Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - How to lay out tiles for countertops?

I am using 12 inch tiles for my galley kitchen. On one side there is an 18 inch base, the range and oven, then a 15 inch base, and then the refrigerator. I'm not sure how to lay this out. On the 18 inch run should I put in two 9 inch peices or a 12 and a 6? Should the larger go next to the stove or the wall. Same questions for the 15 inch run except it ends at the refrigerator.

Would it make any difference if I tile the backsplash? And are 12 inch tiles ever used for backsplash or would that look odd?

I would do it this way:

3-12-3 Range 3-Refrigerator. That way the range will have equal tile on each side.

You can do anything you want on the backsplash, but IMO using a much smaller tile will have more drama. You could use 3" tile or sheets of 1" glass tile or sheets of stainless steel or mirror or..........

In general, the larger the tile, the more critical it is that the backing be perfect.