Hi Honeysuckle,

I'm sorry, I didn't see your question in your previous thread over the weekend. I would have looked in if I'd caught it on the topic list. Others probably missed it too, so I hope they'll chime in.

First, re darker grout, do you really want a stark contrast, like black and white? Or just want the grout lines to show well enough to define the shapes of the tiles? I'd suggest a not too dark, dove gray grout, but if you want something stronger, you can go down to an ash. I wouldn't go as dark as charcoal unless you really want a black and white look. The last could look amazing but it will close up the space a little by breaking it up so much.

Also, if you're trying to maintain the horizontal space, I'd suggest keeping it consistent in the three sections, rather than doing something majorly different in the middle. Go with the larger fruit bowl for sure.

The windows are strong verticals. Repeating this strong verticality by doing white/window/black/window/white sounds dramatic and unique, but that whole wall would be wide vertical stripes. Narrow vertical stripes could make it look taller. This wide won't.

So it's up to you. Drama? Or illusion?

Just looked at some grout colors. The words I used above about the colors are mine, not the actual brand colors. My tile setter's "dove gray" is very dark.

In the above, my "dove" is pale, "ash" is medium, and "charcoal" is dark.

Plllog, thank you so much for responding.

I will go with the larger matte white fruit bowl and the matte frame to match.

Would you say the grout in this picture is pale, medium, or dark?

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The kitchen is so narrow that there is no third section. There would be just a small patch of white tile on the corner wall, window, then either a black or white tile 30 inch larger section under the hood, window, then the door in the other corner (which I wanted to make a french door to let more light in, but DH says french doors are not secure enough). Does the fact that there are only two sections instead of three effect whether a black or white section is better under the hood?

Also, for the white field tiles, is it better to go with large 6x8s, square 4x4s or 5x5s, or subways?

I was going off of your sketch, and maybe I remembered wrong, but I thought the doors were white(ish). It's not just the color of the backsplash that matters. It's the continuous line of color.

Using the windows to divide the space into white area/black area/white area could look brilliant! But it's a vertical look, so you have to be aware of how it will affect your illusion. If you go with this plan I wouldn't do the dark grout with the white tiles on the right. You'll want them to meld more into the cabinets so that they're not orphans. The dark grout would be fine with your frame and feature within the black.

To maintain the illusion go for all white and a light gray grout for the shadow effect you like. If you really want the black tiles, I'd do all the field black. That way the progress across the window will give you some horizontal movement, and will remove one more division in a small space. In fact, you might want to rethink the frame if you go with black field tiles. The feature tile might be sufficient.

I don't know what the grout color reality is in your above picture--it's probably medium--but it shows up in the picture pretty dark. It's hard to tell without context and lighting. When it's time to choose your grout color, see if you can look at the colored slugs (bars) rather than a brochure with a printed color. It helps a lot.

The door is white.

I am having a hard time understanding the concepts in your last post. Maybe I am just too tired now so I am going to reread it again tomorrow.

I made a sketch. The checked area is supposed to be dark grout and white 4x4s.

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Sorry for being confusing. I knew when I wrote it that I was a bit out of kilter, but I wanted to give you a response.

Good for you for sketching it out. Take the left hand sketch and look at it in the middle of a bright colored T-shirt or something. Something that is so not your kitchen that your brain will subtract it. The black really brings the eye into that shape, and lead you up from the range through the backsplash through the hood. Vertically.

Along with other cues (like the other side of the room and the floor) draw your eye lengthwise, the right hand drawing is going to do that more.

At this point a lot is also going to depend on your other finishes. What's you window frame? What does your range look like? And the hood? What kind of detailing on your cabinetry?

It all has to be harmonious. And it has to make you happy. I prefer the all white one for the goals you've described, but why should that matter so much if you really want the black? Rather than what you have in the left drawing, however, if you do the black field tile, I'd suggest doing it both over the stove and on the other side of the window to the right.

Is that any clearer?

Plllog,
I think it is more that I am tired and not sleeping well and it is hard for me to think.

Well I think I am ready to ditch the black and go for the horizontal effect.

The windows will have no frame, just dry wall.

For the hood I am right now pricing 30 inch white hoods from Ventahood and Modernaire.

What color grout would you call this picture?

