apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Those metallic mosaic tiles could go great with a dark grey tile and the beech.

I like metallic idea above. Lately, though, it seems like I've been seeing more backsplash-less kitchens.

copper sheets as panels? copper something. copper tiles.

If you're really set on a tile backsplash my advice to you is find a GOOD tile store....obviously NOT the Home Depot. Custom tile places allow you to check out (normally free or with a credit card # just as a back up in case you don't bring the samples back) any tile you like - often in many different shades. It was invaluable to see that the tile I thought would look great with our counters and cabinets was all wrong and some tile we borrowed on a whim because it caught our eye was THE ONE.
Keep looking, you'll find it! Good luck

Maybe these? They come in copper...
http://www.acpideas.com/index.cfm?XlinkID=12

We did the stainless steel-look ones in our kitchen. I was first attracted because they're easier to deal with than heavy metal panels, but I was worried they'd look fake. We're really happy with how they look, and no one can believe they're not butter metal.

I used white Sicis Iridium iridescent tile in my bathroom and I had extra leftover so I used it for the backsplash in my kitchen. I have ikea light beech cabinets also and it looks amazing. It's neutral looking because it looks white but the iridescent part looks like a pastel rainbow. Everyone compliments the tile.

We have beech-ish colored cabinets, similar to idea. We ended adding a white countertop and some neutral tiles, which looks really fresh.

I do like your idea of dark gray with copper patina. I looked into doing a colorful backsplash, but in the end, thought something more neutral would last longer and last through style changes.

If you want to quickly test out some colors, I recommend buying some nice colored paper and then literally just taping it up under the cabinets. This will will quickly help you realize if you are going in the right direction.

Also, I installed backsplash tiles myself - you can check it out here:
http://mochihome.com/kitchen/update-kitchen-backsplash-extravaganza/

And here were a bunch of options I was thinking of:
http://mochihome.com/kitchen/tiled-kitchen-backsplash-extravaganza/