If you don't want grout lines you can use sheets of glass behind the stove area. Search for glass back splashes on Houzz.

We just did paint. Eventually we may put something but I don't like how hard tile is to remove if you want to change it out. My backslash does not get that dirty so I would not worry about it. At some point I need to touch up the paint but its been 6 years since we painted.

I had a large gas cooktop and a tile inlay and after over 9 years there wasn't any discoloration whatsoever and the tiles were very light with a mosaic-style inlay area above the cooktop.

I think you're being a big paranoid.You can seal the grout and just wipe down after messy cooking but it sholdn't be an issue.

I'm in the middle of doing a kitchen reno. We are getting my dream stove which is very large as I tend to cook quite a bit.

I'd like to get thoughts on this idea before pulling the trigger. Instead of doing an inlay backsplash behind the stove, what would you think of putting up a large decorative plate or a separate tile design that I could remove to clean?

I'm afraid that if I do an inlay tile design it will start to discolor over time because it will be difficult to clean.