Oh I forgot, I'm probably going with a simple yellow subway tile for the backsplash. Not sure exactly what type of yellow - but it seemed the best fit so far.

I agree, something with a tight crystaline structure would be best. I am using Giallo Antico on my parimeter counters, it may go with that floor. You need to see it in person, the photos that you can searh online are all over the place and don't really show it well.

This gives you a sense of it, but mine is more orange than brown: http://www.marble.com/stone/Giallo,Antico,746.html

Yep, that could work for sure. I like the coloring in it too.

BTW, that website? I use it all the time and they are right by where I live :)

siv..I wouldn't be able to say whether this is a good suggestion or not, but I was thinking maybe Colonial Cream granite.

Sivyaleah,

Wanted to let you know about a couple of resources (full disclosure, they are our businesses)--KitchenLab-Chicago.com, which has extensive galleries of projects we have done in the Chicago area and Design in a Bag our "ready made" website for kitchen and bathroom design. Both can provide great resources for your project.

Good luck to you, we love Craftsman style, sounds like fun!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Design in a Bag

I know you are thinking something lighter, but that could get tricky with the yellow subways and the golds in the floor. I see a black counter -- a very calm soapstone or honed black granite. My antiqued Cambrian Black would be good. With the light splash and improved natural and supplemental lighting, I think that would look great. I just can't picture any lighter granite I've seen with that floor. Maybe a honed marble with gold instead of grey, but that is going to cost more and may not be something you want to live and work with (but it would be gorgeous).

OK. I'll stop "helping" now. Love the floor!

What about Zodiaq or Silestone, in one of the really monolithic almost solid colors?

I tried to post before, but it looks like it didn't go through.

I was actually thinking butter yellow for the counter (you'd probably have to rethink the backsplash). This could be done with laminate (which is not very period) or with stained concrete. I really like the idea of the concrete, especially since you said you thought the tiles might be concrete.

Then I was thinking what to do with the backsplash, if the counter were yellow, and thinking how much I like yellow and gray together. So a yellow counter with glossy gray subway tiles; or I guess you could do grey (natural) concrete and keep the butter yellow backsplash. I'm just not sure how the gray would work with the floor--Failure of visualization.

I hope this reply goes through - I tried twice and both seem to have gotten lost :(

Kitchenaddict - The Colonial Cream may be an option, thanks for the suggestion!

Lascatx - originally I was thinking something dark, maybe soapstone in fact. Cost is a bit of an issue right now, marble would be out of the question though I would love it. I found out my electrical costs are 3x what I expected (old homes, you gotta love them lol) and I'm attempting to cut costs where I can, not add to them :p

I see your point, however, about going dark with the improved lighting but with the Peppercorn cabinets it could be a bit too much "black" (or near black) happening.

Thanks for confirming the diamond is black. That's actually easier to work with.

Oak is more common to the Craftsman style and would work even with the busy floor. Cherry also works and does look more refined. Is there wood trim elsewhere in the home? With Craftsman, you definitely want to relate the woods throughout.

The Design in a Bag site is very helpful. Under the "Vintage" title there were several options with light counters that looked like they would work.

Laminate or even Linoleum might be the best option. Granite feels shiny and solid surface is too modern. Professionally installed concrete is expensive.

I do like the concrete idea -- and that can be stained any color to tie right in. Very good idea.

Yes, older homes are money pits -- and they start as soon as the builder backing goes away and just keep going. My first home was an older home and I loved it. That house and this one we are in now (about 20 years but has an older feel) are my favorites.

Take some time and see what you find -- you might find some salvaged marble (also period appropriate if you can get lucky twice on this)or something else of interest. I understand your hesitation about the black, but you could decide to hold on counters, work off plywood and see how the cabinets and lighting come together in the space before making a final decision. The dark might have a calming effect with the cabinets against that floor.

Since you have a smallish kitchen without lots of light and likely very dark cabinets, I would definitely go for a light countertop in either granite, quartz or laminate (and I think the latter two choices may be best). Picking out a backsplash for a countertop is hard enough without adding in the floor. What challenges you have with that beautiful floor tile! I picked the floor and backsplash based on the countertop while you have to pick out the others to match the floor. Given the floors, I would pick the next major purchase - the countertop - before worrying about backsplash. I think life just got very complicated with those floors. Ask far and wide for advice and good luck!

There's another photo posted with the peppercorn cabinets -- didn't picture them that dark. With good lighting and a light splash, it might still work, but what I found with my counters was the more of an idea I had of what I wanted to see the less likely I was to see anything I liked -- and I never seemed to find anything I was particularly looking for. No one had it. When I stopped thinking too much and went to see what I might find, I started finding more possibilities. I think it's going to be great! Even if you did just spend the floor budget on wiring. Hang in there and have fun.

RE: Cabinets - yes, the oak would be more in keeping with style of the home, and trim currently in the house. Not sure what it is, but it does have a heavy grain (might be Chestnut actually) and is darkly stained.

Re: Counters. I did contemplate laminate. I HATE it, but for some reason it "feels" like it could be a good choice in this kitchen. Wilsonart's "Soapstone" series? Not so bad. It's under some consideration in the back of my head.

