It's so pink and makes the cabinets look orange. Too ornate for your cabinet style. I could see it paired with darker stained cabinets with corbels and ornate moldings--that Old World look.

You're all over the place with tile--Old World, contemporary, traditional.The cabinets are basically a casual country style, and you don't seem to want to accept their identity, based on the tile you're selecting. I think that you selected granite that has a lot of pattern and rich color and now you have to live with a plainer tile. I personally would stain the cabinets darker rather than to continue to struggle with this. It may be the easiest way to dress up your kitchen, which seems to be your vision. It looks like your island may have more ornate trim than the perimeter cabs?

What about Encore subways - Beach, Cameo, Moonlight & Grain all may look nice. I think they are all lighter than and will not blend with your cabinets. Your beautiful granite has alot going on and a simple (but elegant !)subway like Encore could pull it all together nicely.

Thanks chiefy. I appreciate your link and do not worry about hijacking my post. As mayflower pointed out I could use all the help I can get to get me back on track (if I ever even was). You are right may, I am all over the place since every store I go to the representatives there will look at my granite sample, cabinet door, floor sample and pictures I have posted here of my overall kitchen and make their own suggestions. All have an obvious different opinion. I do not guide them into any look I merely tell them the truth, I am having a horrible time trying to choose a backsplash.. here are my main components and please help! These are the suggestions that the last person came up with. I have to say I did like it without all of the heavy trims etc but some of the tiles I liked. It is a complete nightmare and I have come to the realization that I might need to just paint and call it a day. Unfortunately as I said earlier the prep for paint will be difficult too but so be it. Thanks for your comments but again please realize that these are choices that were made by the "so called experts".

Chiefy76, thanks for thinking of me too. We want to keep it simple but with a little interest. Pretty sure we are going with the Adex bone crackle bevel 2x4 that I spoke about earlier in the posts. The sample board with a simple liner is shown in the picture upside down against one part of our Typhoon Bordeaux. With TB, it varies greatly but that creamy undertone is consistent throughout the kitchen. TileLady......I think you are looking for something with a little more pizzazz. I say that because everything you gravitate to seems to have a secondary accent piece. That A2 Gemini that Chiefy76 shared might be a good look for you? What do YOU think? I agree with the other posters that your latest consideration might be fighting with your cabinet finish.

Boy, can I relate! We also have TB. It took me over 2 years to finalize the BS. DH kept saying, "we don't need a BS". HA! I love our neutral beveled cream subway!
I almost went with a stacked glass/travertine mosaic. So happy I didn't.
Here's the mosaic that we didn't use.

Here's what we went with! LOVE it!
The kitchen finally feels "finished".

One more picture.
Good luck!

About the "so called experts".........I am sure each one believes wholeheartedly in their choice. It just goes to show you how much personal opinion and individual taste are involved. You are the one who has to live with it so don't beat yourself up too much! Your kitchen looks great so far, so don't get down on yourself. Some of this decorating stuff comes more easily to some than others........and apparently you and I are among the others! :)

Sandesurf.......thanks so much for posting. It looks great and really makes me feel even more comfortable with the direction I am going. I can't wait until the day both TileLady and I can post our (hopefully) success stories.

In that first photo, they look truly awful with your cabs. I don't know how anyone could recommend that.

You said you've been looking for a BS for five years. Maybe it is time to paint or stain the cabinets. I think they are the bugaboo. They're really nice cabinets too--the yellow/orange color is just too hard to work with. You also say you don't want boring, which might be why you're getting suggestions based on color only and not the style of the cabinets. That is what is being ignored.

A cream color will probably be the least likely to clash, but that can make the cabs look more orange or yellow or pink. The only other color I thought could bridge between the counter and cabs was brown, like a shiny subway tile, but that too might make the cabs look orange. I would pick up some brown samples to be sure. It wouldn't be boring.

Sandesurf......what kind of tiles are those?

what tile is yours sandesurf, it looks really pretty and phonelady what color is yours? That looks very pretty too. I haven't heard of adex I will google now. Thanks and continue enjoying your kitchen sandesurf.. very nice!

Adex Hampton Sand, TileLady. Locally Monterrey Tile let us sign out the sample board. We originally brought home bone but it really looked too white in our kitchen/lighting. The colors on the website don't really do it justice. They have some interesting designed accent pieces. Maybe adding in some accent pieces in the same color as the tile will give you that pop you are looking for without introducing another color/texture. I emailed Adex corporate and they responded quite promptly with names of distributors in my area. BTW, I always liked that creamy crackle tile you were considering at one point.

