I do not know if you already decided to use tiles, but here is an idea:
After tiling numerous kitchens, I got tired of grout been discoloured by cooking splash behind the hob and this time used tempered glass around whole kitchen desk. I actually have the same kitchen wallpaper behind the glass as well. Glass panes are sealed underneath (towards the stone desk) so no water can leak behind it.
We had it for three years now and it has been absolutely perfect and easy to clean. Any kind of food splash is just wiped off with wet tissue, and that's it.
I used 6mm thick tempered glass for safety (=breaks into zillion small cubes instead of sharp shards). Tempering adds 5x the cost but it is a safety issue.