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Also, is that 2 cm or 3 cm countertop? Because I think I am seeing alot of dark countertops that are 2 cm in magazines and I am trying to figure out if 2 cm or 3cm looks better.

It's really hard to tell from pictures, though this kind with context is easier. I'm pretty sure that's a 2 cm bar top, and it looks like the counter probably has a laminated edge. Soapstone is almost always 3 cm. Where I live almost nothing else is. In some places it's common for marble, and sometimes for granite, to be 3 cm. If it's just a matter of looks, you can get a mitered or other laminated edge to give you the thicker look without the extra weight.

The grout doesn't look overly dark. There's a really popular grout color called DeLorean gray, and this looks like it might be it, or a similar color. Maybe a shade darker.

Casey (sombreuil_mongrel) has DeLorean in a shower.

Plllog,

Do you think large-scale 6x8s, square 5x5s, or horizontal subways would have a better visual effect in a narrow kitchen?

Would you say Delorean Gray is medium and the tile in the that kitchen is medium? The grout in that picture is just dark enough and wide enough to differentiate cabinets from tile.

I liked the grout in Segbrown's kitchen which Segbrown says is Pewter color. I put a link below. Would you call it dark or medium? If you look at the closeups, it looks dark to me, the thin grout lines just make it slightly harder to differentiate tile from cabinet in the far away picture. Segbrown has 6x8s.

Here is a link that might be useful: Segbrown's grout

Aha! I found your message! (Patting self on back.)

I don't know for sure about these colors. It's impossible to compare grout color from picture to picture. You have to compare sample to sample to tile.

Check out this grout comparison chart. The company makes touch up markers so the colors shown are the marker colors, but they're recommending which commercial grout colors go with which of theirs, so it's useful. It shows DeLorean and Pewter as similar shades.

I don't understand what you mean about the tile being medium. When I called the grout medium, I was talking about light value. For instance, baby blue is light, Wedgwood blue is medium, and navy is dark. (Wedgwood is also a bit warm and a bit gray, but I don't have a name for my preferred medium blue other than Hanes undershirt.) White tile is light. By definition, white is light, unless you're comparing navajo white, ivory and starched apron.

As for blending into the cabinets, that's kind of the point when you have white cabinets and white tile. Providing a unified backdrop to your life. In real life, where the viewer is moving, the light is moving, the shadows are moving, etc., there isn't any trouble seeing where one ends and the other begins. That's something that only happens in still photographs.

For the look you've been after, if you didn't have the feature piece, I think the subways would do it the most, because they're dashed lines. the larger rectangles will do it to some effect too, but not so much the squares. But you have a more important consideration. What will look best with your fruit basket? I'm guessing the smaller subways, but when you lay them out together you might like the bigger ones better. Try them out! Hold auditions. Go with your gut. And remember just how many tiles/rows you have between the basket frame and hood, and in the right hand part.

Plllog, thanks again for searching out my messages and answering.

Do I want to have more tile rows or does it not matter?

I think we mean them same thing. Color value.

Actually, I have been worrying about whether the fruit basket matte deco tile will look good with high gloss white field tile or not.

I have a fondness for high gloss tiles. I like Winchester Metropolitan tiles alot. I don't see them in subways. I will have to call and see if they have them. They do have Cosmopolitan in subways.

Another idea is to use honed marble subways with disappearing grout. I like the white marbles with veins better than the ones that are more gray.

Do you think high gloss white or marble tiles would have a better effect? Also, which is better against the fruit basket deco tile?

Also there is barely room for a 1 inch pencil between the deco tile and the frame. Should I use a pencil?

Yes to the pencil if it makes the frame fit better. Let it be the "mat" in your frame. If you meant you have just that amount of room before the frame hits the edge of the wall, put cuts of the field tiles on the outside of the frame, instead, to make the feature look inset. ...Though actually...are you including space for quarter round or some other kind of finishing tile at the window edges?

As to the rest, it all sounds fine to me. I think you should start a new thread and get more opinions on the specific lines, tile vs. marble, and matte vs. gloss.

Re rows, the more rows you have, i.e., the narrow rows, will heighten the horizontal effect. The proportions of the subways (3"x6") are also classic and just right for the effect. But the larger rectangles/fewer rows will be fine if you prefer them. Again, it's a trade-off you're in now, between heightening the horizontal effect and doing something that you just like. The illusion is only worth so much. At some point you also have to indulge the "but I like this" part of you.

