white subway tiles, recycled glass mozaic tiles in mixed shades of green, or octagonal with with an occasional black one. I can not see your bar or seating area in picture.From what I see I would stop at cabinets.
Nice kitchen and hope you will post after pics.
Good luck.

little octagonal white tiles with some black ones to pick up countertop .....should have previewed...

i am in love with modwalls.com. they have lots of options in bold and understated colors, all with a modern flare. i would go with a bold statement, but that is just my tatse. something like this might be nice: http://www.modwalls.com/briocolorcilantro.aspx

Ummm, glass tiles in an irridescent grey blue color.

White/off-white rectangular tiles installed in a vertical running-bond pattern with a medium grey grout.

I'd run the tilework all the way to the end of the countertop, up the wall and above the tops of your upper cabinets

white subway tiles

White subway tiles! I would tie in some green in the form of a kitchen aid mixer (or some other appliance) rather than commit to a brightly colored back splash. I wouldn't worry about it matching all the vertical accents, I think subway tiles would nicely break up too much of the same thing:)

I think a glass mosaic backsplash, with subtle shades of varying greens would provide a nice counterpoint to the black and white, and tie in with the rest of the green in your house. Best of all, green will act as a neutral and let you add accessories in yellow, red, orange, teals, etc.

Lovely kitchen! I was going to suggest sandstone tiles which have several very muted colors in them and would tie in with the green - however, it might not be the look you want. If you check out these links they will give you some ideas.
http://colourmehappyblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/white-kitchen-cabinets.html

http://theinspiredroom.net/2009/07/21/white-kitchens-i-love/

Enjoy your kitchen, you have done a great job.

I think that a diamond quilted stainless steel panel would look amazing.

http://tinyurl.com/29jvqjj

Nice Kitchen!
I would propose rectangular granite tiles at light gray or kind of black&white motive.
i wouldn't recomend mosaic as it may go out of fashion in the future. Also what about non see through glass ?
p.s I would continue at the sitting area on the same hight in order to have the feeling of totality

Here's an example that might give you a better example.

http://tinyurl.com/2c4edfy

Orange paint!

I have a kitchen with white cabinets and black granite and we are going with a mosaic tile from modwalls.com. We really wanted to add some color in without it being too crazy (for resale purposes) so we found a fairly neutral mosaic with red accent tiles.

@KaBoomBOX
I failed to copy the 'y' on your second URL and was very confused by the result. XD

I was also going to say stainless steel! Not sure about quilted, but that looks easier to clean than some of the alternatives (and I guess just a flat wall would be boring?)

IKEA has some pre-made backsplashes, one of which looks lite white tiles. I would definetely go for that, because that means you can change it if you don't like it and you don't have to bother about the whole putting-up-the-tiles-process.

Before I even read the question, green came in to my mind. I don't think that it would be too much, just don't do a lime green.

I'd do white subway tiles all the way to the end of the counter -- not stopping at the end of the cabinets. White tiles will allow you maximum flexibility -- you can accessorize with any color (good in case your tastes change, or if you sell sooner than you expected.)

Install a narrow shelf or decorative cap over the tile that extends past the counter so it looks finished (the tile can go a bit higher than the bottom of the cabinet too... so: it would run under the cabinet, then about six inches up to the end of the counter... make sense?).

You can put a framed painting or a chalkboard on the shelf to make it make sense, or a line of small glass bottles with a sprig of something in each... or tiny pots of herbs or or or.

pam h
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

Not sure how your wall ends at the end of the breakfast bar... it looks like you have natural light (a window) facing the kitchen...

how about mirror? it's easy to keep clean and it would open up your space and bounce light around.... OR

you could do a mirror on the side of the cabinets that your cutting board are currently on and a tile on the backsplash...

Before I committed to a permanent backsplash, I test-painted swatches of paint. It's not an exact match against a tile, but it gave me an idea of the continuity between the rooms. Or if you aren't ready to commit to a permanent backsplash, some semi-gloss paint works for a while, and you can just re-paint.

Another vote for white subway tile!

I would go with green Moroccan "Zelliges" tiles from Belgium's Emery et Cie.

They are handmade, and so would suit your space, working with that "country" element you are trying to introduce, and their rustic quality a beautiful contrast with the plain whiteness of your cabinets. The bold colour would be fun, and in keeping with your green accent. I find them particularly attractive because of their profile, which results in very minimal grout lines. They are easily my favourite tile!

http://www.emeryetcie.com/en/what/tiles/zelliges/

They come in lots of colours:

http://www.emeryetcie.com/en/what/tiles/zelliges/examples/02.htm

http://www.emeryetcie.com/en/what/tiles/zelliges/examples/05.htmhttp://www.emeryetcie.com/en/what/tiles/zelliges/examples/05.htm

http://www.emeryetcie.com/en/what/tiles/zelliges/colours/

I have a stainless steel backsplash just behind my stove and it's impossible to keep looking clean. Even when I wash it, it still has marks and streaks. I would definitely go for a white tile, or perhaps just a glossier, more scrubbable paint finish.

