I'm sorry I don't have any suggestions but I wanted to say that I love your kitchen. Your cabinets are stunning!!! I like that white granite, too.

Same here, I am just getting started in the process so I don't have any suggestions but I love your cabinets and granite. What manufacturer are the cabinets and what is the name of the granite?

I also have no suggestions but wanted to say that I'm not even a wood person and I love your cabs. They are so rich and beautiful. I love the pendant lights too, very simple and classic. The kitchen is really lovely.

ok....so i must have tunnel vision, or i just know what i like....but i just posted this picture for another person but am also seeing it in your kitchen....it is a marble, mini brick backsplash and i think is it complimentary to so many styles, including yours......if you like it, then move on to paint colors from there!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: mini brick backsplash

What a difference! Mini bricks could be nice, but also a whitish or very light gray ceramic subway with cranberry/burgundy accent. Then I'd go medium gray on the walls, but that's always my first choice. A sage green or grayed olive could also be nice.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your kind words....I was nervous about posting pictures because I've seen so many breathtaking pictures on GW and I know mine is not anywhere close!!!

Here are some details:

cabinets: from Hanssem Kitchens, Eureka style in cherry. Most of the base cabinets are drawers, which is such a treat since we did not have a single drawer in the previous kitchen (not even for silverware, what was the previous owner thinking??)
granite: Bianco Romano
faucet: Kohler Forte
Sink: Ticor double-bowl sink from Galaxy Tool Supply;
Soap dispenser: from either HD or Lowes purchased for $19.99
Appliances: Kenmore Pro fridge (purchased prior to remodeling; the fridge that came with the house was yucky), Bosch dishwasher, Bosch slide-in range, Sharp over the counter microwave, Zephyr Tamburo vent hood (since we have the stove in the corner, this was the only hood that allowed us to open adjacent wall cabinets)
Floor: white oak, no stain
Cabinet hardware: Ebay (I really wish I got different handles! I keep on bumping into them and getting bruises on my legs.)
Pendant lights: $20 each from Home Depot!
Tapmaster: my favorite item from the renovation; a lovely present from DH for mother's day last year (my first mother's day :)

Here is a picture of the pantry (on the left), which is also another favorite in my kitchen.

gglks- Is that the right link? I don't see the mini-brick B/S you described in the photo.

your is every bit "as close" to nice kitchens you have seen on gw....you should be really proud! your space is gorgeous and you won't believe how each little additions (paint, backsplash) will make it that much nicer. keep us posted on your decisions!!!

the mini brick is only above the cooktop.....try this though, just incase....

i tried to send the enlarged photo the first time....

Here is a link that might be useful: mini brick....again!!!

I think your cabinetry is really beautiful, well the whole kitchen is beautiful - but I just love the way your cabinets have variations of color on the raised parts. I'm drawing a complete blank on what those outside raised parts are called!!! But anyway - I like the look of your kitchen and I'm sure you'll make good choices on your bs too!

It looks like you have a blue??? on the walls near the kitchen. That color really pops with your cabinets and looks pretty. Is that what you're going with?

I think gglks' example of mini brick is like Alku05's?

Kitchen photo:
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g40/alku05/DSC01126.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful:

I'm so glad you posted pictures. Your kitchen is gorgeous! The wood tones and your granite reminded me of Alku05's kitchen. I hope she doesn't mind me posting her pictures.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I'm curious, does your kitchen open to a family room? What other colors do you see from the kitchen? Are you leaning toward a specific color? Green, blue, red? Is there a tile you kind of like, glass, ceramic, marble? Your kitchen is like a blank canvas and can really go in so many different directions. Do you have inspiration pictures that you've collected? Look through those again and see what the reoccuring theme is. That will at least give us a start in helping you. What you have now is so beautiful.

I think a glass mosaic would be neat. If there is one in your colors--some deeper reds and whites and grays.

Ni, it came out beautiful!!! I remember the problems you had with the cabinets, and I'm so glad you're having a happy ending. I totally understand why you waited to tackle the backsplash and paint... I had to shop for b/s tile in the middle of my own cabinet fiasco, and it was so hard to get my head into it. Couldn't enjoy the process at all, so I ended up just buying the first thing I saw that looked like it would work. I do like it a lot, but a tiny corner of me wonders what I might have come up with if I'd taken my time about it.