Plllog, what do you mean by "mat" in a frame?

With a pencil I think the frame will hit the window edge, without I think it will be an inche from the window edge and I can put something else there.

I like the flairline ventahood and modernaire ps15, both are sloped. I can put 2 bands on the modernaire hood without moving into custom pricing. I like straight lined hoods too, just slightly prefer sloped. HOw will hood shape and banding affect the horizontal effect? (Which hood shape would look better in a narrow room with 8' ceiling?)

The white cloth thing around the picture is the mat.

I don't like the idea of the frame hitting the window edge. I prefer to have the inch on either side, but continuing the subways through there so it looks like you took them out for the frame. If you prefer the frame on the edge, then do the pencil inside.

You'll also need a quarter round, or a finished edge and something inside the window area to cover the mortar. Quarter round is usually an inch, so that would solve that problem. You're including the width of the grout in your calculations?

Vertical bands are ... vertical. They're very pretty, though. If you want to gussy it up, how about just doing the lip? I wouldn't do a pot rail either. But if you're getting stainless, for instance (I think that's what you said but I'm too tired to go look), you can get a brushed body and a polished lip, or vice versa. I did that with brass for mine.

The hood shape does matter, but the ones you like should be fine. A certain amount of taper can help the illusion of height. Simple is good. A hood is expected. I wouldn't go too dark (oxidized copper), but other than that, you're fine.

Plllog, thanks for answering.

Actually I have not taken the grout into consideration. The windows haven't been built so I can make that space fit whatever grout and tile combo I want. The fruit basket deco tile is 26 inches wide and the hood is 30 inches.

Do you think the pencil should be the same color gray as the grout?

The hood will be white. I was going to go stainless, but when I saw stainless in the store I didn't like it at all, so I bought a cabinet panel refrigerator and white range with black top and today I will buy a cabinet panel dishwasher. The only big decisions left are backsplash and hood.

I am slightly worried that the room is turning out more white than I originally planned. I am worried there will be so much white that there won't be anything for the eye to stop on.

I am slightly comforted after finding this picture on GW. If you imagine this kitchen stopping at the door and no island then it looks alot like my kitchen and the dark countertops do that horizontal illusion...am I right, Plllog?
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I am leaning towards the tapered Modernaire hood because the taper might give the eye more to look at than the squarer Ventahood. No pot rails. This is a picture of the tapered Modernaire hood.
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I don't remember where I got this picture, it might be the same modernaire hood.
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Better to go without the 2 vertical bands, then?

I don't know if I can get texturing on the lip or on the bands on a white hood. If I can, should I go for it?

Also, I don't know if I can get crown on the hood without going into custom pricing, but if I can, should I go for it? (Note the above picture of a GWer with tapered hood has crown and the tapered Modernaire hood doesn't have crown--which is better?)

Should I stop the tile below the hood or continue it up to the ceiling? And if I go to the ceiling, would white tile with visible grout or marble with disappearing grout have a better effect?

Yes, it's the same Modern-Aire hood. And they can do just about anything you want to pay for. I just found before where you said white hood--sorry! It was just over a picture of a stainless hood and that's what stuck.

There are a lot of different off whites in your example picture on top. They combine to give you a white impression without being cold, institutional or boring. And yes, that band of dark counter does the illusion thing, helped by the longways wood floor, and the different ceiling color.

The thing about monochrome is that by not breaking up the volume, it makes the space look bigger. But imagine a '50's white galley kitchen, with white linoleum, white cabinets, white counter and white ceiling: There's no texture and no line to give you context, so it becomes a very vertical space, and the ceiling feels as low as the walls. Divide the horizontal spaces and your eye gets pulled along sideways, taking advantage of the largest dimension of the room.

The big difference in this example picture is that the backsplash continues through the whole run, including around the window and the niche. Yours is smaller, and bounded on both sides, so that the cooking area is barely more than a niche itself. More like the copper hood picture, but with windows instead of the cabinets. That's why I suggested that a white tile that isn't too different from the cabinets would draw the cabinets into your illusion. In the example, the backsplash is orangy and the cabinets are greeny. Total contrast, while both read as white. It's a relatively larger space, however, with the added volume of the garden window push out, and it can take that much texture. The cabinet moldings and glass inserts are also vertical elements, that the bands of color help neutralize.

