Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - help with granite countertops

Hello. My husband and I are fairly new home owners. We knew nothing when we started and are using books and forums, etc. to make our house our own. So far everything is looking great. We are getting ready to replace our kitchen countertops. We have purchased 12x12" absolute black granite tile. When we got our tile, the local dealer gave us some advice that was different than we were expecting and I'm just looking for some feedback. We are struggling with a few things.
1. The backsplash: He recommended ordering cut bullnose pieces (3x12") and using just that as a backsplash by setting directly on top of the tiles. Can you adhere this directly to the wall? Do you recommend a deeper backsplash?
2. The grout lines: He recommended butting up the tile to create the nice 1/16" lines from the bevelled edges and not placing any grout. He said it would be okay if you just place a bead of caulk between the tiles as you're laying them and wiping off any excess that may be seen on the surface. Is this okay??
3. Using schluter edging for the fronts. We do not have any metal in the kitchen (except the faucet, obviously). Everything is black and ivory. We would love to use granite around the edges and I've seen other forums about using the sharp edge tile and polishing in place. Any suggestions?
4. Using 2 - 12x12" tiles deep and just having less of an overhang on the front of the countertop. I would like to avoid cutting 1" sections of tile for the backs of all the countertops but it's my understanding that standard depth of the actual countertop is 25 1/2". Sorry this is so long but please help:) -L

My last house had black granite tile (24 X 24)countertops as you mention... and they had thin, thin grout lines with black caulking in between the tiles. Looked great and wore well.

The backsplash height is totally up to you.. Most backsplashes (off the shelf, so to speak) are 3 - 4 inches high.. so his idea works pretty well if you ask me. And, yes, you can attach it directly to the drywall on the walls, using caulk at the intersection of the countertop and backsplash.

I just remodeled a basement, adding a wet bar, and used black anodized (either Schluter or equivilent) trim that I bought at HD... Looks great!! (though a tad spendy)... Trying to cut/polish granite is, to me, best left to the pros....

Measure your countertops... "Standards" don't mean much in the world of DIY..... You might be able to work out your 12X12 tile without cutting - especially if you use metal trim, anodized black or not. The trim eats up about a quarter inch or so - and the backsplash will do the same....

Agree with previous post. Granite tiles can look great, just have to make sure you layout the tiles and measure correctly. If you do a lot of cooking, you'll like a taller backsplash -- helps with clean up!

thezster, what type of trim did you use? We were going to go with the Rondec-CT but it doesn't come in black. (Any thoughts on painting this stuff?)