Sandesurf's tile is too cool for your counter. It's almost a gray undertone instead of a cream. In other posts with tiles with a cool undertone, you've commented that it looks dead. You have a lot more gold in your granite than she does, and her cabs are a good neutral brown.

I appreciate your advice may but we have tried dark tiles, browns or even metallic bronzes and they are very dark for the kitchen. As you can tell in the pictures it is very dark to begin with. There is no way my husband will agree to stain the cabinets under any circumstances. The time and money involved are not something that I could be open to. I have made a lot of errors in this kitchen update ie, the floor was way too dark and I didnt even end up liking it. The only good thing is that dirt blends in and it never really looks dirty... a major plus, especially since I have a yorkie who leaves little dirt marks... The granite is about the only thing I still love and the cabinets were the cabinets and we had a friend match up a few to add to a different layout. This backsplash is what is bothering me the most and nothing and I mean nothing seems to work too well. The stones in various ivorys are very dull and the glasses we had samples for look way too contemporary. And yes, the woman at the store which happens to be a very reputable store with designers that I thought were quite talented saw the cabinet color and everything else and still recommended this. I felt that the colors were a little off and at certain times of the day made the cabinets look very gold/yellow, but that they are. My brother in law who is extremely talented in design thought that they looked great, so again, like others say you never know what accounts for taste. I happened to love the stone like finish and the "antique" look of the brownish color bleeding into the tile. I also then thought that working with the brownish flowers would pull it all together, although my husband said if anything just leave the board the way it is and even cut back on some of the trims. One thing I can say for sure is that I am by no means redoing the cabinets in any form and that I will in the next week order SOMETHING, regardless of it not being 100% perfect because I truly believe there are far more important things I should be spending my time on,., this has become a major obsession and certainly not a healthy one. Yes it has been a long time, but certainly not all due to lack of making a choice, unfortunately we have had a lot of personal things that "thankfully" tore me away from this project i.e my moms terminal illness and then losing her in April. I will speak with this latest salesperson/designer and see what she can now come up with. Thanks all. By the way May, just out of curiousity are you a designer? You seem to have a lot of experience in color etc. Thanks again

I agree with May that the styles are all over the place and that at leat on my monitor, too, the first tile looks very pinkish.
What happened to the crackle or veined subway tiles? Or the lighter one from the English Tudor? Or what about revisiting the metallic tiles? I just saw them at Costco and thought they looked really neat, or partially SS behind the range and a creamy tile elsewhere?
Another option would be to go with an interesting tile shape.
Elongated hex tiles

[

[Eclectic Tile[(https://www.houzz.com/products/eclectic-tile-prbr1-br~t_1053~s_2104) by Los Angeles Tile, Stone & Countertops Filmore Clark

Or Arabesque, although that's not really in agreement with your more rustic/streamlined kitchen

[

[Eclectic Tile[(https://www.houzz.com/products/eclectic-tile-prbr1-br~t_1053~s_2104) by Nashville Tile, Stone & Countertops Mission Stone Tile

[

[Traditional Tile[(https://www.houzz.com/products/traditional-tile-prbr1-br~t_1053~s_2107) by Ottawa Design-Build Firms OakWood Renovation Experts

[

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Wilton Design-Build Firms Country Club Homes

[

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Fairfax Design-Build Firms RJK Construction Inc
{{gwi:1855847}}

I so understand that you want to be done with this and that there are more important things in life than one's backsplash. On the other hand, the backsplash is one of the most permanent things in a kitchen, so, quite frankly, with your gorgeous granite, I'd go with a simpler backsplash and go bling with other features that are more easily changed out, such as hardware or light fixtures.
And, actually, I do like your cabinets. Perhaps look into some really neat hardware.

Nix the brown. I just noticed your floor tile is brown, and now I remember when you first posted thinking you had too much brown. I'd go back to boring cream.

You say creams are too stark, but you showed a white tile. So are you only looking at cooler off-whites? Have you looked at a company like Sonoma Tileworks which has many shades of cream?

I would certainly use a cream color. I have been looking at homes that are no more than 10 years old and I can't believe the dark colors people use. Black appliances, black sofas, dark draperies. Also the busy styles, multi colors every where. Your counter top looks great but you need to try and visualize what more patterns/multi colors will do to the room. Bring lots of different tile sample home, some stores have notebook type samples. Keep it simple. When I bought my new home I wanted soft colors in the open living area continuing on through the rest of the home and lots of lights. I don't even have draperies, just Bali blinds, top down bottoms up. My realtor said "your home is 9 years old and it still look fresh and new.

I did like the mirror you posted earlier. is that still an option?
YOu need to go with what you like; not with what anyone here or other "experts".
we are looking at a monitor, we're not in the room.

