Hmmm, this bothers me. Isn't Houzz's policy that members can not upload a photo they don't own or have the rights to? Yet it appears they can feature your kitchen without permission? I want to see your name there with credit for your talent!

Chris, click on the 'More info' link under one of Bee's pictures there.

I see, I know her photos were on there but I just thought they would have contacted her and said they were going to feature it? Glad to see it though!

chris, when I went into "my photos" I saw that lilly had saved one or two to her idea book, and when I clicked on it, I saw the ideabook.

Really, they should explicitly acknowledge your intellectual contribution! Rude not to. At best!

It's nice to be lauded though, eh bee? Well done!

Love your kitchen!! I'm thinking of using the same backsplash and have ordered some sample tiles. Can you tell me if they were grouted in your backsplash?? I showed the samples to my tile guy and he said I may not want to grout them. TIA.

Your kitchen is beautiful! On your painted oak cabinets, do you have problems with the grain showing through?

hzccpn--you caught me having coffee and checking my computer before a busy day!

Can't see the grain. I did a lot of prep work on those cabinets! Used a product called Pore-o-pac. It was a brush on type of filler. Then you squeegeed it, and sanded, and filled again until it was level. I do believe some others on GW used another product and were also able to get such great results and it sounded a lot less tedious. As with any painting project, the success came from taking the time with the prep.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Love your kitchen!! I'm thinking of using the same backsplash and have ordered some sample tiles. Can you tell me if they were grouted in your backsplash?? I showed the samples to my tile guy and he said I may not want to grout them. TIA.

catherine, you got mail. I think. Let me know if it didn't work.

catherine, hah, I just realized that your email wasn't associated with the message...I received your post in my email account and I hit reply. I just checked, it wasn't from your email account, so I know you didn't get my response! sorry about that. Here is my email:

Hi Catherine,
First, thanks for the compliment. That is very nice of you to say. Glad you ordered samples from MS&T. Did you see the new colors?

If you do order, make sure you talk to Mary Elizabeth there, she is so nice and she would love to know you saw my kitchen on GW or AT. (don't forget they are offering the 10% discount with the code "THERAPY".

Now, as far as the grout goes...

You will need to grout it. Although it looks like the tiles fit together snug, they have various spaces between them. It is handmade tile and each one varies slightly. Also, The grout gives the tile a different look. The grout sort of fills the space and helps everything look uniform. It's hard to describe, but, even though in the photos it looks like the tiles are not touching, underneath the grout, they are. It is the bevel that causes this. Very hard to describe. I have pictures somewhere of the tile during the process. I'll find them and email some of the photos of the tile pre grout. (send me an email so I can send them directly to you when I find them) Also, there is a 1/2 grout and 1/2 non-grout photo, that shows a lot too.

You will also have to tell your installer that the tiles are set on an angle, rather than going across the bottom row first,then the second row, etc. It is more of a pyramid pattern. I know it sounds crazy, but this way you keep the vertical lines straight.

Not sure if you want to tell your tile guy or not, but, it took twice as long to do this than was expected. Although, in all fairness, my "tile guy", is a friend who I didn't let see the actual tile until he showed up on a Saturday morning. He thought that they were on a sheet from the photos. He and my hubby worked from 10 am until around 1 am, then they were back at it on Sunday morning to finish laying the tile and then the grouting began on Sunday. They used a piping bag to fill the spaces with grout.

I chose Permacrete White for the grout. Bill_V suggested this to me. He said it is the ONLY grout that is white that actually is all white. All the others have some sort of caramel color in them, and since this grout was going to be so critical to the design, I wanted my grout to be really white. Also, this stuff doesn't stain. Kind of important on a white backsplash.

Also, the 10% extra rule? Go higher. Waste is much more than that. Ask Mary Elizabeth if you order extra if you can return it.

Well, these are all my "tips". I'll find those photos, but I just wanted to get back to you and let you know, that I can't imagine NOT grouting this tile.

-Bee

Bee, Thank you so much for the info! Thanks also for the discount code. Didn't know about that and am always looking for ways to save money. I also didn't know they had new colors, so had to check them out. I really love that tile and had to have it after seeing your backspash. I was looking at the ivory color for my kitchen, but may go with one of the colors. Would love to see the photos. I just need to figure out how to email you. Thanks again!!!

Bee, what are your floors? Love everything about your kitchen! And you staged it wonderfully for the pics.

The floors are cork. The color is Corte.

Here is a link that might be useful: US Floors Natural Cork