I saw Ikea's Besta TV stuff. Looked perfect for the job, with grey glass panels that can be illuminated from behind. But, they come in 1200mm panels, our run is 3m, so wouldn't work. As for there actual kitchen panels, they don't seem to do them in white! Only black, stainless steal or some tiled white pattern.

You really do need grout for your backsplash, for a proper job that is waterproof and easy to clean. Having said that, I once did a "just for now" refreshing of my tiny kitchen to hold it over for a while until I could afford to totally gut it and start over. I didn't want to bother grouting in some inexpensive tiles as a backsplash because I thought they would only be there for a short time. I painted the backsplash area a similar colour to the tiles, so the stark white plaster would not show through the cracks between the tiles and then lightly glued the tiles to the wall, butting them up directly to one another. Little did I know that I was about to get laid off from my job and it would be 8 years before I could afford to do the renovation I desired. The ungrouted tile backslash held up beautifully and because I was careful, remained dry and clean for that whole time. I just finally did the kitchen reno this past winter and they stayed stuck tight to the plaster as I tore it out. :-)

There are a huge range of options and it would depend on the look and feel of what you want to achieve, your personal view on colour & boldness, what else is close by (to tie in with) and budget. A coloured glass, such as a citrine green or orange would look great. A very different style/look, but equally eye-catching would be some interesting patterned tiles such as the Patricia Urquiola collection from Surface Tiles in London (and elsewhere). My personal preference would be to opt for a white/grey marble such as a Calacatta D'oro which would be incredibly luxurious and bring in the white and soft greys as well as adding a hint of warm caramel. That is if budget allowed. Carrera marble is less costly but has a greyer background. It is always advisable to go and choose a slab of marble from the stone yard.

Is this the upstand for the whole of the worksurface or a splashback behind a sink or hob? If it's the Upstand then i'd match the worktop. For the splashback, then match the type of surface to that of the worktop, ie, if it's gloss stay with gloss, if matt stay with matt. As long as the surfaces are easy to clean then staying within a style will keep the kitchen looking seemless.