About the "messy corner": Some things are just there. Even if you plan a place for them in the drawer, they end up back on the table/work surface. I find such planned corners very good – sure, it looks a bit chaotic; but better a somewhat chaotic wall than little chaotic piles spread all over the kitchen. Above all, you then have a clear area for everything that is temporarily lying around in the kitchen and where no one knows where it actually belongs. And if the corner really becomes visually annoying, it just goes away. I currently have a magnetic pinboard with baskets in the kitchen for that. I pin recipes, shopping lists, pens, labels, rubber bands, lighters, bottle openers, phone charging cables there, and I hang my ring there when I cook. Everything doesn’t always have to be completely sterile – I prefer planned chaos (also because I would never manage to keep everything perfectly tidy all the time and have no lighter or pen lying around).
Kitchen backsplash: I don’t like it. Somehow, I’m geared towards "calm" tile backsplashes. A dark backsplash feels oppressive to me, a photo wall quickly annoys me and is too busy on the surface. And a white/light glass backsplash doesn’t match my cleaning preferences. But everyone is different there. Although I don’t find the topic that difficult – basically, it can be changed quickly if you get tired of it. So it’s rather low on the priority list.