As to the hood, yes, I agree that the flared shape is a good shape for the space. With the white, however, unless you're getting it color matched to your paint, I'd wait to have the hood delivered before choosing the color for the cabinets, and I'd get a color chip from them before choosing the field tiles.

If you like the banding, get it!! But the proportion on a 30" hood will be narrow. The space in the middle will be no more than 8", and less on the sides. It'll be a bit stripy. The pictured ones are bigger. See how the black one has the same banding on the lip? Whether or not you do the banding you can have that.

Regarding the windows, those are much easier to manipulate on paper than in real life. You're going to have to adapt your tiling to the reality that occurs, rather than counting on an eighth of an inch more or less with the windows. and I wouldn't narrow them over tile.

With so little space around the medallion, I don't think you really need a frame. The windows become your frame. But no, no contrast pencil, if you do that inside a frame. You don't need it. Do you have a tile store near you where you can go lay this all out with samples? That would be the best way for you to see how it will look.

I like the crown, though you don't need it. There's a GW-er who got the same shape hood with crown but no bands in dark blue. It was great. But, yes, you pay for it. Oh, here it is. Skoo's hood (scroll down).

I'd tile the whole wall, to make the hood fit right, and to make more sense of the little area above the flare. Either the marble or the tile with shadow grout would look nice. If you wanted a hammered stainless lip and crown, the gray veining in the marble would tie in with that. So would the gray grout with the white tile. But be sure of your hood color before you choose the tiles.

You mean I don't need a matching matte frame for the fruit basket deco tile, just abut the field tile right up against the deco tile? Will it look ok to have a different material all by itself? (It looks like carved rock rather than ceramic tile, even though it is ceramic tile).

There is a tile store with the deco tile and since I have seen it I know it is nice enough to pay the 600+ dollars for it. It is heavy and large and expensive and not the color I would buy, so I haven't played with it. Perhaps I should ask them to pull it off the display to play with. I have been playing with smaller tiles and frames in the color I would buy (white). They have several frame tiles with different carvings to choose from, plus a simple frame. The large deco tile has a lip or slight frame on it so it technically doesn't need a frame, or so the salesman says.

More white...I hope it is not too much white!

I will definitely go up the wall with the tile for the tapered hood, then. Thanks.

Do you think a tapered hood has a better effect, or a style that hides the wall? (Which makes the room look bigger?)

What do you think of skoo's crown? I wonder what size skoo's hood is.

As I was buying the dishwasher today I was checking out stainless again and I don't like it even for a band or lip. It doesn't make me happy.

I emailed to ask for samples of the white Modernaire colors.

Would a gloss or matte white hood have a better effect?

Colored hoods are powder coated. Do they have gloss vs. matte? I've never seen that. The usual is slick but not glossy, i.e., somewhere in between. But, of course, hold off judgment until you see the samples.

I like Skoo's crown (in fact, I think I gave her the idea for what she was trying to achieve). If you don't want a contrasting material, it's not worth it. Are you planning a molded crown on your cabinets? If so, you might want to use that like your photo above does. If you look through the Modern-Aire slideshow there's one there with a more complex shaped crown. For your purposes however, I wouldn't make a crown too much of a feature, again, because it emphasizes the height of the ceiling.

Since you don't like stainless for the lip, etc., what might you like? Copper? Bronze? Brass? Ivory? Orange? Do ask them if you really like the idea of hammered white. And white on white will work if you have two different textures.

Looking at the picture, I think Skoo's hood is 36" (can't remember, for sure).

In terms of making the room look bigger, I think a chimney hood with a small profile would probably do more, and the same low profile hood, under a cabinet, might do more, but it's not your style and you have to draw the line. A simpler line that fills the wall would give you a plainer look. But you like stuff going on. I think you'll like the tapered hood better.

When you go to the tile store to play with tiles, take a big piece of paper, or several taped together, that's marked off exactly the size you'll need. Ask them to loan you spacers so you can put in the grout lines. And ask them about trimming around the windows. If the sample feature tile is the wrong color, instead of making them get it down, ask if they have anything that's the right color/texture that you can use for visualizing. It can even be mosaic if it's the right color. Just fill the appropriate space with that so you can see what colors/textures you like with it.

