I would leave the paper towel holder on the counter top. We went through the same question of where to locate the paper towel holder and ended up with it on the counter top.

Have you considered using a stainless steel sheet behing the stove?

Get a nice holder and leave them out.

I got my Michael Aram paper towel holder at Bloomingdale's during a F&F sale or by using a coupon/promotional discount (really saved some $$). I love how it looks on my counter and it is surprisingly more functional than I thought it would be. He actually has holders in some of his other "designs" (e.g., Black Orchid), but they are not on the site I linked or on his own site yet.

Obviously, you can spend much less $, and still find something attractive to keep out as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: MA paper towel holder

I agree with above 2 posts - cute holder on the counter.

Everything is looking so gorgeous! Great backsplash, yummy counters, and love the detail on the floor.

Thanks everyone. I will keep my eye open for a nice counter top pt holder.

As for the backsplash, now that I look at it a stainless sheet would look nice, but we already bought the tile so I'm in make it work mode. Maybe I need to play with it then start a seperate thread with the possibilities.

Thanks again.

wow, it looks great, sumnerfan! your counters are beautiful. what type of wood did you choose?

i don't blame you for not wanting to touch the backsplash; it's very nice! i like how you framed the window... maybe you could repeat the frame behind the range? but then how to do the center section... hmm.

sorry i'm no help with the decorating... just mainly stopping by to admire. :)

If you found a really pretty under cabinet holder and mounted it to the right of your sink, it could hide your electrical outlets that you have there. And there's no reason that you couldn't have a separate counter towel holder near the range as well. I find that I'm messy enough to keep towels in three locations! :)

Sumnerfan, your kitchen looks fantastic! I bought a great paper towel holder at Costco. It's stainless, you press a button on the top to take the top off and put the towel roll on, and then it clicks off the amount of towel you need (keeps the roll from just spinning and too much coming off). I love it and it was very reasonable (for sure less than $30 and I think it was closer to $15 or $20). Not fancy but extremely functional.

For your BS behind the stove, I like ironcook's idea of framing it the way you framed your window. Then maybe you could continue the herringbone pattern and put your floor detail in the middle with the pretty glass around it.

As for your window treatments, you can deal with that later when you're not as stressed.

Summerfan, For the backsplash behind the range, have you tried surrounding the the mosaic tile from the floor with the wall tiles? Just a thought......

If I didn't have under cabinet lights I would have put the paper towel holder there. The counter top holder works fine, but I like an under cabinet installation better. This is the one I have in my laundry room.

Here is a link that might be useful: Simplehuman paper towel holder

Sumnerfan, kitchen is looking very nice!! I agree with the others, get a counter holder. I have a question too, what did you use (brand wise and details ) on your ceilings?

switch to using real towels and put one at a time on a towel bar

Thanks for the comments and replies. You've given me a lot to think about.

Florantha: I had actually thought about switching over to just real towels. They have some cute sets on etsy. I might look into that more seriously.

Tinker: My ceiling is an old pine ceiling that we filled, primed, and painted. It's been up there since the 50s.

Pevo: would I used just the mosaic tile or the noche as well? I definitely like the idea of creating the frame behind the stove.

Ironcook: Thanks, we chose cherry counters from Lumber Liquidators. My only issue with them is they were not exactly the same width so we had to sand one side down to match the other which means we had to reseal them after they were installed. Otherwise I love them. I also love your idea of creating a frame.

Livewireoak: I do like the idea of covering some of the outlets to the right of the sink. I didn't realize we would have quite so many when we were planning. Eventually a small TV will go there, but until then . . .

Flowers n co: thanks for the suggestion. So do you think the 8x8 tile would be ok behind the stove or should we do something a bit smaller?

Natal: thanks for the link. I love love love simple human products.

I think I will play with the tile and see what looks good. I will post pictures.

I'd frame the bs behind the stove like you did the window with the tiles cut into square shapes. Then, add the same inset feature you have on the floor and fill around it with your subways done horizontally.

I have a simplehuman paper towel holder that sits on the counter. It has a nice weight to it, so it never slides or tips over when you are ripping off sheets of paper, even if the roll is almost empty...

Sumnerfan, my paper towels are on a holder mounted inside a cabinet door, and I really like them there. A full roll takes up less than 6" of depth from the shelf at its level. I also have a tall pile of hand towels on hand for all but the most messy tasks, and that works well.

My own favorite treatment for the behind-stove backsplash is virtually always a continuation of the rest or a very simple variation. No inflexible plaque-looks, etc. How about using the same material but setting a couple horizontally with a quiet laser-engraved inscription? That would provide interest without competing with whatever fabulous pieces of art you chose to rotate on the hood. :)