Thanks!!! That looks lovely...!! Unfortunately the white counter wont work for the kitchen im planning - abundant turmeric in Indian cooking precludes any soft colour.. Went out today and got myself a black countertop with white veins (I HATE granite), and am now planning white shutters to go with it instead of the grey... Any other thoughts? Am not mulling over the backsplash...

Thanks! I was also leaning to leaving the short wall alone but wanted some outside advice :) appreciate the opinions!

Yes they do have similar styles in porcelain, but to me it doesn't look the same. Search around that site and see if any of the other tile designs in other materials strike your fancy. I know you said you don't like the subway, but you could get a glass tile in a 2X8 and lay it in a herringbone or find shorter ones and do a chevron. Don't know if you care for mosaics, or penny rounds, those would also look nice. You are going to have to narrow it down to a look you are drawn to, and then go from there. Search kitchen backsplashes on here to get some ideas as well.

Greetings from Dream Design, As per your inputs we suggest some ideas -Don't go with too dark backsplash as it will make the kitchen dull after some time and kitchen will look smaller -You can go with marble/tile or even the same counter top like quartz if you use in counter top you can same also put in backsplash as currently it's in trend -take white color with some black/grey lines marble or quartz -or you can go with white designer lines with grooving Sharing some reference pictures