Hi Atelier! The horus samples arrived today!! Wow are they gorgeous!!! Both DH and I loved the cristalli the most. Love the uneven lines and the gorgeous crackle. Unfortunately, the lightest of the whites isn't white enough. It's practically identical to my soft white shiloh cabinets, and i dont expect that will change even when they are up on the walls. I think we will likely go with the Horus broadway in latte. The color is perfect. Will still have to track down a Cobsa in a soft white but I think it will be hard to beat $7.50/sq ft Any other suggestions to check out? Cannot thank you enough for your help!!!

Thank you all for your input. DH is going to put up the tile over the stove and see how the whole thing looks before I decide. I think the look of the bar area without any grout now is very much what it will look like with a contrasting grout. Fun2Learn, there were a few in between colors, but they had a peach or pinkish tint, and some had a more gray tint. The tile store I was at had loads of samples, but this was it for tan. I think I'll go to another store- another brand may have the perfect color. Remodelfla, If it dries lighter than the sample- the dark one may be perfect. Practice board today!

Sorry to post and disappear. My "day job," 2 kids and remodel have kept me crazy busy lately. I'm usually surfing the site late at night when I'm up with the baby, but it is too hard to type long replies with 1 hand. Thanks to all who responded. I love all the pictures that have been posted. Babs, I love your blue/green/gray BS tiles - they look great with the white quartzite. (I can't find that shade in that tile.) I am trying to picture your kitchen with walnut cabinets, because I am now thinking about doing the White Macaubas just on the island with dark gray or black perimeter counters. I have been thinking about grayish blue BS tiles or wall paint for a while. Canadamom, the marble mosaic tiles look really good too. Could you tell me the brand of the tiles? I had to go find your kitchen reveal so I could see more details of your lovely kitchen. I love the dark stained top drawers you combined with the white cabinets. Kiffgirl, your pebble mosaic tile is so cool. Where did you get it? (Great aerial shot of the drool-worthy counters and tile, BTW!) Shareher, looks like your lovely kitchen is almost done - I can't wait to see the big reveal. What material did you use for your perimeter counters? The dark grey paint on your island looks great with the WM counter. Pipdog, it's great to see your beautiful kitchen again. The different shades of white make for such a warm white kitchen, not at all cold and sterile. (DH shuddered when we walked into an all-white kitchen display at Ikea yesterday.) I wish those white onyx tiles you used were still available. It's cool to see how good the white quartzite looks in both modern and traditional kitchens

Hello Friends, I went to two tile stores yesterday. The first one, which I had high hopes for was a failure. I came home with two tiles, both by Sonoma's Stellar series, Toast and Krazy Krackle. Krazy Krackle showed up almost a neon white/pale yellow and Toast was a tinge too orange. The other tile store was so sweet. They are where I have been getting most of my samples from. I came home with SIXTEEN sample tiles. Yes, 16! I brought home every cream tile that we thought might have the possibility of matching my granite as well as some greys and even two black tiles. Hey, I was desperate! I was depressed. I was teary eyed. None of the new colors worked. So I put them away for a while and did something else for a while. Then I remembered, one of the sample boards I brought home was from Adex in Sand was still in my car. I had brought it home just to see as the lady in the store said it did veer on the pink side (in real life she is correct - evvvvver so slightly there is hint of a pinky undertone in certain lighting but I had brought it home a month or so ago and it's what first got me on the thought of a crackle subway so I took the chance again) HOWEVER when I put this BIG board up against my granite vs. the just the smaller tiles flanked by existing icky backsplash, it showed me something! Having a light tile makes the light areas in my granite POP like they are popcorn! ADEX tile: Can a light cream ceramic subway work for me after all?!? So I dug out the samples of Rixi Crema and propped them against the Adex in Sand. Definite difference, the Rixi is creamier and warmer. Both in the daytime and at night. So I am just not 100% convinced that the tile guy was correct. Am I crazy? Probably...but I can't shake the feeling that this tile just might be a contender. I spent some time today retaking pictures of the Crema in various areas of my kitchen, different shading. lights, etc. I blocked out the backsplash with an extra cabinet door so it didn't interfere. I also took a picture of it with SW Kilim Beige which is supposed to be a warm beige. The Crema Rixi is similar in shade value (??) and to me, up against the paint, the tile looks even warmer. What do you guys think? Ignore the accent tile in the pic - I was just playing. More pics at the link, please, please check them out!! Here is a link that might be useful: Updated Grazia Rixi in Gardenwebnewbie's kitchen