Hi there, I would definitely go for glass & not tiles. Glass is much easier to keep clean! As for colours, if you have French grey units you could look at a slightly iridescent silver which would compliment well. Be careful with some colours if you are going to be a bit bolder as they will reflect & alter the appearance of the French grey on the cabinets. Get some samples & look at them in different areas under the units - the corners will look darker/lighter depending on natural light & if you have recessed lighting under the units.

Some prefer tiling, but some like to keep that minimal lean style finish or to have none at all, what are you fellow houzzer opinions?

Have you considered a mirror? This would not only work well with your colour scheme but would provide a more spacious feel by reflecting the colours already in your kitchen. If you felt more adventurous tinted mirror glass. When using glass behind a cooker you can use plain or toughened for heat resistance but ultimately what should be considered is durability. In this location where it is likely that pots and pans could knock the splashback toughened should used. If you commissioned us for this installation then toughened glass would be provided as standard and we could explore different options for glass colour or backings if mirror didn't take your fancy. Robert

We went through the dilemma where we had a splashback installed behind the cooker and back wall units and had initially thought of having an upstand on the window wall... when the materials arrived, we found that the upstand was thicker than the splashback and it actually looked odd and unfinished... We decided to continue the splashback on the window wall, it actually adds interest against the slightly off white-grey walls and looks much better...