Also, living with the plywood for a while is an excellent idea and, one I could deal with. So is finding the counter material before the backsplash as that is a bigger purchase and harder to back out of (or, not at all).

I've done a kitchen reno before so it isn't like I'm a noob at this, and I'd rather prep off plywood than make a wrong choice. Thanks for pointing that out to me!

siv..my peppercorn cherry are pretty dark, (not black but dark) like bittersweet chocolate. I have alot of natural light as well as recessed lighting. I think in oak the sample looked even darker. Personally, I wouldn't choose a dark counter. But it's possible that with the right choices it could look good. I still lean toward light granite. Maybe you're familliar with All Granite and Marble Corp.? There website is great!

You should REALLY look at circuspeanut's kitchen.

I think you'd really like it. It might solidify a few things for you.

Buttery yellow tile, quartersawn cabinets in a style you might like. She has DIY copper counters.

With all the gold/yellow in your room, I think some grey/black would be a good thing, personally. I actually think soapstone would be nice -- they end up being grey if you don't oil -- or a virginia/jet mist granite, which is similar (very tiny speckles of light grey on a dark grey background). But I am biased. I love my soapstone.

I LOVE your floor!

The neat thing about it is you really don't have to do a strict vintage look -- it's truly timeless -- a thing out of time. It would blend well with more modern elements -- you can mix any/every decade from 1915 straight through to 2010.

Also, by the time you get a table and mats etc. in there, and become accustomed, you won't notice the floor so much. There's also an argument that the strong grain of the oak might balance the strength of the floor, while the cherry looks a little lost. The only way to tell is to get some door samples, take them home and prop them up.

I am also providing a link with a lot of information about encaustic tile, including history, cleaning, restoration etc.

Good luck. And congratulations!

Here is a link that might be useful: encaustic tile history and care

Thanks for that link Growlery!

BTW, I had tried looking up Circuspeanut's kitchen once before, but couldn't find it. If I remember right, it wasn't in the finished kitchen blog yet?

I thing soapstone is too dark for the kitchen you've described.

Search on her name. She's good about posting photos. Me, I don't even own a camera.

For example, I remember she posted photos a few days ago on a discussion of vintage stoves, so it would come up.

circuspeanut isn't in the FKB yet. Search the forum and you get a lot of info.

Laminate is a good option to at least have on the list. We would all like to think we hate it, but it's great in the right application. Linoleum was an option in the 1920's so might have been there at some point. You can find some great vintage look laminates that would mimic linoleum. There are some very durable laminate surfaces available and it's inexpensive enough that you could change it out later. Save your budget for things you have to have.

Here's a thread with the pic. It's the only photo visible in the body of the thread, so just scroll down.

I hope circuspeanut doesn't mind!

(I only mean it as a compliment. It's one of my favorites!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Circuspeanut's kitchen in thread

I love that floor. I think soapstone would look really great in your kitchen. Seems like it would fit the period perfectly. I originally wanted to lighten up my small, darkish kitchen with a lighter counter. I ended up with soapstone and it doesn't darken the kitchen at all.

Oh I love Circuspeanut's backsplash. It's exactly the color yellow I was thinking of. The whole kitchen is wonderful and, the copper counter is to die for. Actually I'd been thinking of doing a copper sink but the cost of it - OMG, so much money. What a splurge it would be although, it's still a consideration. My last kitchen had touches of copper in it and I just loved that about it and had hoped that in the next one I could run a bit more with it.

Below is a link to the Villa Lagoon tile site. At the bottom of the page they have links for cleaning products for cement tiles and for sealing and waxing the tiles.

I would wait until the tiles were clean and "restored" before making any final decorating decisions. The colors might change quite a bit. I've found that once you clean and put in new finishes (paint, etc.) in an old house, it isn't nearly so dark and dreary. You might not feel like you have to use so many lighter colors to brighten up the space. Good luck!

BTW, I sent an email to Villa Lagoon and the got in touch with me within minutes. I'm going to send them pix of the floor and they are going to give me a quote for doing custom tiles to match the existing. WoOT!

I love some of the already mentioned above ideas of soapstone and an area with some marble with the floor colors in it... and I would add a lightly antiqued mirrored backsplash!!!

If you think I lusted after your floor before.......imagine what I thought tonight when the whole reveal was posted! Ooooooooh, how spectacular! I could SO see that in my kitchen! I am white/light colors 99% of the time but I'm thinking the dark counters would balance the floor. So many ways you could go with it, at least you aren't so limited that you have to settle for one thing or something you don't love.

Oooooh...what a beautiful floor. I like the thought of the yellow back splash and black counter top...I'm not an expert on materials, so will leave that to those that are.

What a great discovery, that floor is stunning!

I'm sensing your floor is inspiring some lust. So I'm fueling it.

Encaustic cement tiles are actually very practical, indoor-outdoor surfaces. They are not rough, like a sidewalk, but have a pleasant smooth, tactile feel.

As you can see from the links, they come in a huge variety of colors, designs and sizes. You can make crazy quilts, "carpets," edges, use them on patios, hearths, backsplashes in various rooms. I've even seen 100+ year old exterior front yards paved with them on London -- black or red and white. Very cool.

