oy! i made about three trips between the store and my apt. today with samples. they had the same pattern as my floor tile in a jerusalem gold that blended great with the granite. but in the end, it seemed like too much pattern and that glossy would look better than matte. i looked at crackle, also, in white, off-white and tan.couldn't find the right tone that was both crackle and bevel, so went with plain biscuit bevel; it is close to the paint color on the window wall. the texture of the bevel made more of a difference in the look, than the pattern of the crackle, so that is how i decided. plus, i'm fine with the lower maintenance option. :)now i have to go exchange all of my outlets and covers, which i bought in white.....

Thank you pllog! According to my admittedly limited research, white subway tiles were primarily what was used during 1913 (not colored tiles just yet), or else white or cream-colored wainscoting. I know the colorful tile was used on fireplace faces though, as is the case on ours - but I think the whole sterile kitchen and bathroom look was going on in 1913 (?). I know my house originally had it cause not only is 2x6 white subway tile in the original bathroom upstairs, but the previous owners, who I am friends with, remember it having been in the house at one time. The previous owner now in her 80's moved in with her parents in the '40's when she was a teenager. There was only one family that lived in the house before them, which is kind of neat to know. I'd love to find out more about them someday if possible. All that said, if I had the time further to obsess (I'm already taking LOADS of time away from my kids to obsess over every detail that I am already!), and the eye/confidence/creativity, or a designer, and the money, I'd do something much more fun and much more "me" in a NY heartbeat. But alas, I don't. Maybe someday. The following cut/paste link is to absolutely inspiring backsplashes, which you'd probably love: http://finishedbacksplashes2.blogspot.com/ It would be impossible for me to do if the tile were to get up to $100/SF. How did you come up w/ that calculation? Oh dear - I'd better do the math again! I was told that by going to a fabricator with big machinery, it wouldn't take that long at all for a back splash my size - but that was just one person who said that; he could have been wrong. One consideration for a backup plan for me has been white or off-white minibrick. I think with a non-matching grout - e.g. a noncommittal but darker sand color (sand having both tan and grey in it?), all those little lines would be more interesting w/ the stainless than the bigger subway tile (or, maybe that would also be the case w/ standard 2x6 tile w/ darker grout?). I wish I could find the link I've lost to ceramic minibrick (if that's the word for it) that's attractive to me. I imagine they didn't have that size in 1913 though (does anyone know?) but it's still a nice classic look. If I find it on my other computer I'll post it! I've looked at Thassos which does seem too white. The in-person samples of calcutta are too grey from a distance (I don't want it to match my stainless counter so precisely) but yes I have time to keep looking. I also still pine for the Walker Zanger lightly crackled and glazed 2x6 tile I was all excited about when I thought I would do a honed black counter. haven't ruled that out completely, but it's $25/SF. Thanks!

Bill - can't a tile person do it this way? Can they be set almost touching, grouted WITHOUT filling the pits in the marble?? If the marble is sealed, how would it then be a breeding ground for bacteria? You CAN NOT set tumbled marble that close without culling through alot of stone to get the proper sized ones you want. I'm about to do a wall hanging project where I bought literally three times the entire square footage for just this reason-- to be able to cull through and get the stone I want for it. That's 45 square feet for a 15 square foot project at 7.00 a foot. Tumbled marble varies so much in size that to set it tight like that would end up in misalignment of the tiles pretty quickly, and then the whole thing would end up looking like hell. appears to be mostly contractor types with will intentioned advise but laced with poor opinions of kitchen designers. Actually I'M the one with a poor opinion of MOST kitchen designers. Many of them don't think things through. So long as they can create a piece of eye candy that THEY like, they're happy. Now, NOT ALL of them are like this. I know of several good KD's. But I've also heard more than my share of horror stories about them. I feel that contractors objectives on a backsplash job may be to get in and get out as quickly as possible, and to do at least a good enough to not get called back for rework. If you'd gone through my gallery AT ALL, you'd never make that statement. They may not want to do a project with grouted joints but leaving the aesthetically desirable voids of tumbled travertine/marble unfilled because it would be hard to do and take too long. That's simply ludicrous. If someone's willing to pay for my time, I'm willing to do what they ask, no matter HOW crazy I think it is, so long as it's not detrimental to the installation. There's a project I've posted many times here and at John Bridge's forum of a roman tub, deck, and circular floor that I did years ago-- total about 150 square feet, and it tooke me three work weeks to install because of the way the homeowner wanted it installed. So don't tell me I'm not willing to put in the time. Concerning some earlier questions, the tile are spaced at about 1/16" +/- You've got two courses of the same sized stone together. Try doing an entire backsplash with that small a joint!! and are set in white mastic. This one speaks for itself.

Kristina, try the bedrosians makoto line. they are matte, a slight variation and 2.5 X 10 https://www.bedrosians.com/en/product/detail/makoto-tile/?itemNo=DECMAKSHW2510M or the Cloe. exactly the size you want. they aren't completely matte, but not glossy either. the color varies a bit, but in the white or gray you shouldn't see a big diff https://www.bedrosians.com/en/product/detail/cloe-tile/?itemNo=DECCLOWHI28G no variation and completely matte, but these are 11" https://www.bedrosians.com/en/product/detail/clara-tile/?itemNo=100000799 https://www.bedrosians.com/en/product/detail/manhattan-mosaic/?itemNo=GLSMANCAS28G if you just want a plain matte white https://www.allmodern.com/wall-decor-mirrors/pdp/hull-soho-2-x-8-porcelain-subway-tile-a000841710.html glazed brick? https://www.tilebar.com/sample-cadenza-salt-cellar-2x9-clay-ceramic-subway-tile-for-wall.html 3x9 matte https://www.tilebar.com/kiln-white-3x9-matte-porcelain-tile.html or they do have a vintage matte clay tile, 2x9 https://www.tilebar.com/cadenza-stroke-vintage-white-matte-2x9-clay-tile.html https://www.tilebar.com/bayou-white-3x12-ceramic-tile.html These are on sale/closeout https://www.tilebar.com/calloway-white-3x10-matte-ceramic-tile.html tilebar has 5 samples for $5. order some of theirs