Tilelady, I feel for you. It seems everyone is recommending a neutral & you haven't had much luck finding a cream, neutral tile you are excited about. I can only post one pic at a time but I'm going a post a few pics.
Ignore the mosaic - too fussy. What I like about this pic is the bottom row of glossy tiles for a little pizazz & then matte tiles above. I know your family doesn't like subways, so do one row of glossy 4x4's & then rotate the matte 4x4's. You could pull one of the darker colors of your granite for a narrow strip of tile between the matte & glossy tiles. You could also do tone on tone colors to add interest with the glossy tile being slightly darker than the matte tile.

This post was edited by romy718 on Tue, Jun 10, 14 at 1:26

Here's an example of a darker tile in a 4x4" on the bottom row & then the 4x4's in a lighter neutral & rotated in the upper rows. You wouldn't need to do the accent pieces or the mosaic. Personally, I'd do a less ornate strip of tile.

This post was edited by romy718 on Tue, Jun 10, 14 at 1:17

tilelady, I do hope you have a sense of humor. I'm wondering if you are a Gemini or a Libra. You are possibly worse than my Libra daughter choosing from a Chinese menu!

Forgive me for being blunt: That fancy Encore tile is **horrible** for your kitchen. Your kitchen is - to me - just lovely; the cabinets are gorgeous as is the granite and I like your floor, too. You have a theme going with warm gold tones. Nix the pink.

You have shown two options that I think are simple and would go beautifully with your kitchen: the "crackle tile with taupe veins" and the antiquity tile - the plain one, not the flowery one.

I will admit to being a minimalist; I don't like kitsch and I hate living with something I can't change. Choose simple and use decorative pieces - that you *can* change - to personalize your kitchen.

Oh, and one more thing: Hug your husband; the man is a saint.

A pic of 4x4's in the Encore Vintage that you posted. It doesn't look as pink as it does in your pics. Does it look pink in your kitchen? Do you love it? If you don't love it, keep looking.
I agree with Tomato, your kitchen is lovely. Very warm & inviting. I don't think you need the ornate tiles . You can always put accent plates, vases, etc on your countertops. They are much easier to remove than installed tile.

This post was edited by romy718 on Tue, Jun 10, 14 at 9:49

Thanks for the compliments! :)
Our tile is a marble, crema marfil, 2x4 beveled subway tile. I got it through Oracle Tile, in CA, but if you google it, it's everywhere.
Maybe the color looks wrong in the picture, but there's nothing "cool" about it. It's a definite cream, with no grey undertones that I can see.
I had looked at crema marfil before, and dismissed it, as the samples I had just didn't look right with the TB. Glad I tried this one!

one more :)

thank you so much for the advice. In fact my youngest daughter just came home from australia and has been reading the responses with me and said how nice it was that so many responded. I am a cancer, tomato a true homebody and maybe that is why I am having such difficulty in choosing the backsplash. I do not have a sense of humor left when it comes to this backsplash because it has been going on for so long. I appreciate your comment about my husband and his sainthood but must say maybe one of his biggest plus's is that he doesn't give a hoot about what I choose or how long it takes.. he just wants me to be happy. Quite honestly tomato, this should be our biggest problem in life and then I would be one happy lady, for sure!! I often wonder what I will do without this ongoing project.. therefore maybe this is one of my reasons for all of the delay! I truly have NOT found the tile that I envision, whatever that is, hopefully I will find it soon.... Today is another tile hunting day with my youngest daughter so maybe she will come up with something from her fresh new eyes. Returning the encore tile but I will still keep it in the back of my mind. i am sure the rep at the tile store will be very happy to hear that many people on garden web thought her choice was horrible. Tomato.. I am laughing as I type this so I do believe I have a sense of humor although I must admit I have read some posts on the overall site that were cringeworthy.... I will never forget the recent post where the woman already installed a very expensive mosaic and decided she didn't like how it looked with her beauitful countertop. I felt her pain and many posters were beyond rude in telling her how awful it looked. I understand we come here for advice and opinions from others (which I really do appreciate) but I also feel there is no need to go over the top in telling people how terrible something looks, especially after it was already installed. She did change it and it looks fabulous but what a waste of good money that experience was. So thanks in advance for trying to prevent me from a total rip out and hopefully we will find a cream that works with my kitchen.

