We finished our kitchen renovation (did it ourselves), and put up small (2 3/4" x 5 3/4") tiles of slate, subway style, with grey grout, above our counters and behind the stove up to the cabinets above. Love the look, and its easy to clean. With all the variations in the color, it really looks good with the cabinets, which are cherry colored like yours. On the side walls, we went 2 high out to the edge of the countertops to finish it off. Our kitchen is a galley style, like yours, and we went with white appliances as black was too dark and I've had SS, and hated it. We did the same as you, went with heavy black iron pulls, but ours are knobs and the drawers are hammered bin pulls. Love your kitchen in yellow, ours is a deep warm beige like the rest of the house, with white trim.