They appear to be gradations of each other, and it may be very hard to actually tell one from the other when you don't have them next to each other to compare. I tend toward the ficus, myself.

I love the yellowiness of meadow, but that's my favorite color.

I love all your choices... the lights, the faucets, the sink, your description of everything that I didn't see in the pics. (I've been meaning to look at your blog since your thread about blogs, but ... so you have probably revealed some of the other things earlier. I love the greens and I agree with meadow, but of the two you asked about, I like ivy better. Preference. I think the ficus is too close to hunter green and I'm not far enough away from overindulgence in that trend to be over it.

My first choice would have been meadow also, but of the two you have chosen I like Ivy because it is lighter. Both choices (ivy and ficus) seem to have a lot of blue in them. It's probably my monitor. Your selections sound wonderful and hopefully we can see the finished product soon. Good Luck!

Peeked at your blog -- love your style, and LOVE that you're vegan (so are we)! Wish you were in Boulder ....

Based on your description of natural light and cabinet colors I am another voting for Meadow, although that's a write-in vote. I read on your blog that you love apple green, and Meadow reads like a cheery apple green to me. Based on what my monitor shows, the Ficus appears more of a true green while the Ivy appears to have a lot of turquoise in it, like jadite.

Enjoy your new space, and happy delicious vegan treats!

Oh no!

Actually, when I ordered the sample I was most interested in Meadow.

Now I am torn between Ivy, Ficus and Meadow.

How do people make decisions like this? ;)

Their colors are gorgeous - Why do you have to make a decision? One of the great things about Hakatai Tile is that you can create your own custom blends. You pick the colors you want to include, and the ratios you want, and they'll create a random blend within those parameters.

I started out thinking I was going to create a blend but ended up using the ready-made gradient sets.

Good Luck!

Love meadow-it radiates softness to me. It has a more mellow feel to the color than ivy or ficus.

Missybean...you inspired me to try to design a gradient, but they don't have one of my greens as an option (can't remember which one...meadow? ficus?). The premade gradient is really nice but it is for a countertop height backsplash and all that cutting and piecing would get confusing.

Husband and I just looked at the Ivy mosaic but i think it looks too bathroomy for the kitchen.

After everyone's posts I held the tile samples up against my Jadeite bowls (new Jadeite...not vintage). And I do see that Ivy is kind of blue-ish. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but definitely noticeable to me.

The Meadow is sweet but I am wondering with all the white (walls will be white), if it will look too asylum minty.

I will definitely have to sleep on it a while. And I appreciate everyone's votes. Your opinions are valued!

Things are really coming together! How exciting! So are blends definitely out? I really like the idea of combining all four greens. I like Meadow the best, but I can't tell if it goes too minty or not. Looking forward to seeing your kitchen. You know I love green!

With a name like Pickle, of course you love green! It's so difficult finding the perfect green, no? Your backsplash has different colors, but it won't look like someone took a wrong turn into the potty! The blend/mosaic is out.

My six year old son picked Meadow, so maybe I will just do that ;)

Of the Hakatai, I like the Meadow.

On your blog you mentioned that you are looking for a true green. I would urge you to consider a bluish-green. It would look beautiful with the Carrera. The Modwalls tile on the left is the direction I'm talking about...

I have Carrera counters and spent close to a year searching for the right bluish-green (more celadon than teal) ceramic backsplash. I found several I couldn't afford and one that was discontinued, so I ended up going in a different direction. However, I did see lots of glass that would have worked!

Nicole

I have hakatai vintage cobalt glass in my bathroom. When choosing the color I ordered two full sheets of the color we thought we wanted. After seeing it in the full sheets we knew it was wrong. It cost a little for tile that won't be used but it was worth it to get the color right.

Ficus seems like a classic color to me. In my world, it would function like a neutral. In someone else's, it would function like "hunter overindulgence." The ivy ooges (okay, yeah, I coined that word) over into the turquoise realm, very pretty, but in my world a tad trendy, although highly desired in many realms these days. The meadow strikes me as the edgiest of the three, but soft enough to live with and light enough to work well even in lower light situations. How does it work with other design elements in your home, outside of the kitchen? My personal favorite is the ficus. I could probably ootz it into the most different directions with accents and fabrics that I decided to introduce. Which one do you think you would enjoy over a large vertical surface area over a long time during the times of day during which you are most likely to be in the kitchen?

Sabjimata -

Sorry the custom blend tool didn't have all your color choices. Just for fun, I created one with Ficus, Meadow and Ice Green (It's missing the Ivy). I love how you can mix and match colors and percentages. You can even change up the grout colors which is what I always have a hard time with.

