No to the grey - your wall seems to have a green tinge in them, so I would say either green/grey or a warm white tile with darker grout. If you choose the right grey/green, it is a classic look so shouldn't date. If you are a bit scared to choose colours, why don't you get a couple of warm white sample tiles and put where the splash back will go. You will soon see if it looks too stark....(maybe another idea, but possibly not a good one - why don't you see if you can put a few pages from a blank sketchbook in the whole area where the splash back will go (not super white white, but a warm white). That could also possibly highlight how stark (or not), the white may look. I can see what design tank is saying, as your cupboards appear to be more cream than white in the photos and if this is the case, then I agree the white will most likely look too stark. My cupboards in kitchen were white (but a warm white not a cool white). The stone bench tops also have the little speckles of stone in them..I can't remember the colour Ocean foam/Osprey.......but even with those colours and them not being cool whites, I thought the white tiles looked too stark against them. I therefore went for a glass splash back and ever since I then went to think of designs for my bathroom renovation, I constantly regret going with the glass in the kitchen and modernising the house too much..........definitely don't do glass if you are wanting to keep a classic charm to the house. In a long winded way, I think yes, I also think you should just stick with the grey/green. It will make a statement. Not the right shade...but another example....it may be hard getting the colour of the tile exactly right given that the walls are already painted and the tiles need to match.

I like the longer ones best. If tiles are your preferred choice, I think a white tile that has a nice polished texture look, looks great in a kitchen. With great lighting, the light bounce's of the angles and the stainless steel appliances at night and gives a bit of bling and expense.

Subway Tiles make great splach backs. Capping the subway tiles with an Atrim aluminium trim would add the finishing touch, nothing looks worse than the raw edge of tiles being exposed. (It just looks unfinished) You could use powdercoated white trim which would finish the tile while blending into the tiles or you could get a much bolder look by using the anodized matt silver which will match your grout and frame your splash back.

Have you already sourced your tiles? I would expect most tile stores could help you find the edging tiles which I think are typically termed 'pencil' tiles for the style you have shown. We used bevelled subway tiles in our DIY ensuite. In hindsight we would have aimed to finish the brick pattern with 1/3 and 2/3 sized tiles (like in your pic 1) rather than full and 1/2 (pic2 and 3) to give a more even edge thickness/profile... Might not suit and we didn't use capping tile (I lost that arguement!) so it is probably more obvious in our bathroom, but just something you might like to consider.