I'm SO sorry I haven't checked in for awhile. I was actually trying to wean myself off the Kitchen forum and look into other hobbies, but fortunately I keep getting drawn back in. LOL Here's a pic of uninstalled tiles that are sitting on the counter. The main thing gives these tiles character is they are handmade. So our backsplash guy had to make sure that the grout lines made up for the uneven edges. Also, the actual surface of the tiles itself is uneven - some tiles have areas that pop forward a bit more on the sides. You'll notice the edges of the tiles below are not perfectly straight lines. Tile guy was VERY diligent in adjusting accordingly. Finally, there is colour variation from tile to tile. So again, gives it a different look that other subways. I think this shot from my blog shows the colour differences quite well. DH says that it looks like a natural stone/marble due to the colour variation. With that in mind, I think that the non-handmade subway tiles look wonderful but have a different look. More uniform in colour, edges, and surface flatness. I'm assuming the Daltile is a non-handmade tile? I don't think you should be concerned about it looking boring, but it will look different than the Ann Sacks. Why are you worried about going matte? I think it will balance well with your polished Bianco Antico. I can see clearly from your paper template that the 2x8s will look great. I don't even have to tell you about the hundreds of thousands of kitchens that use the standard subway tile and look hella terrific. What are you concerned about specifically? Perhaps I can help.

That's how mine is. I don't have a lot of exposed top edge but there are two places where there is a full course of edge exposed from the side. I suspect it's more prominent than the top edge will be in your kitchen. I like it. It's natural stone. That's what it's like. It's honest and uncomplicated. And I don't think it looks unfinished. I like the accent tiles you've chosen to go with it. I inserted black glass tiles for that bit of contrast in color and texture.

Thanks guys. No I wasn't going to let raw wall show through, I'd paint it in good colors like anna fietta (link below). I visited her smalti shop in Ravenna a few years ago, and I think her work is gorgeous. My backsplash is smalti, there is very little space between any of the tiles at all, they are usually touching or nearly so. OK, so what about the contact paper? I just spent two or three hours scraping elmers glue and butcher paper of the section that I had up. grrrrrr. bits of paper trapped between tiles. I've tried parchment (not supportive enough in the put-up process) and even waxed paper. I'm thinking either muslin or contact paper next time. Here is a link that might be useful: Anna Fietta Smalti Studio

Thanks, I've learned so much from youall's WIP. Here is the part that one of you thought looked like a clear glass plate -- I'm seeing follow-ups via email that aren't showing here, for some reason, so sorry I forgot which of you it was. I'm doing this on fiberglass mesh, and the walls are all done in greenboard. Was it slow who asked how I come up with the design? I'm making it up as a I go along, I just want the general look to be about movement and ribbons & wheels of color on a light blues-greens ground. Wow, the picture is closer/bigger than I needed. But it's a glass blob that was the only thing on the island of Murano I could afford. The yellow tiles around it are very iridescent, & the rest are silver or mirror, hard to photograph. It is actually not disco-ball-sparkly in person, it just depends on the light.