I know you don't want to hear this but you need to think about the damage done if something falls out of the cabinets. It's bad enough having a glass stove top, but at least it's got the micro wave over it and the cabinets over the MW are to far up to use. I had 2 different homes built in the 50's and neither had tile counter tops. We had tile behind the stoves and as back splash and it was very hard to keep the grout clean. The plumber blamed it on the women wiping them down with a dirty dish rag. LOL

Have purchased porcelain tile from all of the folowing:
http://www.century-tile.com/
http://www.flooranddecor.com/ (best prices, but limited 6x6 selection)
http://www.tileshop.com/
http://www.daltile.com/ (nice selection)

GreenDesigns is correct, it's the trim pieces that are limited. Had to use Schluter to edge bathroom tile.
http://www.schluter.com/139.aspx

I had a tile counter installed on my hutch about 14 years ago, no trim pieces available so the installer used a nice wood edge, painted to match the tile. Looked nice.

We looked into a tile counter a few years back, and as others have noted, it's the trim that is challenging to find. We have a local tile store (that's been there since back when tile was first "in" in the 1920s!) that was able to custom order or custom cut this. I believe there were some online sources, as well---check American Restoration Tile or Heritage Tile (parent site of several others). They primarily specialize in matching tile for repair jobs, but I seem to recall that they also had trim pieces in unusual shapes and sizes that couldn't be found in the mainstream tile stores. We decided against it in the end just because it was going to be so incredibly expensive, at least in our area where labor for a skilled tilesetter was also quite costly (we did DIY our backsplash, but weren't going to risk a non-level counter, nor did we want to mess with the epoxy grout, which is supposed to take more skill to work with). But I still sometimes wish we'd done it, as it would have been perfect for our home!

I've never shopped there, but from all accounts on Retro Renovation, this place should have the trim, if anyone does:

Here is a link that might be useful: World of Tile article on Retro Renovation

Wasn't vintage tile ceramic, not porcelain? American Olean carries a lot of trim pieces. Lowes and Home Depot sell American Olean and Dal tile. Sonoma Tileworks carries beautiful tile and a bazillion trim pieces. You could also check Pratt and Larsen, Interceramic and more of the hand crafted tiles. The problem with all the trim pieces is that those details come at a high price.

This post was edited by voila on Sat, Jun 28, 14 at 20:01

If you would consider ceramic instead of porcelain, perhaps Ann Sacks' Davenport Collection would work for you. It has the 6x6 tiles you want, cap pieces in 2 sizes and other trim pieces. According to their website it is supposed to be an affordable price point.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tile

Dal or American Olean... lots of choices.
FYI:

Here is a link that might be useful: Ceramic/Porcelain

Yes! Join the revolution :)

I love tile and wish they had more trim pieces. Would love white with blue trim...or all blue with bunny backsplash! {{!gwi}}From Lavender Lass farmhouse pictures

Some of my favorite tile pictures.... {{!gwi}}From 1920s kitchen project
{{!gwi}}From 1920s kitchen project
{{!gwi}}From 1920s kitchen project

This post was edited by lavender_lass on Sun, Jun 29, 14 at 1:35

B&W Tile has many colors of 6x6 glazed tile with trim pieces. I'm not sure if it's porcelain or ceramic.

B&W Colors
http://www.johnpwilson.net/b&W.html

Here is a link that might be useful: B&W Tile catalog

Heath ceramics has a lot of trim pieces but it's ceramic.

Here is a link that might be useful: Heath

Do you have inspiration photos of what you are trying to do? Can you post them?

I love those two white kitchens LL posted. The tile on the counters and backsplash is wonderful!

Hi, I am having a tile countertop installed around my sink next week (rest is butcher block) because I also wanted a vintage look. I ordered my tile from pratt & larson, lots of choices in field tiles and in trim and their tile is gorgeous! I didn't start out intending to have a tile counter (in fact, the opposite after living with one from the 80s), but fell in love with all their tile at the showroom in Portland. For tile, it is pricier than a big box store's offerings but still cheaper than granite, soapstone or marble.

I'm told Fireclay is a great source for the trim pieces as well.

Many, Many Thanks to everyone who provided tile sources.
Have not yet looked at all of them, but Daltile has some that might work.

The one thing about the trim pieces is that the companies say that they are available, but when you contact them directly about that availability, you run into "no longer in production", or "backordered for 8 weeks". It's the smaller specialty tile makers (read expensive!) that have the best choice and availability for tile counter trim pieces, because everything that they do is custom. So, while tile might be the perfect choice for a vintage kitchen, it's not easy to find economical choices. Very often, one of Formica's vintage reproduction laminate patterns ends up being less expensive. Plus, you have a nice smooth surface on which to roll out dough.

