I no longer live in the Bay Area but I still get Sunset magazine, and man are they right up your style alley! Have you searched their online site? My sweetest friend lives in a piece of crap Eichler (aren't they all) in Palo Alto that's nice to look at but horrible to live in. My fingers are crossed yours is just the style of Eichler, not the real thing. Yikes. (plumbing, roofing, insulation, etc.)

Based on my familiarity with Eichlers I'm thinking you'll want to go with a backsplash tile which is long and skinny. What about a glass tile? I like the idea of reflection with the dark cabinetry. I'm also "seeing" color for your backsplash, either orange or a kind of cool avocado green -- not the dated kind of green, but the fresh one. I think the reason I'm seeing orange is to tie in with your ceiling and floor.

I LOVE the idea of a white counter (I would) but don't know if that's too much of a pop! for you and your home. What are you envisioning for paint / decor colors? (I did read that your paint colors has yet to be decided.)

Definitely check out Sunset.

I don't think it is too much contrast at all. For a backplash, I would probably stick close to wall color or do back painted glass to blend in with the walls completely. You could do a color as suggested, but it would depend on the countertop. Perhaps the countertop is close to the floor and ceiling color rather than white.

Zodiaq Moroccan Morning
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Zodiaq Rosso Verona
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Silestone Sonora Gold
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This way you would have horizontal bands of similar tones.

What about a white counter and this beigey glass tile (w/white grout) linked below:

Here is a link that might be useful: dune tile

I think you should explore the monochromatic look for your kitchen, ie black countertop and dark backsplash, very in keeping MCM look. I really like this monochromatic look.

Then I have couple pictures of MCM with dark walnut paneling.

I have other pictures of fir cabinets and what not that Henrybuilt sent me as I was starting my project with them. They have a great look for MCM. You can look in the album. I wish you the best.

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Here is a link that might be useful: more Henrybuilt cabinets

In my opinion, you don't necessarily need to bring the wood color down into your backsplash or your countertop. Maybe you could incorporate it just by bringing in wooden elements or accessories.

Something along the lines of this new bar block from Henrybuilt (If something like that is even compatible with your design/layout) or accessories such a bowls etc.... could bring it all together.

"mid-century organic zen" - love it!

"Now, we're a little worried at this stage there's too much contrast." - I wouldn't worry too much about that - I don't really see the bright light and dark cabs as contrast as such - the sunlight is natural and the more the better as far as I'm concerned. I don't think you should let the abundance of light limit your options.

"should the backsplash have brown/red tones to tie it into the wood" - I don't think so, I agree with previous replies, I'd like to see some colour there, you could go bold or subtle, whatever suits you. I've pasted a link to mod walls, there are some great ideas there. A funky neutral-coloured tile with some geometric shape would also look great - there were lots of suggestions like that for my backsplash, do a search for sochi and backsplash and you should find it.

"We'd like light counter's but is white too much contrast again?" As I said, don't worry about too much contrast, not at this point anyway. If you love white, go for it. If you are still a little fearful of extreme contrast, consider not a pure or bright white, but perhaps a grayer light colour, that might make the contrast a little less stark. Kaismom has a great suggestion re: monochromatic - I also think that that would look great, but only if you really have a nice open space and lots of natural light (which is sounds like you do), otherwise it might be too dark or confining (for me at any rate).

"As you can see, paint colors are open for discussion too". I certainly like the mod greens and blues for tile or paint, but let yourself be inspired by a few favourite pieces that you currently have (and intend to keep).

"And also what to do with the cabinet run that goes into the cut corner on the left (above toaster). We're thinking a little open shelf, as wrapping it with cabinets blocks a window to the left of the beam." - It would be helpful to see a few more pictures of the whole space (i.e. lets see the window to the left of the beam), but my initial response is open shelves or keep it bare if you can stand to lose the storage.

Love the those henry built pictures, wonderful inspiration.

Good luck (and post more pics if you can)!

Here is a link that might be useful: mod tile

Great inspirational pictures. I like neutrals with a splash of neon. Maybe silver/gray counter tops to blend with the appliances...and glass tiles in silver/caramel/taupe/and a neon (something that you really like...kiwi or violet or aqua). What ever you do...have fun with it!!!

I'm quite fond of stainless or copper counters with douglas fir. Metal is modern and sleek and useful. If you're looking to pull in the orange of the fir as a mid-way horizontal, you can't go wrong with copper. That would then free you to choose a light color for your backsplash tile, something simple and mod but airy.

My trim and flooring is douglas fir and my copper counters resonate with it very well. Entirely different aesthetic going on here (my place is "danish modern bungalow") but hopefully you can envision what the copper color and texture could do for your sleek space:

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Alternately, I don't believe you've mentioned RED, but a deep Eames red would be stunning with your look. My brother's first house was a Palo Alto Eichler, and they had red slab door cabinets that were truly the bomb. :-)

Cool stuff everyone. The Henrybuilt units are really striking, and the quality looks incredible. I notice they don't use tile for the backsplash at all in those kitchens. I do like the Modwall glass mosiacs and Sunset Mag colors though too. Decision overload. We're not in a real Eichler. Our house is less than 20 years old but it was built by Californians (in Canada) and has that feel, as well as Craftsman/Japanese touches too. I tried wrapping our island in 2 inch douglas fir and it looks sort of Henrybuilt but I don't imagine fir would make a very good butcher block for the island. Sorry for the bad picture, it was just to get an idea.

