too much variation in shade.
When you said "Add some detail near the door" ...wow, that certainly would. Detail is what this kitchen is sorely lacking. lol
And I agree too.....there is a small painted area just behind the faucet at the sink, on the wall, that is lighter than the rest of the wall and I'm going to assume that's from the water splashing, etc. Although I've found myself wiping that area several times when I see water splashed there so between my wiping it dry and normal splashing (or more than normal splashing in our house) that painted area is already showing wear.

florantha,
You wrote "Cut up the room...." Yep, that's the phrase I was looking for when I wrote my OP.
I would like things to look somehow connected.
I just can't see 'connecting' those open pass-through walls in any way other than cutting up the backsplash...not having one continuous vision of backsplash seems odd to me but I was hoping I could somehow make it work.
Faux rough linen wallpaper....now THAT sounds not only functional for my areas but I love linen-looking anything!
Maybe a linen-look wallpaper with a protective poly coat over top?

johnliu,

You know, you just piqued my interest....painted, maybe faux something.
I've done a bit in my time.....I have faux cinder block walls in my den/family room (which is now my living room because parents have original living room as their bedroom) and I've washed those walls down many times over the last ten years and they don't show any wear.
Of course, the area behind the sink would get wet a lot more often than those faux cinder block walls, but a few more coats of a protective sealer and I bed it would work!
More options...that's why I love this forum!

dianalo,
I wasn't able to find a specific post by Shelayne on my search of this forum but the name did take me to some posts with incredible backsplashes. WOW....the creativity, the design, just beautiful, all of them!
One in particular.....rjr220....has a pass-through window with a different tile going up and around that window and beautifully executed!!!
Of course, I woudn't be able to do that because of the boxed in area over our window....water heater pipes/other plumbing, wiring) but it sure showed me it could have been done in my kitchen had I had the creativity and planning experience.
I needed that...thank you: "Enjoy what you have for now....".

punamytsike,
OMG! Is that ever striking! Love it!
Of course, it's my style had I had my full choice of what would go into my kitchen.
Amazing!
Time intensive as you say, but boy, I bet there is nobody else that has that same tile/shades/design and that's what I wanted in my kitchen...something unusual, different from the norm being as I couldn't have/afford the norm. lol
I've created faux Travertine border for our bathroom shower from inexpensive wood trim but never thought of using molds/actual cement.
Beautiful job, punamytsike!

andrea345 ,
OK, now THAT'S the unusual yet beautiful I was talking about....and you used "my" colors! LOL
Gads, I bet there wasn't a person who saw it for the first time who didn't have the jaw-drop reaction.
That is beautiful, just beautiful!!!
Yep, around my home, if I can't have the real thing, Heavy-Duty Poly is my bestest friend. :)

Wonderful words of advice from all of you and pictures worth a thousand words. Is it any wonder I am on this forum more than anywhere else on the net? Thank you all!

I just thought of something!

If I don't do a backsplash for now, or ever...what do I do with the somewhat sloppy edges of the countertop tile that meet the backsplash?

Since we planned for the backsplash, I didn't butt the countertop tiles up again the wall...there are varied gaps, various jagged spaces just where the tiles on counter meet the wall.

What do I do with those areas? Thin molding maybe?
This is the only 'neat' area where the countertop meets the backsplash area. The rest have large, jagged gaps. oopsy. :)

And this is the tiled area behind the stove that now has two stainless steel shelves for a couple large roasting pans and Dutch ovens.

A 2 to 3 inch high ''curb'' of your tile would be a good idea, to prevent things from gouging/wearing on the awesome paint treatment that you're going to do! Would also cover the counter-to-wall gaps.

Oops, I didn't see that you have only two pieces of the original tile left.

Well, you can use a solid color tile, cut to size, that coordinates with the planned paint and existing tile.

An idea I'd like to do sometime is to have a narrow shelf, about 2-3'' wide, on top of the curb. It would be a place to set ''stuff'' while leaving the whole counter depth free for the large flat things that need it - baking sheets, large platters, etc. If you groove the shelf, it could act as a picture rail. Admittedly the ''stuff'' would be in front of your paintwork.

I don't know if this helps, or is to your taste, but I unified a very chopped-up and busy kitchen (4 doorways!) by creating a faux 'wainscot' with my tile. It ends at the same height all the way around the room, and goes down to the floor anywhere there aren't cabinets. I finished it off with an ogee tile trim, but there are many options to choose from.

Oh PS: if you have 2 12x12 tiles left, would that give you enough in total length if you cut nice subtle 1" or 1.5" slices to cover the back edge of the countertop?

re wallpaper: get the scrubbable stuff. It lasted us for 30+ years, very well. It is a pain to fit it into irregular places, though, so either get a very patient installer OR use a no-match design.

Despite my interest in wallpaper, I would also second the idea of using paint and stencils or paint effects. This allows you to do creative things on the cheap.

Speaking of creative, punamytsike you are a wonder! What a great result. I bet visitors say that's the most remembered thing in your whole house.

There is a thread I had started last spring when I was bummed looking at high-end projects on the GW Kitchens forum. Surely there was someone with a different drummer or two--I was right and some of them made great posts and gave great ideas. You might want to look at it to get some ideas on an affordable scale. For example, here's a paint backsplash from that thread:
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Here's an idea for you:
How about a wooden moulding to use as a finish at the place where wall meets countertop, a backsplash-like camouflage for the irregular area, essentially a heavily-urethaned (for durability) dark-stained horizontal line to match your cabs? It could be elaborate 3-inch or so fancy moulding or simple as quarter-round trim available at any hardware store or HD. This would carry the dark of your cupboards upward and coordinate the two sides of the room and the uppers and lower sections, not cut up the spaces. You could also run a dark wood frame of moulding around the tiled area behind range to finish off that area. Comparatively affordable, very reversible, very DIY. I also prescribe framed art in matching dark stained frames to coordinate everything.

Here is a link that might be useful: Modest and Quirky thread

Oh, you guys are the best. Just the best!!!!

Mr. Amity asked that I save all the pics, the links, the responses so we can go over them together during our FOUR/4 day weekend...Yippeeee Skippeeee!

Yes, four days. Other than after his hospitalization, I can't remember when it was the last time we had more than the standard two-day weekend.
And coming at almost the end of the kitchen redo, this is really going to kick those final touch-ups into overdrive...I'm sooo excited!

Over fresh cuppas, I bet we will be here bright and early Friday Morning to go over all these posts, pics, links and options.

Wish I could give you all a real, honest to goodness hug in person!

I don't know if you've made a decision on your backsplash yet, but here's another thought--a faux tile mural. It's actually just a cut-up poster that lasted over 10 years:

Here's another option--faux tiles:

Beadboard can be a temporary solution (if not permanent). It is very affordable and looks great. Well, my own personal opinion anyways.

punamytsike & dian57 could we have some How To's?

Yes! I'd love to see a how-to! Or maybe references to where you found supplies?

I created a little how to. If yo have questions, please ask in that thread.
Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: How to ...

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, and for the tutorial!