by the way I love so many of the pictures that all of you posted and I happen to really love the encore pictures you posted too. The tile really doesnt come off too pink in my kitchen but it is definitely less gold than my cabinets. In fact at one point I thought it was too close in color and didn't offer enough of a contrast. May, I do have a very dark floor and I did feel that the brown bs would be too dark. I also did have a whitish tile sent from a manufacturer rep based off of pictures I sent him and it is clearly way too stark. The cream with the veining was a pretty tile (at least I thought so but no one else in person liked it.. it too seemed to be very white. I am going to breath, clear my mind and just drag my pieces back to the latest store and see what the sales people say next. I will not even give any options and just ask what they see as the bs choice and then go from there. Thanks for your patience and understanding and please know that regardless of how frustrated I appear to be and as harsh as my words come through I really do appreciate all of the time that all of you have given me, here!!!!! I wanted to show you who we are.. the proscratinator and the saint who will be married 34 years in november!! I know GD bless him...

And these are my true blessings that thankfully came out totally perfect without any interference from me!!! I couldn't have picked them better than how they turned out!! Thanks again and all enjoy your day.

I enjoyed seeing the face behind the angst, TileLady. Hang in there. We'll both get this backsplash thing wrapped up eventually. I just sent for a sample of the tile used in sandesurf's kitchen. Good luck!

You remind me of me, I start looking and there are so many choices and I end up bringing home all sorts of stuff and it just gets more confusing!! I learned the hard way after ripping out a backsplash that while many tiles look pretty on the sample boards and are truly works of art, they don't necessarily go with the style of the kitchen and a whole room of it is overwhelming. Keep it simple if you have busy granite. Only one star in the room at a time is the way it has to be and your granite is the star!!! With so many gorgeous things out there that makes it not as fun to pick out but wow in the end it is definitely the right thing to do. I have to keep reminding myself of this. Your kitchen looks smashing so far! Your family and you are beautiful! Good luck and all in good time : )

Ha, I'm so great with advising other people, but for my own house, I have decision paralysis...
So it's still stuck in the 90's.

You all make me smile!! Thanks for all the kind words. I figured it would be nice to show the nutty woman behind the crazy posts. As I have gotten older I find it far harder to make decisions... shouldnt it be the other way??? I am thinking of taking my youngest daughter, this time, with me and hopefully we will buy something, anything!! Today is my oldest daughter Cory's, third anniversary, which are the really important things to spend my time on. Everyone have a great day!!

I am unhappy to report that I have not chosen a tile. We once again had to put all on hold but the thought of going back to square one really upsets me. I did visit a couple of local stores and they basically threw their hands up. I didn't even give any information I just said "HELP". Being that I made the kitchen so monotone gold it is almost impossible to find anything that will work. Again, any new advice or specific choices would be great and very much appreciated. The real color of cabinets and all would be in the second (lighter) picture. Thanks all, once again.

I wondered if you ever got your tile. Would you mind summarizing what you do and don't want, maybe in a list that we can quickly reference as we look around the internet? What is it that is making the tile salespeople throw up their hands? The color?

In working with customers who are very undecided and can't see the overall vision, I'm glad to see that you understand the perspective of those who are trying to help you. I have actually politely thrown my hands up before to anyone who says, "help" and I show them a variety of things and run around town getting more and more samples and they are just not "feeling it". Some people can't make decisions even if several "perfect" options are put in front of them. I understand, but it is frustrating from the other end. When people start getting too fussy, I just think "it's a backsplash... it's a finishing touch, not the end all be all." Your counter steals the show, and the BS should just be a completion, like jewelry. Sometimes you want bling jewelry, and sometimes a simple silver chain is just perfect.

I think your kitchen is gorgeous, and I see a simple subway or even bevel tile (maybe a Jeffery Court vintage) in just the right shade to complement your counter. Good luck!

We couldn't decide either. Counter - light quartz , cabinets fossil grey. Could have used anything for BS but are going with painted - lighter than cabinets, and stacked (not brick pattern) glass tiles up to the ceiling behind the range and hood. Very neutral. We figure it will be accessorized with splashed pasta sauce, dirty dishes, empty wine bottles, and people. The glass is neutral, matt and shimery . 3 x 12 I think.

Oh Tilelady...........when I saw this post I was SO hoping you had finally decided on a BS. You and I conversed quite a bit throughout this thread. I can report that my BS was finally completed about one month ago and I couldn't be happier. I went with the tile sandesurf shows in her kitchen. Good luck!

Here is what we are looking at for tile.