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I'd post more pics but the kitchen is a total disaster area, making it look worse than it really is. But here's one of the unfinished fridge/pantry wall which is opposite the stove wall.

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One thing I should have mentioned is that this is probably not our "forever" home, so we are worried about going too personal in style. I love the splash of colour and the monochrome look but worried it might effect resale appeal down the road if we go too far off the mainstream. (I'm not sure we have the guts - the black cabs were already a bit of a style risk). I guess we could use a removable panel on the back of the island or something, and switch it out if we need to, but then the counter and backsplash would have to be quite neutral.

I knew there were some modern fans here. What about this tile?

cool space! I like the tile in your latest picture. Here's a mockup (rough - I don't have photoshop).

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Here are a couple in different colors from Artistic tile. I put one vertically in case that interests you:

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The tiles would be smaller IRL.

I am doing my cabinets with Henrybuilt. I am actually having fir veneer cabinets made by them. My entire house has fir moulding and trim which is in simplified arts and crafts style (for lack of better decription). My house is Pacific NW contemporary with lots of wood and windows, which is NOT the more accepted norm of modern style of architecture. It is quite a bit different. Very much the Sunset magazine look!

So I had to merge the architecture of the house, existing materials, existing lines all together. This has been a fun remodel but quite expensive! Henrybuilt is rather expensive. Comes in at about 5 to 8x Ikea.

In the west coast, they only have 1 designer that has more or less developed their entire concept line. She is an European Architect that is working as a KD in the USA. She is very talented and brings that European sensibility with her. I really like her. She is not a fan of tile. Most of Henrybuilt cabinets are made to exaggerate and highlight the wood grains. When you have tile on the backsplash, the grout lines tend to compete with the woodgrains. I will wrap my countertop material for backsplash.

This is my personal bias but I think tiled backsplash is the first thing that starts looking dated. I have been following design trends for a while because I have been continuous remodeling for so long. Diagonal slate tile was the rage a few years ago. Now they look passe. Plain subway tiles were very popular and new about 5 years ago, they are getting replaced with more blingy glass tiles.

Horizontal linear tiles as shown look fresh and will work in your house/kitchen only if there are other horizontally oriented lines that emphasize that. In the picture shown, they really emphasized the strong horisonal lines with large pulls and horizontally hung cabinets. You have to really look at the entire house's architectural element to make sure that whatever element you pick will work with the house. You want each element to look as if the original architect picked it or would have picked it if it was available.

I recently read an article where they remodeled the house from the 60s and talked to the original architect who designed it to talk about it. The original architect was thrilled because he felt that the current building materials allow the houses to be built in ways that he could only conceive but not execute 50 years ago.

I wish you the best.

If you're favoring an organic look, I think a blonde counter, something like kaismom or circuspeanut are showing, would be just the thing.

And I think it would work with what you have, and the tile you like.

Your LEichler (it's Like an Eichler) is, by definition, a pleasantly quirky house. It can tolerate a certain amount of quirk -- buyers who like this kind of thing will give it a little latitude, more so than the typical person looking for a cape on a subdivision (not that there's anything wrong with that!) who will just reject this kind of house from the street.

If it were an original, I'd suggest something from an original palette. You could do that too.

I think you've made beautiful, tasteful choices so far. I honestly don't think that, if you fell in love with some colorful tiles that were appropriate to the house that one single piece of individuality would torpedo a sale. Particularly in this kind of house, going too "beige" could be just as bad.

So if there's something you really love, and you honestly feel it is the final piece of the puzzle that completes the look of your organic zen kitchen, choose it. Don't make a safe choice for some future buyer you don't even know, because ... you have no idea what they'll want, how long you'll stay, or anything else for that matter.

Good luck!

jabelone...I can't get to reading all the comments you have already received due to time constraints. But I just wanted to say that my cabinets and flooring are the same color as yours, and we have a lot of natural light in the kitchen. I am going with Delicatus White granite. As for my backsplash, I am leaning towards a creamy white subway tile, so the granite will be the star of the show. I am in the middle of my remodel, so no pics yet. I like the contrast though!

jabelone - how long are you planning on staying in the house? I agree with kaismom about a tile backsplash perhaps dating a kitchen, but many buyers will expect a tile backsplash. If you're selling in the next two to four years or so, you should be conscious of the buyer. I'm not sure where you are, but here in Ottawa most buyers (sigh) still don't appreciate MCM or modern design, so I might urge a bit of caution with the backsplash. I learned this a couple of years ago while we were house hunting. We fell in love with a perfect Frank Lloyd Wright style bungalow. Two of the bathrooms in the house were original teal and pink tile bathrooms - high quality, spectacular, beautiful and historic bathrooms in perfect condition. We loved them, but every agent we spoke to felt that the fact that the house had those bathrooms limited its 'selling' potential. We didn't buy that perfect house as it was in too suburban of a location for us, but it will always be my dream house. MCM perfection.