@angorian

Believe it or not, rubbing olive oil or baby oil, just a dab, will help to get rid of hard to remove streaks and help mask scratches.

White subway tile is classic and infallible in a white kitchen. But if you want something a little more modern, you could either go with iridescent sea-green mosaic tiles or glass subway tile (I've seen it done stacked vertically instead of in a brick pattern, which looks really slick).

Mosaic tiles:

http://www.susanjablonmosaics.com/tile-products-id/FS73

Subway style mini glass tiles:

http://www.glasstilestore.com/spa-glass-series/loft-spa-green-1-2x2-brick-pattern-loftspagreen1-2x2brick.html

Glass subway tiles:

http://www.glasstilestore.com/spa-glass-series/loft-spa-green-frosted-3x6-glass-tile-loftspagreen3x6frosted.html

Carrara Marble subway tile. More interesting than plain white, but still classic. I think it would also look nice with your floor.

Thank you everyone for your comments!
@pamh Thanks for the idea of the edge above the tiles: that sounds perfect!

At the moment I'm thinking of going for the white subway tile, but I'm worried about cleaning the grout. Also, it might be nice to put just one line of very small green glass mosaic tiles in between the subway tile (though it might be difficult to find it in the same thickness as the subway tiles...).
Does anyone have experience in putting the tiles up yourself? Or is it definitely something to leave to the pros?

I think incorporating the green would be a nice tie-in to the rest of your house. And the white is a bit ho hum.

Option 1: Green tiles. But not glass mosaic -- go with something a bit more rustic and larger (less grout, and the rustic would be a nice foil for your modern space).

Option 2: Glass, back-painted green. Super sleek and easy to clean. Plus you can choose the exact paint color.

I can't tell what the wall beyond your bar continues. I assume the wall is shared with a larger adjacent space, so I'd end the backsplash at the cabinet line.

Here's an old AT link with comments about back-painted glass (and a photo of a beautiful green backsplash):

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/good-questions/sf-good-questions-backpainted-glass-backsplash-048097

Solid white marble backsplash with faint gray vein. Don't know if this is too expensive or not?

I live in a rental apartment where the landlord installed off white rectangular tiles going vertically, I think because of our very tall, white Ikea cabinets and black countertops, but it just looks like subway tiles gone wrong. I don't recommend it.

I think you should go to a tile store and browse until you see something you can not live without. Pretty much any color would go beautifully in there. You've already done a great job, go with something you love and I think it'll look great.
Happy picking!

Tiles in a green beans or lettuce shade, fresh and clean. For inspiration, I'm thinking Kirstie Alley's kitchen designed by Nate Berkus, which he tiled almost entirely in luscious green...

I agree with obleak1. My kitchen is very similar to yours (white cabinets, black granite, stainless appliances, similar hardware) and we did a marble subway and it turned out great. Classic material and shape, but with some more interest and movement than plain white. And still gives you the opportunity to bring in color in counter appliances or other decor without it being too busy. I also had originally wanted to do (and bought) a pretty green subway tile and once I took them out of the box to see how they looked in the kitchen it just didn't work, it was way too much. So learn from my mistake!!

ps - I would also go all the way to the end of the bar. In more kitchen twin-ness I also had this issue and hated how the tile just ended without having anything to help the stop point. We ended up having a cabinet made that went full length all the way to the counter, but ours was on the end/corner of a regular peninsula, not a bar type setup and we had a reasonable amount of extra counter space to sacrifice so it might not be the answer for everyone. You can always do some nice matching trim to make the edges feel finished.

Glass tiles are easy to clean. You can even buy them in already set patterns. I would go with a color that is similar to green but not quite. Maybe something in between a turquoise and seafoam. Good luck!

Sabrine,
I put up my marble subways myself. It was annoying, but kind of fun at the same time. I had about 30 sqft and it took me a weekend. It didn't come out perfect, but considering I'd never done it before, I was really happy with the result and it you like DIY stuff, I found it to be a satisfying activity, but I'm weird. I felt like beforehand I wanted a super definitive guide of exactly what to do because I was scared of messing it up and it seemed like everyplace said something different or just not complete/detailed enough, but it turns out it's just because there's not a lot to it. I read enough online that gave me a general idea of the steps and then I used premixed thinset and followed the directions on that. Also, I used a gray grout with very thin grout lines (1/16) which helps with the cleaning issue you mentioned. I have seen the white subway + gray grout look done a lot and think it looks great.