Yes, the Hanssem Eureka cabinets. I almost bought those (in maple), but I ended up with a very similar style from Kraftmaid because I liked the color better.

Not much to contribute b/s or paint-wise - I'm pretty challenged about these things. I'll just say that I really like the marble tile that wascolette posted - I think it would look gorgeous with your granite. I think marthavila has something similar - really beautiful.

Good luck!!!

I really love your kitchen. I could be happy living there! I also like the mini brick in marble with the bianco romano granite. Its so neutral, and then you can bring in anything you want, and do any paint color you want. I like that yellow swatch you started with so far. Your kitchen is one of one of my favorites I've seen here.

"shy ni" - WOW stunning results on your remodel - Don't be shy, it's lovely!!!
Like the mix of warm & cool elements - I did similiar in my kit warm wood, cool stainless etc... NICE

If you could give a close up of that beautiful stone - I think I see a deep terra cotta fleck in there & see some orange undertone in cabs - I'm leaning towards those colors and a subdued hue
I linked Farrow & Ball palette below

Not the right strength but I like London clay perhaps in a 1/2% formula or even 1/4
Also book room red, pic gallery red
They have sample pots for $7 - To me worth the $$ as I am a firm believer in putting up large samples on walls & living with it for awhile before making decision

I would also rec putting this up on the Home Decorating forum on GW - Lots of skilled decorators w/keen eyes that are very helpful

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor/

Enjoy - Lovely kitchen

Here is a link that might be useful: F&B paints

Hi all,

Thank you all for your suggestions and compliments. You've all made my day!

I love Alku's kitchen, especially the Andromeda granite. My kitchen is definitely inspired by Alku's! I love the mini-brick marble backsplash she has in her kitchen, but I am nervous that it might be too white for my granite. My granite is quite gray, with bits of green in it.

Here are some close-up pictures of the granite. I am also including pictures of tile samples that I have considered. I think a subway tile that is grayish green would be nice. Do they make such tiles out there for a reasonable price? Any thoughts?

In terms of paint colors, I am leaning towards a grayish green (or greenish gray?) to pick up the colors in the kitchen. The kitchen does not get a lot of light, so I want to be careful about what I select.

I am also including pictures of our tiny dining area (we don't have a proper dining room) to give you an idea of the space. We will paint our dining area the same as whatever we pick for the kitchen. (Excuse the chairs, we just sold our large chairs on Craigs List and are using our patio chairs until we find chairs that fit the small space.)

sorry to be off topic - ni, yours is the first kitchen I have stumbled across that actually has the sink bumped out. This is a design feature we would like to work in to our remodel.

Do you like it? Has it proved to be any more difficult than a straight countertop line? (ie: turning around and bumping into it)

Some people are warning us they think it's a dumb idea and we will regret it. However, it's a look we like and really want to do it. Thoughts??

Thanks! Kathy

Katiee511, I really like the way the bump out looks. The original plan was to bump out a sink by 3 inches, but we decided to reduce the bump out to 1.5 inches. (I am really happy about this decision.)

The only regret I have is that sink is a farther than I like. The distance from the edge of the sink to the end of the countertop is about 4.25 inches. Plus I got a handle installed on the sink base, which adds another inch, making it a pain to stand at the sink for an extended period of time. If I had to do it again, I would have the sink moved closer to the edge of the cabinet to make reaching the faucet easier and get rid of the handle.

Katiee511, I forgot to mention that I have never bumped into the bump out (and I am extra clumsy).

ni.... thank you so much!!

Yay, I am keeping the bump out feature :) I think DH wants the bump out to be 2" and I already knew I would have the sink mounted closer to the front edge 'cuz I am so short!

The nice "luxury" I think is the extra space behind the sink to wipe down easily.... oh, and really, really looking forward to an undermount sink! Cleaning will be SO much easier......

Luckily my hardware choice isn't as large as yours (but they are so beautiful!) and I only worried about banging into the granite edges when I am moving around.

