@kay01: I would say do it yourself! It may seem daunting, but we just installed a good amount of these:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1v/R-202194723/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=glass+tile&storeId=10051#.USKPa6WVMqw
in our kitchen and they look awesome! As long as you buy/rent a decent tile saw with a diamond tip blade (and cut slowly), mix the grout correctly (water/grout ratio is critical but also spelled out on the package) and use spacers, tiling is really easy and very satisfying!
If you're not handy, or just afraid to do it completely yourself, you could also call a BAC union hall and see if anyone there could help you on the weekend... My friend did that and the guy that helped her had all of the tools and grout, and only charged (I think) $150 to help tile two walls of her 10x10 kitchen...
You can totally do it yourself. If you're nervous, practice with some cheap tile out in your garage or something. I just went from "never worked with tile before" to cuting and tiling a kitchen island with granite tiles by myself. No need to pay someone else to do it! I used info from ehow.com, but you can find youtube tutorials as well.
I've been wondering the same thing. We're definitely going the DIY route, and we priced out the tiles to be about $100 to $150 total, but I'm curious what the rest of the supplies cost.
Yup, DH did ours for about $200 over a weekend. We found tile that we liked, then went back the next weekend to get it and it was on sale! I think it was 40% off and we got it from a contractors supply shop type place. It's 4x4 variated slate tile with random decorative 1x1 tile squares throughout.
http://www.homewyse.com/services/cost_to_install_wall_tile.html
try this using your zip code and approximate square footage.
My husband does small residential jobs like this. I do all the billing and I'm guessing he would charge about $1000-$1500. I could be way off though.
We have been looking into doing this too. I think the most expensive part is just buying the tile...you can find some really good sales though too. Does anyone have any pictures of their backsplash?
@MrsWishyWashy: No, this sounds right. This sounds about what I would end up approving an invoice for. :)
OP, check out http://www.diyornot.com/. I have really enjoyed looking at it comparing an approximate DIY cost vs contractor cost and what goes into the DIY element.
Also, there is adhesive backer-board to eliminate some of the grouting of the tile and speed up a bit of the installation if you do go the DIY route.
Tiling is not a difficult DIY Project... a good one for a Beginner / Novice. To to a Big Box Hardware Store (like Home Depot, Lowes etc) and they'll give you all the info you need... be it via Handouts or a Watch & Learn Workshop... there will also be videos on YouTube you can watch.
The expensive element is the tile (more if you are planning to go slate, granite, stainless steel, etc). The "other supplies" aren't that expensive... adhesive, trowel / butterer, spacers, grout, sponge, and a sealer if needed (depends on what material you are using for the backsplash).
You can either buy an inexpensive tile cutter (manual)... or rent an electric one (for fancier cuts)
And yes, this isn't a difficult project... but if you hire it out, you'll be surprised by the mark up.
EDIT TO ADD - The only time I'd consider contracting this out, would be if I was using products I wasn't familiar with... or very very high end, and didn't want to wreck the project (like full sheets of granite)
My husband did the tile/backsplash in the kitchen of our old house. (I'll see if I can find some pics, if I can...I"ll upload them in an upcoming post.)
It's not rocket science. you just have to measure, measure, measure, cut...butter, grout...I "helped" him (in the educational sense.)
What we did learn though is the wet saws you rent from Home Depot are a pile of shit. Buy one if you can swing it. My BIL bought the cheapo wet saw at Home Depot ($50) it broke halfway through his tiling project. My husband bought a pretty expensive wet saw, but he's into tools and home repair (and I figure I can get him to hopefully tile the kitchen and four bathrooms at this house! YAY for me.)
You'd be surprised how much you can learn by watching youtube videos...
No idea how to resize pictures, but I attached one of one wall in our kitchen. It probably took two hours to put up (with cutting), and then maybe an hour to grout... The biggest pain in the whole thing was cleaning off the haze, but I don't think a pro would do that for you anyways... Another thing we did was mix in a sealant into the grout and I haven't had any issues with the grout getting dirty...
Thanks for the photo, wow, that's much different than I expected it'd look! 3 hours - even for a small area - doesn't seem so bad. My MIL also apparently already has a cutter, which they used when they grouted tiles in the bathroom (although....I'm hoping if we do it, we'll do it a bit more professionally looking than DH & MIL did, although I never say anything because I wasn't around then to know how hard it might be). We'll see if I can persuade him to DIY in a year or two instead of paying for it.
I'm another one for trying it for yourself. Just read up on it and take it slow to start. This is our kitchen that we did last month
My husband is going to do ours soon! He's estimating it will cost around $250 in materials. We are going to do ceramic mosaic tiles that come in sheets so I imagine it will be a fairly straight forward project!
@Pakoe: Oh wow, that is also beautiful!
Did everyone just buy tiles from the box stores - Home Depot/Lowes?
I did my backsplash myself. It cost a few hundred and took me a day to do with my dad's help.
Here's a picture: 
@kay01: yes we bought the tile in sheets from Home Depot, took time because of the amount of space but was pretty easy
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Anyone have an idea how much it might cost to install a tile backsplash in a kitchen? I know it varies greatly based on pattern, location, size of kitchen. The kitchen is maybe 14 by 14 feet, and the parts to be tiled are approximately 2/3 of two walls and 1/3 of another wall. Labor costs are relatively high here. We would probably get a nice - but not really high end - tile backsplash.
How much did yours cost? How much did you get done? Was it part of a full kitchen reno or standalone? Do you live in a high labor area? Was it low, mid or expensive pattern?