Hi all! I only went to two places and the first just couldnt find anything at all that he felt worked. He did show me a very grey looking porcelain that looked like a stone but I really didn't see it at all. I will post a picture later. He then showed a green/grey/taupe cracked glass, not crackle but the ones from Sonoma that look like salt grains and I personally didn't get the connection of the colors and business in that tri tone pattern. He then showed me a afyon sugar polished board which was interesting and I did even bring it home. It was so different than anything I had been looking for and has a very bright white ground with veins of gold, grey and sometimes even a deep purple/burgundy. My husband didn't like it at all.. Not to sound totally obnoxious, but if I loved it he would be very happy to agree. I just am totally unsure of it. I will again post pictures later. Take a look at it, especially May and let me know what you think. It probably will tend to compete with the counter and stand out, but it did look a bit interesting... needless to say I returned the board without ordering. I tried a plain bisquit subway tile and it just doesn't do it for me. it was very inexpensive like $5 per square foot.. I wouldn't know where to begin with those creams, beiges, soft whites etc, because I personally don't think any work. The picture I will show later is the choice of the woman at the second tile store. I really love the encores, antiquity and fireclay etc but I do not want to spend $30 per square foot for tile. That about sums it up. The second salesperson chose a tile that I had seen almost a year ago which was a small subway tile with a few mother of pearl tiles mixed with stones in peach tones.. yes, it matched but it is too matchy matchy and again very mono tone or in my case quadrouple tone... None of the tile reps were nasty in the least.. they just didn't really have much for me to consider.. I didnt even say much because I wanted to try a different route and let them chooose what would just work. Thanks again and so happy that you chose yours. pretty tile above too.. I just cannot seem to find a color in anything that will work with my cabinets or countertop.

I can tell you right now I don't like veiny tile with granite with movement. I would just use the granite as backsplash than introduce competing movement with veins.

Looked through everything briefly, and again, I go back to brown, and actually a brown darker than your floor tile to combat the overall beige/tan look. Does Encore have a brown? What I can see in the photos you won't need a lot of tile. Can you snap a pic of the unseen wall?

Encore was off white, cream, and browns. The tiles are larger than most, so even if they cost $28, fewer boxes need to be used. I was told to order 10% extra, and not one tile was wasted. Hence, I have 2+ BOXES sitting in garage of Cameo. While Cameo seemed boring compared to darker colors on sample board, it works just fine. I also could not have gone wrong with a shade darker.

Okay here goes. I just found another new tile store to go into.. I am sure they will be thrilled. They didn't have too much yet but hence there was an off white crackle tile that they used for a display right there.. that is what they are now suggesting since they have two plus boxes left. They quoted me 15 per sq but I still feel the basic off white looks bad with my kitchen. I agree may, I thought dark too but mostly all I have spoken with or showed my pictures to said my kitchen is far too dark to begin with and the dark backsplash will make it feel very dark and closed in.. Here goes with some pictures. I wish someone had the program from photo shop to put a few ideas in and that would definitely make it far easier for my close minded head or just plain lack of ability to see things the way others can. thanks again and let me know what you think.

another view..none look too thrilling cant see which is crackle and which is plain but very white on all

I too do not know how to add multiple pictures on one message, sorry

If anyone can photoshop ideas into at least one side of kitchen I would appreciate it.. thanks

a larger cleared section

Three pictures ago was a tile store board of afyon sugar marble with various sizes shown unfortunately on the side with the mosaic and a 2 x 4 polished. the other pictures were two samples of 3 by 6 beveled polished with one plain off white or what they called bisquit plain subway and then the new stores bisquit adex hampton crackle for 15 sq.. I am still not convinced that the solid bones, beiges creams work. Thanks and appreciate all comments, as usual.

Hi tilelady, I noticed how far back this thread started. I feel your pain. I think you are actually looking for a pop or a wow, and that is why you have been underwhelmed with your choices. I actually loved phonelady's first choice. I think a solid cooper/bronze glass tile would be beautiful. Or a cream tile, with an iridescent finish! Good luck.

Why don't you find a tile that satisfies your need for FABULOUS and put it just behind the range hood, and then tile everything else with a cream tile that goes well but isn't that interesting. With the fabulous one limited to just behind the range, you could totally do something dark there or jazzy (like bronze tiles?), and it wouldn't overwhelm the room or make it too dark and would provide some needed contrast.

An alternative would be to switch to picking paint and backsplash tile as a pair instead of just the backsplash. My mother's kitchen paint really tied together several disparate elements that she liked in the kitchen but weren't really gelling. So perhaps considering paint too will make a tile work that didn't before.

I came across a couple of GW kitchens that used this brand of tile & ended up on the Quemere website. It reminds me very much of Encore & is less expensive.
There are multiple different finishes with lots of color choices. I love the Fluid Aged Crackle. There are also Olde World finishes that remind me of one of the Encore tiles you liked.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quemere International Tile