Thanks again!! I really needed to hear the reality from someone who actually did this and not just my family's opinion from a picture saying "oh, I really don't think that would be a good idea" :)

ni - Love your kitchen!

I'm also having bianco romano countertops - to be installed in about a week and a half. My cabinets are lighter than yours, however.

I was looking at marble tiles for a backsplash. Although this certainly could change, I looked at a marble tile that has both beige and gray tones. I'm probably going with a travertine tile floor that has a warmer beige look, so I liked a marble tile that had both the grayish to compliment the bianco romano and the beige to tie in the floor. I was inspired by another poster (sorry - I forget the name) who also has bianco romano. If you do a search for bianco romano, there's a link to her kitchen on a thread called bianco romano vs. pearlite(?) or something like that.

Fantastic kitchen! Makes me wish I had picked that granite : )
You may want to consider "fire and ice" backsplash.
jodi_in_so_calif will be able to give you lots of info about this and maybe even photoshop it for you. I believe the colors (which includes light & med. gray) would go well with your kitchen : )

I vote a gray glass subway tile. Here's one example from mlglasstile.
{{!gwi}}

remodelfla, thanks for the glass tile idea. You are definitely the tile guru! I really like the idea of either ceramic or marble. If you have any other ideas, please let me know.

Thanks everyone....please send more ideas this way...

Hi ni2006- Love your kitchen- great job! It's also good to see that I'm not the only person in the world with a support beam in the middle of their granite island. How on earth did your installer get the granite around the beam so neatly?? Do you have seams all around the beam?
Regarding the backsplash, I think a taupey/gray glass subway tile would look great!
Thanks!
D.

What a difference in the before and after photos.
Love your cabinet choices. TFS

sweetd313, we really wanted to get rid of the support column, but it was going to be too costly and out of our price range...so we decided to live with it. The island was installed as two pieces, so there are two seams. I, too, am glad that I am not the only one with a big old column in the middle of the room :)

Thanks TFS!

Love it! Those patio chairs though...they really go well with the before kitchen! ;)

The column is kind of a neat feature. I can see a marble minibrick tile going halfway up it...

Ni, if you want something dramatic I'd go with Fire & Ice, but if you want to just blend smoothly, as the others have said a mini-brick in marble would be lovely. Your entire remodel is wonderful, and I simply love your cabinets.

Beautiful kitchen!

I saw you mentioned above that you are considering a grayish-green for your paint color. I thought I'd offer a suggestion of a grayish-green that I like. I painted several rooms in my house with SW Connected Gray (6165), and I really like it. I had it mixed at 50% of the formula so that it wasn't too dark (it's 5th down on the strip). It's a strange color to look at on the strip, because if you look at it next to a "true" green, it looks gray, but if you look at it next to a "true" gray, you can definitely see the green in it. I can try to post some pictures, if you like, but I think it's often pretty difficult to get paint colors translate well in pictures. Hope this is helpful.

Here's something from Sonoma Tilemakers: I'd love to see this worked in as an accent...

I think you can pull in the grayish green with your paint which will play off all these other tones.

It looks whiter on this site then it did on their site.

We have the Sonoma Tantrum in that color and the same color cabinet. They are beautiful.

You guys ROCK!!!

remodelfla, I love the Sonoma tiles! In fact, I am heading over to a tile shop this afternoon to see what I find.

chinchette, can you please post a picture of your backsplash and cabinets? I would love to see how the combo looks!

crashboombang (cool name, by the way) - I have paint swatches for SW and saw what SW Connected Gray looks like. At first glance, I thought it looked dark, but I can see how nice it would look when mixed at 50%! Thanks for the suggestion :)

I will take pictures with the tiles and post more pix later.

Thanks everyone!

Ni_2006, here is the Fire & Ice that Laurie_2008 was talking about.

Jodi-

i also just saw a post here for sally123????? or 123sally???? loved her backsplash....try to check that out too. much more traditional though than the fire and ice look....

Love you kitchen! One of of the best I've seen on this site. I noticed that you have a rather colorful print/painting on the wall... you could use one or more of these colors. I also like the idea of the subway or glass subway tiles or the Sonoma Tandrum picutred in previous post. What color accessories are you planning and will you be using accent rugs or window treatments? Can't wait to see what you decide.