And do ask everyone else! I'm happy to help, but no one else has chimed in on this thread and there's a whole wealth of wisdom here which you're leaving untapped.

Plllog, thanks for answering.

That is really a good idea about the tile. I will have to do that.

I plan on asking everyone on things like marble vs tile or are subway tiles going to go out of date. Your understanding of the horizontal idea in the space and your answers are really helping me decide quickly.

I am going to make a cut out of the tapered one and the one that takes up the wall space and see how they look.

I will run the tile up the wall if I use the tapered one.

For tapered I have to decide on if I need a crown. The crown in my kitchen will be convoluted, but it is not on the same wall so I am not sure it is needed. I bet crown would be custom pricing, though.

I emailed them about textured white. They don't have it listed on their colors so I don't think they have it.

What do you think about gloss tapered hood with matte lip vs gloss tapered hood with gloss lip?

I just realized I can get the field tile to match the fruit basket deco. But since the fruit basket deco looks like "carved stone" then that would make the kitchen very rustic, wouldn't it?

Do you think the matte "carved stone look" fruit basket deco tile would look weird in a field of glossy white tile?

Here is a link that might be useful: modernaire colors.

Starting from the bottom of your message: I think you really need to see the exact tiles. It doesn't have to be the same fruit basket, but the same "carved stone look" samples and the same glossy white. It could look brilliant or awful or in between, depending on the particular tiles.

Matching field tile will give you the most cohesive look in a small space, but you have to balance that with the getting the look you like. Glossy tiles bounce light around making a room brighter, and giving more visual depth. But a texture change might give you more visual interest and a subtle form of the contrast you keep looking for.

Do you think yesterday's example picture looks "rustic"? It has a matte stone backsplash. Words like "rustic" can mean so many different things. A fruit basket is an old world, fancy farm kitchen kind of a thing, rather than a hip, glitzy, modern urban kind of a look. I think the carved stone look goes well with the fruit basket, which is important. You can then make that work with your other finishes. You can combine a little country charm and city sleek for a nice, personal, eclectic look.

I don't know that combining different textures of white on the hood is going to give you enough contrast to be worth it. The hammered might. I don't know why they couldn't send a hammered band for powder coating, so the question would be whether coating it would just make it look dented rather than textured. Solid white would be just fine.

With your windows the way they are, you'll want to run tile behind any hood, really, so you can have a consistent edge, and an even surface for mounting the hood on.

Since you don't have any crown on the stove side of the kitchen, you could do a simple contrast crown like Skoo's, and it would look really nice. But you can do just as well without it. And yes, you'd have to pay extra for crown.

Making cutouts is a great idea!

Plllog,

I keep forgetting to ask you, what do you think about 5x5s in a running bond instead of one on top of each other? Would that give the same effect as subways?

I should put a picture of the carved stone tiles next to the glossy tiles on this thread so you can see what I am concerned about. I have samples at home. I am worried it is in the "awful" category.

I realized using the same carved stone field tiles won't work because on the field tiles there are big pits where food can get stuck so it so hard to clean that it is not a functional choice. Plus the glossy tile have the light bouncing effect, which I really love, and the marble has great beauty.

So you put the tile first and then hang the hood? I had no idea...I thought you put the hood first and then put tile on. (Chuckle) I am lucky you told me that.

Look for my pictures of the tiles later on.

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left- white marble field and frame tile. I don't have gray marble samples right now.
middle-"carved stone" frame tile in the correct color (white). This is what the fruit basket deco tile would look like. There are several carved designs and plain frames too and in different widths.
right-dune then papyrus then porcelain glossy white tile. (off whites). I don't have chalk color tile right now which is a whiter white.

What do you think about the "carved stone" next to the glossy white tile or marble? Awful or pretty?

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Great pictures!

I think the carved looks great. Definitely old world. But remember, the most likely part to get food on it will be the featured fruit basket. If you're concerned about cleaning, do put a question to the whole forum. There are some tile experts who can better advise you. It might be that sealing is enough. But if it's hard to clean the pits, it's going to be even harder cleaning the carved pits.

I really like the marble. It reads white, but is textured and rich looking. It has the same kind of look that the one in your example above did, though in a different color. The true appearance of the glossy tiles didn't come through well. It's pixel because the reflections were read as color. I don't have enough real life experience with these kinds of tiles to advise you on what will work. There are other forum members who probably can. They don't look bad in the picture, but sometimes pictures smooth things out.

