Tile: DIY or Leave it to the Professionals?

I am home again after a wonderfully relaxing weekend with my dearest friends from college (minus a couple of us who couldn't make it this year).  Two days in the mountains of NC with friends, sleeping on a real bed and cooking in a completed, not-under-construction kitchen was just what the doctor ordered!  And now I'm back home again and happy to be covered in dust again:)

As our kitchen and bathrooms begin to come together a little bit, we are trying to answer the big question of tile.  Ideally, we would hire professionals to install it in both bathrooms upstairs as well as in the kitchen... but with all of the other projects going on, I'm afraid that's a corner we very well might have to cut.  When the time comes to decide, we'll have to figure out if we will just have a smaller portion of the work done or if we're willing to learn how to install it ourselves (!).  

If we do narrow it down to just one project for now, the kitchen backsplash is our first priority.  Subway tiles are still popping up all over the place in magazines and on blogs, so much that I wonder sometimes if it's been overdone?  Even if it does go out of style, the look is so clean and simple that it's hard to imagine really regretting it-- unlike a bright colored or heavily patterned trend.  

There's the simple, straightforward installation (which is definitely all we would try to tackle if we do it ourselves!):

Another option is installing subway tiles everywhere, but featuring the space behind the cooktop with a special pattern:

 And then there's the option of the classic subway shape made of glass or, like below, marble:

Then there's the gorgeous option of just skipping tile altogether and installing slabs of marble as a backsplash... I love this look!  Not this time around, though-- we'll file this one away maybe for the next house.

Another white tile look that keeps catching my eye is this pretty moorish pattern, which adds texture and interest without looking busy.  

It's pretty in blue, too...

It's a fun process, but a decision must be made!  Any ideas for me? Have you ever installed your own tile before??

xo

Liza