Hi all,

Thanks again for the suggestions. Jodi, I love love love your Fire and Ice b/s...It takes my breath away every time I see it. You have a beautiful kitchen!!

For now, I am gravitating towards whitish subway tiles. I searched for pictures of sally123's b/s ...man, I am in love!

rrs626, I have not decided on accent rugs or window treatments for the kitchen. If you have suggestions, I would love to hear them :)

By the way, I visited a tile store that carries the Sonoma tiles and fell in love with the Tantrum glass tiles. I am definitely leaning towards doing subway tiles with the Tantrum glass tiles as an accent.

Now, the only concern I have is choosing the right shade of white for the back splash tiles. I am soooo confused! Some shades of white look too white, while others look too yellow or too dirty. Does that make sense? I keep on going back on forth on which tile I should pick. I tried to take pictures to show you all, but the shades of white are not coming through.

A question for you: Does the white shade i pick for my backsplash have to match a color in the granite??? I am so confused!

.

I would think about picking a very soft gray...

Just a quick update.

The grayish tiles I've seen are just not grabbing me. I am now leaning towards these creamy subway tiles, which come in 2.5 x 5 size. They are from Horus Art and have a subtle crackle. I am thinking about using glass accent tiles that pick up elements of the granite (by the way, DH vetoed the Sonoma Tantrum tiles). What do you think of this combination? (I am only thinking about the creamy tiles, but not the large gray ones on each end of the sample sheet). I want to arrange the glass tiles similar to gray tiles in the sample here.

Sorry for posting a lot of pictures!

I like the top decorative tile, the gray mosiac on the board and perhaps the bottom 4x4 -
the subways appear to cold for your existing palette - the subway in the top (decorative) tile
I think the blue glass mosiac is bringing another palette that is fighting existing

Hey ni - the subways are okay, though I might like a marble subway better. I'm trying to like the mosaic - sometimes it works for me, sometimes not. The lighter-colored tiles - are those clear that have that green tint that clear glass gets? Or are they actually blue? If so, I agree with jejvtr that I wouldn't bring another color in that way...

Are you still thinking of painting a pale gray/green? I'm kind of headed in that direction myself now... though deciding how pale. BM Camouflage is a nice color, though I think it might be too washed out for me. Might work for you, though... Or I can see you going slightly brighter - Dried Celery, I think is the color.

Just a thought. :-)

I love your kitchen : ) If it were mine, I'd choose any of those Horus Art tiles you have on the sample board...very lovely!
The glass accent tiles (light blue/med.blue or grey/dk.blue...or is that black?)do seem to not go as well with your beautiful cabs & granite.

I actually like the warmth of the taupeish tiles. Do they come in a subway size or do you just prefer the whiteish ones? I'd love to see something of a glass accent that has some cranberry in it rather then a purpleish cast.

Here's one accent tile from Susan Jablon:
{{!gwi}}

Hi all,

Thanks for your honest feedback on the pictures I posted. I just don't know what to do. The taupe tiles on the board do come in the 2.5 x 5 size, but they may be too dark for my kitchen. Marble mini-brick subway tiles (similar to Alku's) look to white/cool for the granite. I will also continue to hunt for a soft gray field tile to see if that would work.

I can see what you mean about some of the accent tiles looking blue. I am thinking that instead of multicolor accent tiles I posted, I might go with a single color (a grayish glass tile like the ones on the sample board. By the way, those glass tiles on the board are about $130/ft - rather ridiculous, if you ask me).

Charlikin, no decision yet on the paint. I am leaning towards BM's Wedgewood Gray, which is slightly darker than what I currently have in the dining area. Goodness, I just realized that that paint color is more grayish blue and not green at all! Good luck with your search! OK, it looks like I am back to square one for paint colors!

By the way, DH is actually color-blind, so he is no help at all!

I will continue my search and will let you know what I find! Thanks again!

ni_2006, I was wondering how your cabinets are holding up? I'm thinking about using Hanssem for a bathroom vanity.