I used the blue gradient in my bathroom. I created a dark blue mosaic for the floor and ran it up over the curb and the shower floor. Then the blue gradient ran up the wall creating a wave effect. It came out very nice. And according to my tile guy, the product was very easy to work with.

I am sure whatever you decide it will be lovely.

Missy

Nigel-bigel--thanks for your suggestion. It put me back about 10 paces in the decision making process ;P Funny, after reading your post, the carrara looks very BLUE to me! It does seem that all the *perfect* tile is out of my price range ;) Thanks for your tip....

Debrak--Yes. Samples are definitely a good thing!

KitchenD--Last nite Ficus started to look kind of dark to me in the artificial light, although it was my gut choice. Like you, I don't find it too "huntery." My new designing idea is that if the color appears in nature, it is a neutral/earth tone. Let's see what kind of trouble I get into with this one.

Missybean--The mix-it-up-app is fun! I discovered last nite that Ivy is discontinued. Your bathroom sounds great. Feel like posting a pic?

So...this afternoon I took a tile of carrera, my Hakatai samples and my Sherwin Williams paint chip book to Lowes to compare it to the cabinets. I like how the Meadow looks with the chestnut stained cherry that we are getting. I love how the Mint Ice looks with it, as well. I was a bit freaked by the Divinity white cabinet paint next to the carrara. Definitely the marble looked stark white and blue. Plus, the white subway backsplash added its own white to the mix. I am sure (fingers crossed) that once it is all up it will work. Right? Right? (Please nod on cue.)

I think I am going to use both the Meadow and the Mint Ice or Ice Green (they both look exactly the same to me). And I guess I will paint the remaining walls cream.

Choices overload. Feel free to continue to weigh in. It is nice to have someone to discuss these things with ;)

RMKitch--Somehow I missed your post! We are vegetarians that don't eat eggs but do eat dairy...but we love vegan treats, for sure! Boulder is such a great place to be veg...Gainesville is so-so.

Anyway, thanks so much for the support and the vote for Meadow :)

My Hakatai order arrived yesterday. Porcelain for the support post sticking out of the island, Meadow for the 6' wall rising out of the island and Mint Ice for a 6' wall on the perimeter. In some light it looks great and in some it looks a little...adventurous! But we are going to stick with it and hope it adds some personality to our kitch ;)

I thought about using this tile called Beeswax but it is 3x the price of Meadow. I would then use Cream Soda instead of the Mint Ice. Anyway, because of all the tile (straight up to the ceiling) it would have been way too expensive. And husband didn't fancy Beeswax anyway...but I thought it would have matched my drapes well.

Anyway, here is the expensive golden yellow tile I didn't get:

{{!gwi}}

The *affordable* tile I got can be viewed at the link below. Thanks for all your input...I am holding each one of you personally responsible for Meadow ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: mint ice and meadow

LOVE your tiles! They are so cheery, so classic and so fresh at the same time. I am also pretty wild for your drapery fabric ... wow do you have good taste. Totally makes me want to rethink our nook roman shades. Hmm. You know, pictures of those to-die-for kitchens from early-mid 20thc often show green accents with white cabinetry, so I think your 21stc take on the green tile is a lovely, subtle nod to tradition without being ridiculous (as in feeling out of time and place) and without screaming "2010!!!" Does that make sense?

Boulder is just so-so for being veg. We'd thought it would be easier than it has been. All these wannabe hippie rock climbers / ski bums are carnivores, and the local restaus cater to them. More cookie dough for me! Oops, I mean I just got my golden beet seeds, so I'll be planting those once it warms up. (but eating cookie dough in the meanwhile)

Your tiles are terrific.

RM--Thanks for the kitchen love! My tile selection has hit my blog like a big red zit on your nose on prom nite! No one is really saying anything about it and it gives me a hint about how much people (don't) like it ;)

I will pm you later, RM. Much love and thank you for your support (here and in the pm you sent me ;)

I love your tile selection too. Totally my kind of color scheme. That fabric is so beautiful, mind sharing where it's from? I am looking for something to go over my window.

Don't let the lack of comments get to you. It will be so fabulous and totally you! Can't wait to see more!

I love the tile colors. I think it's going to be beautiful, soothing, and timeless. It's not easy making these choices. Go with what you love.

Positano, the drapes are from Antrhopologie. A total splurge for me, but I fell in love with them and couldn't find anything else comporable. The come in 2 other colors, plus Anthropologie has a really beautiful assortment of other panels if you want to take a look.

I know these are not the typical choices to go along with white cabs and marble countertops, but I do want the kitchen to feel like it is mine since resale is not on our map. Thanks for "getting" me ;)

Sumnerfan--It's not easy is right! Especially with a budget that, if blown, needs to be blown in rations. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my vision won't end up a sight for sore eyes!