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Would this Tile Work?? Photoshop Anyone??

14 years ago

I'm back again, asking for more advice - this time it involves picking between two tiles for my kitchen backsplash.

The tile in the middle is a natural travertine in a warm caramel color, the one on the far right is also travertine but in a rustic orange color. Both have a lot of texture in them. (Don't mind the decorative tile on the far left). The tiles pictured are 4 x 4, but we will be installing 6 x 6.

{{!gwi}}

Here's the dilemma: Both my DH and I LOVE color and are leaning towards the rusty orange tile (installed on the diagonal) because it really picks up on the rust color in our granite. Obviously, the caramel tile would be the safer and more neutral way to go, but we are absolutely not neutral people.

What are your thoughts on this tile selection? Could we get away with an all rusty-orange backsplash? How would it look? I've reviewed the Kitchen Eye Candy post in the gallery and saw very few colored backsplashes - most were neutral.

We would like all one color, no accent tiles, as the granite is very busy. Here's a picture of my kitchen:

{{!gwi}}

All your help and advice are very much appreciated. Thanks!

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Comments (8)

terezosa / terriks
14 years ago
We have the same granite in our kitchen. I used tumbled copper slate for the backsplash.

We have the rustic orange color tile in our bathroom (BTW, it is not natural stone, but a ceramic/porcelain tile)
User
14 years ago
I like the orange tile, goes well with the granite, I dont care for the neutral colored one. My only question would be what color are the walls in your kitchen, orange as well or are you changing that. I see a bit of it in your picture, would that not be too much orange?
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Thanks Charlie. Another great mockup! In my next life I will be able to Photoshop! :-) I had been thinking of something like that, only off the counter. I am thinking it will feel crowded if I put much of anything there. Shermann, glad to hear from another paint-only household. I didn't have much trouble with a similar mosaic in my last kitchen, but I may have just been lucky. It was more rustic that the one I'm considering this time. It's really coming down to the balance issue for me...and maybe even more the clutter vs. serene thing. I am starting to think about some serious green (EK Chartreuse or F&B Churlish) which are anything but serene! Could be fun...and way cheaper than tile.
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MetroMom- FYI: There is a post on the remodel forum from someone who bought a home with a painted brick exterior. I remebered reading it so I searched and found it! You may want to read his post before you proceed. I know you mentioned something about a concern re: possible transfer in future. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/remodel/msg021538463187.html?9 Hope this helps! Here is a link that might be useful: ideas for improving exterior of this house
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Of the options posted so far, I prefer the first version I posted. I didn't want to express an opinion at first, but just let you look at options. Now, here are some personal opinions and then another option using your chosen tile. 1. The problem with extending the tile beyond the corbels, IMO, is that there is no continuity on either side. IF you had a continuous backsplash that ran under counters to the range, then up to the hood, then back down under counters, that would look fine. But just randomly extending the tile beyond the hood looks strange to me. 2. I agree with other commenters that it should be fairly easy to get the existing corbels extended downward if you chose. That would serve as a frame for whatever you do under the hood. 3. I am very bothered by not knowing the scale of the tile pattern you chose. It looks too large-scale in all the mockups I have seen to work in that small, confined area. 4. It would be possible to further define whatever accent tile you use as a backsplash with a tile, perhaps one slightly darker but similar in color to your wall paint. Something like this: Of course, a tile frame could match the ground color of the pattern tile, or the accent color in it, or whatever pleases your eye. 5. I think of the area beneath the hood as a picture. I would want to somehow frame the picture to define it and set it off from the area around it. I would want the scale of what was in the picture to suit the picture's overall size. Hope this is of use to you. Sandra
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colorblind1961
Original Author
14 years ago
Wow terriks, I LOVE your slate backsplash - it is stunning! I'm happy to see that I'm not alone in loving color. Roseabbey - the color of my walls are a muted, rusted, coppery color called Grounded by Behr (it's the color above the cabinets, not under them). It appears much louder on screen than in person. The orange tile has much more brown in it, and against the paint color looks very dark. I've polled my neighbors and friends and all say to go with the rusty, orange tile, so I think that will be our decision. Thanks!
terezosa / terriks
14 years ago
I'd like to recommend a grout color that looks wonderful with the rusty colored tiles - Tobacco by Custom. For some reason in my picture above the grout looks much lighter than it is in real life. I used the Tobacco for both the bathroom with the tiles like yours, and my backsplash with the copper slate tiles.
colorblind1961
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the grout recommendation terriks - I will definitely take your suggestion and use that grout color since it looks so good in your bathroom. Thanks again!!
annzgw
14 years ago
You may have seen it already, but check out the link below. Also look at the Inspirational Backsplashes on the same site.

Rope molding along the top of your current granite backsplash and the tile on a diagonal would look great!

Here is a link that might be useful: Backsplash gallery
colorblind1961
Original Author
14 years ago
OOOOHH - Annz, that would look nice! Another great recommendation! I'm off to pick out some coordinating rope tile. Thank You!! Thank You!! Thank You!!
annzgw
14 years ago
You're very welcome! Those are beautiful colors and it's going to look great when you're done. Please post the After!

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