And here is a picture of my floor, just to give you an idea

Or I could do the travertine in a herringbone pattern, which would take it from blah to interesting. If I did that i would do a consistent size for the pattern.

Although the darker brick goes with the floor better, I like the brick on the left (the lighter one) right next to the countertop. Although on the board, it's a bit hard to tell if it's a good match. Can you get a sample that's not on the board; then perhaps someone could photoshop it on here...

I agree the travertine is a bit blah, and doing it in herringbone would still be blah, and also take away from the countertop.

Everything looks beautiful together--Congrats on your new kitchen!!! I think I would let your granite be the star and pick a solid light cream color from your counter for the BS. Adding small copper insets to bring in the reddish and rustic feel is an option. Perhaps someone on the forum can do a computerized mock-up for you.

Splatter some spaghetti sauce and drizzle some oil on that brick and see how you feel about it then. Both are potential real life contaminants. If the brick can't deal with that, then it doesn't need to be in the kitchen.

Daltile does make a porcelain brick look tile that would be better suited to a kitchen. But, it will still have that bit of texture that will make cleaning more difficult.

The big difference between your image and your inspiration image is that the latter has beautiful cream colored cabinets. You have a lot of brown going on already. If you don't balance it out with some lightness somewhere it's going to look heavy. The color tones of the granite (grey) and bs (red) contrast somewhat in your inspiration image. Is that a look you like? If so, again, you've got a ton of red in your cabinet color already. I can't tell what color your floor is (or what material). It just looks brown - everything sort of melds together. Perhaps you could use more light when taking your images, or is that a good representation of color?

Have you considered using glazed thin brick by Fireclay tile? Here's how their Cotton color looks with Blue flower granite and red/brown cabinets. I've also place vinyl wood tiles in the mix that might be a nice future upgrade for the floor. If Fireclay is out of budget, you could look for a brick-sized glazed tile in a soft white for a similar look. Good luck!

Red/brown cabinet doors

Cotton
{{!gwi}}

Blue Flower

Armstrong Luxe Plank Vinyl Jefferson Oak Saddle

Holly springs that is my exact concern, that it would be difficult to clean/keep clean and defeat the purpose. Do you know the name of the Daltile tile that looks like brick? I want the brick look with the functionality of tile. I only want it all :)

EAM44, the floors are custom concrete and we love them. They were here when we bought the house. Everyone who walks in the door bends down to touch them, asks what it is and says how much they love it. The brick on left is pretty light with cream and gray tones, not really any brown, which is why I liked it, that it kept things lighter but pulled the ivory and gray in the counter tops. The one on the right seems too dark to me.

I like the cotton colored firetile glazed brick. I just ordered a sample. The snow color (shown above) only comes in a gloss finish and the cotton comes in satin, which is what I prefer. I'm also going to a show room to see some travertine that is supposed to look like brick as well.

The island and built in hutch in my kitchen are the creamy ivory color of the cabinets in the picture. The island is 5.5x9.5 and the hutch is also good sized, so that adds to the lightness. I know it's not what is in direct contact with the backsplash, but it is a big color in our kitchen. I am also choosing a lighter color for the brick than the picture.

I'm glad I could help. I'm pretty sure you'll end up with travertine. It is more consistent with your style. Don't forget to post images of the outcome.

This post was edited by EAM44 on Thu, May 2, 13 at 0:18

I will definitely post pics of the whole thing. We are also adding under cabinet lighting, so that will also brighten it as well. I'm excited about that. I may end up with travertine. I just want the look of brick, but it has to be functional as a backsplash. I cook and bake a lot and can't be worried about ruining the backsplash by cooking and baking.

I've decided to do the creamiest (least gold) travertine I could find in a 1x2 herringbone pattern with a 4x4 square border around it. I'm considering doing a unique mosaic around the inside of the built in hutch. It would still be in neutral colors.

I bet it feels good to have made a decision. I hope all goes well with the install and look forward to seeing pics!

Oh my gosh it does! With all the decisions to make in the basement and baby #6 arriving in 3 weeks I'm just ready to be done. I would have loved to do the brick, but it is so porous and rough (even with sealing it) and one splash of tomato sauce on that light color would have been a disaster. Since I do a ton of baking and cooking, I need my backsplash to be functional as well as aesthetic. The brick would just never clean up well, and that makes a big difference. I can't have a heart attack every time I make dinner. It will go in in the next 2 weeks when they tile the basement bathroom, then I'l post pics.

I would go with the one on the left although it looks a bit too yellow for your other colors. It needs to be a bit rosier. You already have more than enough patterns with the floor and counter. The kitchen will look too chaotic and too busy with so much variation of color in the backsplash, a pattern on the counters and then another dark/light pattern on the floor. The eye needs a place to rest!

Sooooo, I spoke too soon. I have a new final decision :). I found this Daltile product that looks like brick but is easy to clean like tile. It's called Union Square. I'm going to do the Terrace Beige color with a light grout and spaced like brick in the regular subway formation. This picture doesn't really show the color accurately. The board sample at the store doesn't have the rosy color that this shows: http://pinterest.com/pin/56787645273972495/