Does OP have the tiles in hand? Just occurred to me that she can take a picture of them arranged both ways (no need to leave a grout space since grout will be same color) and can then decide which is more visually appealing with the product itself (or post here for peanut gallery opinions…)
Our kitchen backsplash tiles (4 X 24) will be stacked, horizontally, once the counters are finally installed. The same was done with our guest bathrooms (12 X 24.) In our bathroom, the shower tile will be stacked vertically (also 12 X 24) as will the tile above the vanities. Since our floor tiles in the main areas of the house are larger (24 X 48), they were laid with a 1/3 offset. All have minimal grout lines.
We did a herringbone pattern in a previous home that was more traditional, and l liked that look, too.
I agree with the suggestion to lay your tiles out both ways before deciding.
Harding - I’ll second that -love the kitchen pendant lights! And, we have exactly the same chandelier on a properly we are selling - love it too!