Yes, 5"x5" tiles in an offset, running bond style, pattern will have a more horizontal line. The subways are the best choice for the illusion, but if you prefer the 5x5's, staggering them will give you a more horizontal look.

And, as I've been saying, it's a matter of balancing the look you like with the illusion you're trying to achieve, and in many ways the look is more important.

I made a cutout of the hood and it looks "tiny" compared to the cutout that takes up the whole wall. Do you think that GWers tapered hood was 30 or 32 inches? It looks like 30 to me because I think it lines up with the cooktop (GWer says the cooktop is 30) but the hood doesn't look tiny in that room for some reason.

Here are some Modernaire hoods that take up the whole 30 inch wall space. Which shapes are traditional and which are contemporary? (Kitchen is traditional.) Which enhance the space / horizontal illusion?
ski slope
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barrel shape
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straight
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Actually now that I look at the field tile they aren't pits, just darker spots. When I glanced at a picture I thought I saw pits or bubbling. The fruit basket doesn't have pits, just darker spots. Sealing is required. I am more worried about not having enough to look at in the kitchen than cleaning the fruit basket. I mean I am worried with all the white that having just tile would not be enough to look at.

These tiles are very high gloss. I am worried about how the high gloss will look with the completely matte "carved stone" fruit basket deco tile. Here are some pictures of how glossy this line of tile is.
chalk
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china white
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papyrus
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honeysuckle,
i hope you don't mind me chiming in here. i have that sonoma carved stone over my stove. i was scared about it getting nasty. after a year, i have not had any issues. i do cook every day. when i feel like i need to clean it, i don't use a dishcloth or anything like that. i have a scrub brush that i keep in my kitchen that i use. the carved tiles were sealed.

Both Redrange's and Marthavila's hoods are much bigger than 30". Redrange looks like 48"-54", and Marthavila's looks like 42". The third one looks like 42" as well. If you search around GW and the FKB I think you'll find out for sure about the first two.

Absolutely yes, a 30" hood takes up a lot less wall than a 42-48" hood, which is a horizontal shape. There is no illusion there. Those are horizontal hoods. The curved and banded ones are really traditional. The simple flare of the third one can go either traditional or modern depending on finishes and context.

But let's do the math again. 36" tall range? Plus 30" clearance under the hood? That leaves about 30" height for your hood. Which gives you a square if you fill it with hood. That's what the tapered sides of the one you spec'd give you--they desquareify the shape, make the bottom lip more of a horizontal statement and give you more visual interest.

Those tile pictures look professional. That's where they carefully light the glossiness to show up all the reflections without having a moving picture. So, if those are pro shots, be reassured. If not, bring home some samples and see how they look where you live. Oh, wait! Aren't these the same as the samples you showed up topic? Those don't look overglossy in the picture, but you're the one looking at them in real life. You have to go with the look you like. If they're too glossy choose a different tile or go with the marble, or get a different deco tile.

Thanks to Teppy you know that maintenance isn't going to be bad on the matte stone.

Teppy, thanks for that.

Pllog, hmmm, very interesting about the tapered hood desquarifying and being more horizontal. That never occured to me. I wonder if that is why that Gwers kitchen looks so good.

Do you think a 30 inch tapered hood would look tiny? The top is only 18 inches wide.

Do smaller or bigger things (hood) in a room make the room look bigger?

Contractor is telling me I might not get windows to counter in order to keep outside bricks in line. Sigh.

Do you think the tile should match the cabinets (white tile) or match the fruit basket deco tile (off white tile)?

If we're talking about Redrange, no! It's not tapered at the sides. The bottom one from Saturday at 10:10 is tapered. Also, Red's is 48"-54", which is horizontal to begin with.

Skoo's is pretty square and tapered. She just posted a better picture in the colored range topic. I think hers is 36"

You have to remember the scale of your room and the windows. Small things don't make a room look bigger, but overlarge things make a room look crowded. You're looking for appropriate scale. For that, 30" is fine. A non-flared, curved hood like Redrange's (but 30" and square), might be a good compromise. The curve would give it more depth and less bulk, and the straight sides line up nicely with your wall.

