Florantha, what did you decide to do about your niche? I have the same problem...range height total is 46". Hood needs to be installed 30" max. I am looking online right now at cruets and all seem to be 11-13" tall. I figure I could only go with an 8.5" tall niche for it to work. Right now I am cruising backsplash/niche pics, counting out everyone's tiles and examining measurements. What did you decide, Flor?

Hi. We installed out kitchen in 2012. We still haven't chosen or decided on a backslpash - it's the painted wall. I have a creamy Egyptian marble, - don't remember the name. I like unstructured European vintage-y kitchens. Many of them don't have backsplashes either. My stainless range has a stainless backsplash directly behind it. I had picked out some mini-clear glass subway tile for the backsplash that coincidentally matches my Prescott Green paint color perfectly but what if I decide to change wall color one day? Just this week I started thinking maybe I made my backsplash tile decision three years ago which was to have none. Our marble installers tried very hard to discourage us from marble in the kitchen but I have not regretted it. All those kitchens in southern Europe can't be wrong. FYI - If you are considering glass backsplash look at a product call 3-Form it comes in an amazing variety of colors,textures and imbedded items, two good friends used it in their kitchens. http://www.3-form.com/ Do what speaks to you in your home. Best.

Thanks claybabe! I'm thinking of something above the 6" space, which would mount to the wall or run all the way from the CT to the hood. IE., be a bumped out wall, which is then recessed. Cooktop is 48" wide, so outer dimensions might be 48" wide by full height by 4" bumpout, or maybe even 57" wide. I'd prefer not to have a special tile pattern behind the cooktop area but like the idea of highlighting it with display items/oils/utensils. Unfortunately, it's not closed in, so I can't easily run a shelf between the sides. The pot filler I purchased is a wall mount, and I will need to bring it closer to the front of the cooktop, somehow. (Can't return and get one of the vertical ones). I might be able to find an extension piece for it, but I have to reach it somehow on the back wall. (My CT's are 30'' on this wall plus the additional 6 for the bumpout). I don't want to have to stretch for it, partly why I was thinking of bringing it forward. I know it needs to be mounted to something, securely. Marcolo, I agree the idea of a box plopped on the back of the counter doesn't sound very nice, and I can't visualize how it would look. Any maybe with my existing CT bumpout and hood bumpout, I have too many bumpouts. There's got to be some way to highlight the area. OT - love the way your layout is developing!

I had purchased a marble mosaic from a seller in Lebanon off ebay for my "focal point". I went over the colors very carefully with him. I confirmed that the colors on my computer were actually colors x, y, and z, and he said "yes". The mosaic, as pictured, was just perfect for my space. The mural came very quickly for something coming from the Middle East, but when I opened it, I was really disappointed. One color was clearly not the color I had anticipated, and that is totally my fault. The whole color thing is really subjective and probably got lost in translation. The whoe mosaic, though, was "off". It looked like a very drab version of the photograph that was posted, yet it was supposed to be the actual mosaic. Of course, I wasn't taking into account lighting, etc. that always makes something like whiter, crisper. DUH. Anyway, I tried to love it, but the more I looked at it, the worse it seemed. The white in it just looked dirty. The whole thing looked like it needed to be cleaned, and that was just the nature of the stone chosen for the mosaic. I knew for sure it wasn't going to work when Hubs said, "That just looks dirty. It's kind of hideous." (He has a way of cutting to the chase. LOL!) It was only (only?) $125, but it still was an expensive lesson for me. When I am looking for something so specific, I really need to see it in real life. I sold it on Craig's list for $50.