People here are often looking for something different. This might be it. Or might inspire you toward something else that is exactly right for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link with more encaustic sources

Cambria (quartz) Desert Collection "Dover" would be a beautiful match:
http://www.cambriausa.com/colordetail.cfm?color=1130&colorname=Dover&collection=3

Or, Cambria's Classic Collection "Cambrian Gold":
http://www.cambriausa.com/colordetail.cfm?color=1510&colorname=Cambrian Gold&collection=1

But either one, you'd need to be sure they would coordinate with the yellow subway tile you want to use. Laminate is certainly a good cost-value option, and more consistent in even color dispersal through the length of a sheet.

MMMmmmmmm. Sivyaleah, I love! Sorry, I hadn't picked up on this thread until someone pointed to it -- Growlery, you're gracious as always to compliment my kitchen.

With that floor, I'd be very tempted to do soapstone counters with pale yellow tile backsplash and darkish cabinetry. Copper farm sink. Possibly some copper tops on select portions, like the countertop of a hutch piece.

My tile is from New England Art Tile in Scarborough, Maine, and alas they have run out of the yellow, but there is a very similar, if not identical, tile from Solistone in their Mission Tile field collection. For that matter, Solistone makes some deco tiles in hues you might like, as backsplash or hood accents:

{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}

Oh. My. Goodness! I love your floor. Lust after. Drooling over. What a wonderful surprise!!! I'm experiencing a pang of pure envy here because when we pulled a bit of our old vinyl floor to see what's underneath, we found...asbestos! Not so cool.

I think a visually quiet countertop is definitely the way to go. Which rules out most granites, I fear. The copper counter would be gorgeous. Or a quartz/laminate/manmade counter. I've seen some very quiet cream marbles.

And circuspeanut, I'm drooling over some of those accent tiles. Must go research and look at them even though they wouldn't go with the backsplash I've already bought.

I'd put in a Formica countertop, with a variegated finish (marbled or mother-of-pearl type) in a very intense color, either matching one of the tile colors, (the brick or the yellow) or going for a fire-engine red, with perhaps a tobacco-colored backsplash also in formica, but a solid color. Go for the total in-your-face retro look. Get the polished aluminum countertop edging material to finish the edges. That would be so rad!!
I think any kind of glitzy granite would be so very wrong, a real whipsaw, a melange of eras and styles that would be difficult to reconcile to each other. Deco was about blocks of color, clean sharp lines, and exploring new man-made materials; that is why natural stone would not be a good fit. And seeing as how you already have one natural material, in the wood of the cabinets.
Casey

Circuspeanut- thanks so much for responding. I really want to do soapstone, it was my very first initial desire even before I discovered this tile. But it didn't seem correct with the dark cabinets I had chosen. Then, when I found this tile, and realized the dark cabinets were not going to work after thinking hard about it. The kitchen really does not get good light and, even though I'm adding a sliding glass door into the room, I also have noticed that the rear of the house gets the least amount of direct sunlight during the daytime (I've been watching it because I'm also trying to plan a garden).

So, I need to lighten up the cabinets which I intend to do, but have not chosen exactly what color yet. In which case, soapstone would be possible. I LOVE the idea of yellow tile near the soapstone. And, love the tiles you posted. It keeps the kitchen more in the Craftsman style, with just a hint of Art Deco - which would be more in character of the house. The house has elements of both, but overall is much more Craftsman and is more my style than Deco. My eye is very drawn to the first tile you posted, the one on the upper left, yellow and brown geometric. Like that a lot.

I can see adding in some copper with the pulls/handles, perhaps the faucet, fixtures and if feasible, the sink. In fact just today, I noticed that some of the plates on the doors in the house have a copper tone to them.

As for other things - my contractor was over today (finally) with his super to talk about gutting the kitchen. Some surprises were found, issues with the floor level, some piping from the bathroom above complicating the potential ceiling height (but he still thinks I can get in 42" cabinets), a structural beam and possible plumbing in an area which may shorten the run of my counter top (and has put me back to a 30" range), etc. Old homes - you have to just deal with the surprises, you know?

But, he loved the old tile, and was all about keeping it. Said if worse came to worse, and it didn't work out no harm done and out it comes but he'll do his best to be gentle with it during demolition. I've known him for easily 15 years, or more and trust him and his team completely to do the right thing (I've been working for Architects for over 25 years, and know him from my last job).

Anyway - will certainly keep you all posted as things go along. Demo was supposed to start tomorrow but it got pushed off until Monday, no big deal. I go back to the kitchen designer next Saturday - should have been tomorrow but I have to cancel since no point going until demo is done and I see exactly what that structural beam situation is all about for one thing, and some other minor issues. I want to be certain about the measurements before ordering cabinets!

Time for an update! Please tell me you still have that floor! I want it so much I could just cry. I did go to the tile sites. Yup. Want those, too. I would have to win the lottery, though. That stuff just isn't in my price range.

Perhaps painting the cabinets pale creamy yellow - also a period finish - would let you use a black countertop with that floor.