looks like a beautiful house and so many here have given great suggestions. I have mcm we painted our dining and kitchen ceilings white the rest of the house ceiling is pickle stain with painted beams. Though, your raw wood is ideal and gorgeous. My first impression was that the white that is currently separting the ceiling and cabs is so white that it is making both the ceiling and cabs pop. I think using an off white color that would bring the ceiling and cabs together would be helpful.
Also, have you looked at houzz.com under modern kitchens -you may get ideas there. Or, the eichler network has resources and maybe you can email a photo to one of the designers listed there who can add suggestions to the pot.

I think your space is great -- mid-century organic zen it is!. We have a similar MCM home with various wood tones and textures going on. My goal when picking cabinet colors and other finishes was to NOT try to match anything that was already there. Contrast is much better than "almost" matching.

We went with the nexus yellow-brown rather than the dark brown, but I think our space is a little more casual than yours. Kaismom has a point with trendiness in backslashes, but we went for it, anyway. We used a contemporary material (glass) with a retro feel. And I think the white countertops are perfect with the dark brown cabinets. Granites are beautiful, but don't give you the MCM look.

Here is a link that might be useful: jakabedy's kitchen

MCM is awesome! I vote for a real contrast and go for the lighter counters (you know they even still sell the kind of linoleum counter with glitter?). Ok, so maybe don't go that authentic. I grew up in an Eichler in California and have to admit that I like them....it's a love or hate thing!

I really like jakabedy's tile and the third photoshopped example with glass tile that is blue-ish. You might even consider the glass circle tiles from Modwalls in Santa Cruz. Or the Moderne tiles by Walker Zanger that have circles interlocking. Also look at Atomic Ranch Magazine--such great photos in there.

Love all your wood tones and trying to keep a few things true to that era is wonderful! I have a rancher from the 1950s and have incorporated a few cute items that show that time period--here's my "sputnick" chandelier from Lighting Universe:

firsthouse - would you happen to know the style name or number of your chandelier? thanks!

firsthouse - love the sputnik!

Seems like we're basically all on the same page, it's just a matter of degrees - how far we want to "express" ourselves with color. Thanks chicagoans for the colorful mock-ups. I think horizontal tile compliments with the grain of our cabinets. Growlery is right, we can get away with some "punch" because of the houses character. I also agree with kaismom that it has to be taken as a cohesive design as far as vertical and horizontal lines go (especially since it's open concept). Sochi- we're north of Victoria BC, and won't be selling for at least 2 years, maybe 4-5 years at most. (Whatever we do will probably be dated in 5 years anyway, right?). I think we are definitely leaning towards the light counter- maybe Caesarstone's "Baja" or "Sierra" which aren't white white, but should read that way if the walls are off-white too. This is Sierra;

Then we can try a splash of personality with the backsplash. We tried some whitish granite samples, but even the less busy granites did change the feel of the space. firsthouse, the linoleum glitter is back in some of the quartz colors - some even have little bits of mirror in them! We have looked at the circle penny tiles too. Some of them are beautiful. Jakabedy's tile is great. Is that "Sesshu Silk" stacked brick Sumi-e? I see there are other shapes in the Sesshu series. Now how about where the cabinets meet that angled wall? Any ideas for a shelf or filler? I want to ask about the island too, but I'll start another thread on that. That chandelier is a like a piece of modern art!

BTW - Kaismom's Henrybuilt pictures disappeared?

Here is a link that might be useful: sumi-e stacked brick tile

jabelone - our tiles are the sendai sil sumi-e. They didn't have the Sesshu when we got ours last fall, or I might have gone that route. I love a yellowy green!

Our counters are Zodiaq in Papyrus, which is an off-white. When we were looking at counters we knew we wanted quartz and in a not-oure-white white. Silestone had the most varieties of shades, but the Papyrus worked for us because of a sale price at the time. Our house is like yours -- more of an organic MCM than a minimalist one. The off-white worked better for us.

As for the angled wall, I think you just have to decide how high you want the splash to go and then be consistent with it all the way across. Maybe take the height of the splash over the range and then pick that up where the cabinets end?

I understand if you're (and by "you're" I am not targeting anyone in particular... I'm just saying in general) going to be selling your house in a couple of years being cautious about doing anything too personal with tiles and such. But honestly, in my neighborhood, I've been to many open houses and most of the kitchens and bathrooms haven't been renovated in 30 plus years! Many have original bathrooms. I would be happy with anything new at all compared to most of the old stuff I see, you know what I mean? So the point I am trying to make is why not just do whatever you want to do in your own home? It's not like anybody is planning on pink cabinets with purple counter tops and lime green tiles. But even so, if that's what you want then I say just go for it!! Do what you want! If you put your house on the market and somebody likes it and the price is right something like kitchen back splash tiles isn't going to make a difference in the long run. The new owners can always change what they don't like anyway! Right? Who's with me?!?!