Yeah, the trim pieces are HARD to find! Funny you are doing 6x6 to be retro; we were thinking we'd do 6x6 to be more current!

If you want to undermount your sink, the trim piece selection is even scarcer. For a retro kitchen, though, a contrasting trim can work well so it opens up possibilities.

Let us know what major cities you're near and I'm sure you'll get some recommendations for where to find tile to look at. If you're far from everything, you're going to have to plan a road trip!

Pewabic?

Here is a link that might be useful: Pewabic Legacy Collection Trim Catalog

I want to take a moment to reply to EmmaR who was kind enough to remind us that tile is hard; therefore anything fragile hitting a tile CT is probably going to break.
Well, I'm pretty sure everyone already knows that, just like everyone knows that "15 Minutes Can Save You 15 Percent Or More On Car Insurance from The Little Green Lizard Ins. Company".
At my house, I have so much experience picking up broken kitchenware that I could conduct workshops on the subject. My Beautiful Wife, usually a kind and compassionate person, a loyal friend, a generous benefactor to her children and grandchildren, and a terrific cook, has a Dark Side: She is fiercely antagonistic toward anything breakable.
Glassware, cups & saucers, pottery and some plastic items have a very short lifespan in our kitchen. Even metal objects are not safe here. Just last week I found our stainless steel spatula twisted like a piece of debris left in the path of a Killer Tornado. Puzzled about which law of physics had been broken to bend it like that, I stared at it a while, then just straightened it out best I could and put it back in the drawer.
Even a foam rubber CT would have little or no impact on our family's breakage statistics, so since Life Is Short, we're going to enjoy the unique style and cottage charm of our beautiful tile CT and not spend even one nanosecond worrying about a broken glass or two . . . or three . . . or . . .

Perhaps I misread, but I thought EmmaR was referring to breaking the tile, not the object dropped on the tile. We had tile counters growing up and they had a few really terrible cracks and chips along the edges from dropped pots and pans. Maybe we were clumsy, but it happened. Not that other counters don't crack or chip...

I know OP doesn't want to hear this but...have you actually had and lived with tile countertops? I'm asking as someone who did, for 20+ years in my 'vintage' 1950 kitchen.

Truth time: the look comes along with some really not so charming realities like: the grout will get disgusting. Not may, will. And it's a pain to work on because it's not a solid surface; all those grout lines are busily collecting nastiness while you use the counter. And while you may love the look...the next people aka potential buyers who will be looking at your kitchen are probably going to be mentally figuring out how much it's going to cost them to get rid of that nasty tile countertop, ie you are putting in something that will be a negative if you ever need to sell.

Enjoy your old fashioned out of date out of style counters but one does hope you will be enjoying with full awareness of the negatives of this charming retro effect.

Grout does not have to get disgusting! Mine isn't and never has been! I have had tile countertops all my life and they clean up just fine. My beautiful artisan tile countertops (complete with trim, but costing more than stone) in my new kitchen clean up just fine. One does have to actually clean up after oneself, though...

Tile is a wonderfully functional and easy on the planet choice.

Route66Services, I agree that 4"x4" tiles are a more retro look than 6"x6", but either will be fine. Another traditional look is to have contrasting trimwork. That part comes from the fact that stores only tended to stock a few colors.

The "8 week backorder" that LWO referred to regarding trim pieces is actually a "we have to make those up for you and it's going to take a little while" thing. Don't let it sway you. Just plan ahead, and give yourself some leeway because tile companies over promise on delivery dates. If the tiles don't pass inspection, they have to start all over again. And sometimes, they have to wait a month to finish a big run before making your tiles. This is the big boys. It's the same with the artisans, but they're more forthcoming with the time frame.

Most of all, however, it's important that you get a really good tile setter who knows how to do countertops. You can't just glue the tiles to the underlayment with thinset the way some people do with backsplashes. The best backing is an old fashioned mortar bed, though there are some backerboards that I think are appropriate for counters. Done right, with wet mortar, also takes time, because it has to cure. But it's worth it. I have a feeling a lot of the horror stories about tile come from people whose tile wasn't set correctly.

BTW, good quality tile made from good quality bisque, set correctly, is very hard to break, and shouldn't do so just from random stuff falling on it. It should take the equivalent of a sledge hammer in full swing. Even that might not break it on first try.

If you're interested in going artisan, I can recommend Architerra-NW. Gorgeous tile, amazingly good bisque, and all the trims you could ever want. Daltile, however, is mass produced (i.e., faster) and their plain, glossy tiles should give you that retro look you want.