Kitchen plans

I am getting quotes for getting new counters in the kitchen, since our tile counters are covered in gross latex paint. We will also be painting the cabinets.

One countertop possibility is this black and white flecked granite:

The other possibility is a white flecked caesarstone, which looks much nicer than this picture implies:

I would either refresh the white paint on the cabinets, or I would paint them a light neutral, like the picture below:

via 

I'd like to do a simple subway tile for the backsplash.  Today I had a contractor out to give us a quote on the counter, and he tried very hard to get me to tile the backsplash in a fancy glass tile, like this:

I said, "that's lovely, but I'd rather do a subway tile."  And he said "well, I could do a subway tile, but wouldn't you rather do something....nice?"  

Clearly he doesn't read design blogs like I do.