I love it! You have to be soooo proud as you made a great decision and did it yourself and it looks professional!!!

to do it right, add another cabinet and or just end it with the counter. Or go with a short splash 6"

Great job Kathleen!!

Great job! It turned out beautifully, enjoy your new kitchen!

Congrats Kathleen, you did a great job. So many opinions... so little life. I believe you followed a good advice, bravo Skippack.

I would add either an open-ended bookshelf like others have suggested, or a couple open vertical plate racks (I hope that makes sense, since I don't know what they are called!) to keep plates, platters, serving trays and such close to where you will be sitting to eat, then the edge will line up with the counter. Just a thought...btw, I LOVE your wall color! What is the brand&name?

like this http://img.ehowcdn.com/615x200/ehow/images/a05/7p/65/build-plate-rack-cabinet-800x800.jpg

It looks great, I'm so impressed that you made up your mind in an instant and then just did it. Wonderful job.

I initially thought tile should end at cabinet edge, but I love the way this turned out! Great idea and execution. Beautiful kitchen!!

Great decision ! we had the very same issue and decided to go to end of counter as well - we also purchased floating corner shelves just like uniquelyyom suggested and they will definitely make it look more symmetrical !

It looks great! I like how you matched the other side above the sink.

You did a great job, I would have stopped the tile in the same place. I always think it looks funny when the backplash stops before the counter does, to me they should both stop at the same spot. The suggestion to end it at the same height as the hood worked out really well too.

Thank you! I really appreciate the positive feedback! I have ordered bamboo shades to go in the window and will be adding a few small plants on the window sill, and thinking of more ways to add warmth to the kitchen.

I love all the floating shelf ideas, and I actually became obsessed with this couple's kitchen from a blog post they did on DIY floating shelves. So this is where my kitchen design idea came from:

http://7thhouseontheleft.com/2012/05/semi-diy-floating-shelves/#.VdSIaRNViko

I haven't decided if I'll add any of those shelves yet or not, because I'm liking the minimalist look, but it does add a homey feeling to the kitchen.

Rebecca, you won't believe how bland the paint name is, just Universal Gray, Behr brand from Home Depot! I think I brought home every single swatch of gray they and Lowe's had to offer, and after narrowing them down, this was the perfect mix of not too cream or brown and not too blue or purple.

Again, thank you to everyone who took time to comment and help me solve this!

Why do a backsplash at all? Does anyone really splash stuff on the wall in this area? Can't the odd splash just be wiped off? I like the clean look you have now. At most, I'd use a narrow piece of something like crown molding or trim in wood or tile, just to make a nod to a so-called "finished" look where the the two surfaces meet. Live with it for a while and see how you like it.

another thought...use cardboard to make several variations on the shapes suggested for a titled backsplash. make the models large enough to fit the entire area in question. Even paint the cardboard to represent the color of tile. You'll know what you like when you see it. Obey your instincts.

ten, if you read all the posts, the job is done - see what a great job she did.

It is beautiful! I think you chose the best option. I don't know why this is showing up on the email feed....you finished the job already and not all commenters are reading the thread in its entirety. Maybe you could edit the OP and add your after pics there too?

Nice job and enjoy your kitchen. I like to see what people can do on their own.......

I agree with "Woodshop" and "Jonathan"...tile to the end of the lower cabinet and up to the bottom of top cabinet. Put something (chalk board, art work, wine rack) in the empty space above the tile and next to the upper cabinet.

the work was done by monday morning, if you scroll up you can see a pic.

Gargh, the job is done, people!

I think ending the tile at the end of the cabinets would look best! Love subway tiles, good choice!

Trish, if you take a few minutes and read the posts, the job has been completed.

I recently had the same dilemma and our contractor suggested taking the tile all the way to the top. Without knowing any better or what is right or wrong I agreed and this is how it came out. It was the money shot! This is an open living concept so the look might also depend on how much space you have.

Carol, what's the purpose? At this point the job is done, I love it and I appreciate the positive feedback I've received from others. Your opinion would have been welcome from the beginning and could've been taken into consideration, but comments like that at this point are not helpful.

Edge of the cabinet of course!

I think it might be polite if posters read the posts instead of jumping in when the project is done.

My wife collects teapots so I put in cabinets with glass shelves and glass doors with a light in the top to display her collection. Perhaps you have something to display

zembar - the job is done -

job is done, job is done, job is done, Suggestions after the fact are not helpful.

Not a suggestion just wanted to say I'm new to houzz and was looking and wanted to give you thumbs up it looks amazing!!!

actually i am in the same dilemma and appreciate the additional suggestions. I do love what you did, but I have about twice the space to "fill or not fill"

Hi Sdevine! I’m the original poster, and I love that every once in a while I still get some comments on this post! If you look at all the posts you can see what I ended up doing, as well as a lot of great ideas from the community.
I lived in the unit for about a year, and now it’s a rental. If I could do it over again, I think I would still end the tile at the end of the countertop (as I did), but only take it up to the bottom of the cabinets and add open shelving above it. Also, I’d add open shelving between the cabinets and the window, on the other side. I can still do this in the future when my next renter moves out and I think it will update the space bit.
Although you haven’t shown a picture of your space, long open shelves would probably look great. Minimalism is in! Here are some open shelving inspiration pics....