If the windows don't come down to counter, just continue your backsplash tiles under the sills. It'll reinforce your horizontal line. (Silver lining)

I think the tiles should read white enough to not be "different" than the cabinets, and gray enough to look good with the deco. In other words, use your sample door and sample carved tile to find the best white to go with both.

Sorry, I meant the one pictured above with the tapered hood and black countertop. I think it is dlspellman.

I thought the deco was yellowish not gray, I will have to take another look.

Now we are arguing about the window. I want it to the counter, DH 4 inches above. Eeek! What is the best argument for to the countertop or close to the countertop?

See! The tile you see before your face isn't necessarily what shows on screen. I do see a yellowish undertone, but it reads as gray on my side. Whites and lights are very hard to depict online because they're on a lit up screen.

If the question you were asking was about the top picture Sat. 10:10, there are all kinds of elements that make it a beautiful kitchen. Part of what makes that hood in particular look good is that it seems to be made of wood or something rather than metal.

Re the windows, sorry, I have no arguments for you. That's between you and your DH. Either way will look great. His way probably carries the horizontal line better. Your way is stylish. His way gives you a little tiled area for containing spills. Your way prevents possible conflicts between the sill edge and the cooktop. Are there any structural constraints that make it a lot easier to do his way? Or yours?

What looks best from the outside with the rest of your house?

My best advice is that if you're mostly getting your own choices in the kitchen, it's best to compromise on the windows and let him have one. If you're having to bend on every decision and you really really want the counter level windows, it might be worth fighting for.

Hmmm, horizontal line better vs stylish. Hard choice!

This is taken outside. Do you think the "carved stone" is gray or yellow? Which tile goes best? (only one missing is the truly white color tile called chalk).
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The tapered hood is the only one that makes it hard to figure out where to stop the tile and paint, so I made a sketch. Does it look good where I stopped the tile and paint? (Paint will be a different color, just picked one to show contrast.)

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I think Dune matches the best in the picture (but pictures aren't the same as real life). The marble looks good, and very rich. Thebes is too dark, and it looks like Porcelain is too blue. I like the brightness of Papyrus, however, and think it's worth continuing to consider.

Good drawing. I hadn't realized there was wall over the windows. That area was there in the previous drawings, but I had interpreted it as ceiling.

Question: Is the bottom of the cabinet on a line with the bottom of the hood? Usually it's a lot lower.

Looking at your nice drawing, I'm thinking it would look better either to tile the whole wall, or to stop the tile at the bottom of the hood. This can be done, but it's outside of my experience, so you'll have to ask someone else the best way to trim it so that it has a nice finish, and how to set the hood so that it's in the right place vis-a-vis the thickness of the tiling. Doing that with the wall color on the sides of the hood flare will give you a better horizontal illusion.

The bottom of the wall cabinets will be waaay lower than the hood.

What do you mean by setting the hood related to thickness of tile? (These are very thick tiles.)

Yes, that's the point. If you don't run tile up behind the hood, the thickness of the backsplash, mortar and thinset is going to be way different than the wall behind the hood. Plus you have the walls ending on both sides where the window openings are. You're way beyond my knowledge of the best way to handle this. Personally, I'd tile the whole wall, but tiling just the backsplash will work--I just don't know how it's done.

Now I am considering tiling the whole wall.

Chalk color tile is white like the cabinets. Should I go with that one? (picture above)

Also, the contractor says it would look better to have some space between the windows and the walls and hood (he wants 3 inch spacing), which would mean 18 inch smaller windows instead of larger 21 inch windows (around 1.5 inch spacing). But I do want the larger windows and the tiny spacing. Should I be worried? I mean is having that wall spacing so important that it will look bad?

Is your contractor a designer? Is he going to live in your house? I'm more concerned with your decorative backsplash taking up the whole wall space.

But didn't you ask the whole forum and come to the conclusion that you'd rather have bigger windows?

How are the windows being finished? If they're aluminum or steel with drywall on the sides, there's no problem. If there's a casing then you need to take that into consideration.

I'd throw this question back to the whole forum now that you've settle so much else in your design.

So, I asked my tile setter how they handle not tiling behind the hood, and he said, "Talk people out of it".

Hi, Plllog, that last comment made me laugh. I have been sick the last couple of days. Finally I just said I am gonna write that because I still can't think to write anything else!

It's an important message, besides funny! He detailed everything he said for the persuading, but there are lots of good reasons for tiling behind.

Feel better!!