Redroze, thanks for mentioning the Interstyle site. I hadn't seen it before. Do you know which tiles (there are so many categories) are used in the pic you published?

Petlady - yup, they are the Glasstains style in matte and glossy, the colour is Forget Me Not, size is 1" x 8". Are you thinking of getting them?

Hi redroze! I am so glad you like our backsplash. We still love it, too!

I will try to do justice to your questions, but if I miss anything, let me know! BTW if you lived closer to us, I'd tell you to come see the splash in person so you can see it up close an personal!

- The Wolfgang White looks like what I've been hunting for which is a true white colour. How does it read in different lights, and does it have any coloured undertone? I've found it so hard to find a true white, as most glass tends to have a green or blue undertone. Yours in the photo tends to look white with a silvery tinge which would be perfect with our granite.

The tiles are not colored through and through--rahter, they are clear glass, painted on the back. The Wolfgang White is painted white, however, the glass is not low-iron glass. That means that it does read slightly blue-green in some lights/at certain times of day. Only low-iron glass will prevent that naturally occurring phenomenon as far as I know. FWIW, we sprayed the back of a clear glass switchplate with white paint and it read even more blue-green than our tile.

- Did you go with the gloss or the satin, or a mix of both? It looks mixed in your photos but it didn't indicate that on the Artistic Tile website.

The Stilato mosaic in Wolfgang White comes in a mix of glossy and matte/frosted, and is mounted in a repeating pattern on a mesh backing. Certain colors in this pattern are available in the mix, others only in all glossy tile (not sure if an all matte/frosted version is available for any colors, or if any colors are available in both all glossy or the mix).

-Do you find that the tile is very "bling-blingy" in person? I don't want it to overshadow our granite too much, yet both my husband and I feel a little pitter-patter in our hearts when we see glass backsplashes.

I don't find it to be very bling-blingy at all. As I'd mentioned on another thread earlier today, we chose our tile BECAUSE it did not compete with the other elements (cabs and granite, which we happen to love and didn't want overshadowed by the tile). We wanted something that both blended in with our white walls, yet stood out in its own in an understated way (if that makes sense!).

-What colour of grout did you use and what size were your groutlines? Any tips/pitfalls to watch out for during the installation?

Our grout is TEC white, I'll have to look for the exact number/name. We wanted the grout lines to disappear as much as possible.

Biggest tip I can give is use someone experienced with glass tile. Glass has a tendency to chip so you want someone who knows what he/she is doing. Also, you want someone who knows how to back butter the tile (hides the minute chips that are inevitable on at least a few tile). Also, you want someone meticulous--straight lines are a must, as is following the repeating pattern. Our tile guy was awesome, a true craftsman. His attention to detail and his pride in his work were evident from the moment we met him. That's what you want, nothing less (right Bill?).

- Your tiles seem to have so much dimension. Are they flush if you run your hand over them, or do they "pop out" in certain areas to give them a textured effect? Are they smooth in surface or bumpy?

The surface is smooth, not bumpy at all. They are flat, yet more of a soft flatness, not a real crisp, sharp flatness. I wish I could describe it better...

- Are they handmade tiles, meaning are the edges more rough rather than straight-edged?

I don't think they are handmade, and no, the edges are not rough in the least. They are straight-edged.

I will caution you, they're not cheap, but they weren't as expensive as some others we'd considered. I think they ran about $43/sq ft (we might have paid less; our tile guy got a contractor's discount so he ordered them for us).

How much does the Interstyle tile run? I'm trying to get ideas for our upcoming bathrooms renos!

I hope I answered all your questions. If you have any more, or need clarification, don't hesitate to ask. You are welcome to email me as well, or call me if you need more detailed answers. Glad to help!

PS Your granite is beautiful!!!

redroze, I think I'm the one who pointed you to cat_mom's backsplash. I love her kitchen and am considering that, but I'm also interested in the Interstyles one you posted. Our kitchen won't start til Oct. 1st, and I won't make a decision until the cabinets and counters are in.

You are awesome Cat_mom, thank you!! So detailed and I am so touched about your offer to see your place and phone you. I actually live in Toronto, Canada (well a suburb outside of Toronto) - I'm assuming you live in the US?

I haven't gotten pricing for the Interstyle tiles yet, but I will tomorrow. I'll reply to this post with the price when I find out. The one I've got my eye on (Glasstains mix of matte and glossy, 1"x8") is slightly different from the Stilato as they are all the same size, while the Stilato has the three different sizes. We would prefer the Stilato but if we can't get a hold of it, the Interstyle would be a good runner up.

One question - I noticed your tile has 3 sizes. Do you happen to know the measurements of the three different tile sizes? They don't show it on the website, and I'm curious how the sizes compare to the Interstyle one that I have my eye on.

I don't think Artistic Tile has a dealer in Ontario - I see they do for BC. I'm going to phone them tomorrow too to see if I can purchase them.

We both knew glass tile would be expensive but nothing else speaks to us. I like the, as you said, understated yet special quality about glass, the way it stands out yet doesn't compete. It has this gorgeous luminescent quality to it with a tiny touch of sparkle. One dealer said a glass backsplash cost one of his clients around $700 for (I think) 20 sq feet. I'm not sure how much tile we need, but it will only be for the oven wall and the cooktop wall.

Interesting that you said it does have a blue or green undertone. I read that frosted glass tends to look whiter. I don't think it's anything that would bother me too much - does it ever look overly green? Any way you can post a photo of it in lighting where the blue/green shows? Luckily we are doing undercabinet plus so we don't have to worry about the glass outlet plates (I have to commend you on doing yours though, they look great!!)

Don't you love glass tile? I love it. Dear husband suggested that I do a pink iridescent glass backsplash for my laundry room which we'll eventually paint a pale cherry blossom pink, with dark brown shelving. I would LOVE it!!

You are welcome redroze!!! Yes, I am in southern NY state. You can always combine it with a trip to NYC for our next GW get-together (rumor has it our trailrunner is trying to come back up for another visit this summer....!).

The tile does come in varying sizes--I'll try to measure them tomorrow. I was supposed to be paying some bills tonight and have to get at least one of them done to mail tomorrow!

Take a look at my photobucket pics (link should be in the FKB). If there aren't any there that show any difference in color, I'll have to look through some of the other shots we have stored on the computer or take some more. Sometimes it looks more blue-green than others, but I don't know if it ever looks overly green.

As for the plates, we didn't get them, just one sample plate to test. The switchplates we have up are just the plastic ones that came with the receptacles (Architect series matte white from Lutron). We looked everywhere for clear glass but could only find the one we'd gotten from arnev.com, and is actually larger than we preferred, with a beveled front which didn't really want. That real blue-green coloring it threw off clinched the NO vote.

Yes, I do love glass tile, hence my desire to use it on the tub surround walls in two of the bathrooms if at all possible!

Hmm...I see a bit of the blue-green feel in "Image of shot from LR 1.jpg" but nothing crazy. I'm not too worried about it. Don't worry about additional pics as I think I get the gist of it!

That's right, your switchplates are plastic right now...from afar they looked like they blended well so I thought they were glass. I really hope you find ones that work well.

Thanks for measuring them sometime. I'll let you know the cost of the Interstyle ones!

You never know, maybe I will be in New York one day and can make it for a visit!

Have a great night. I just paid my bills too. =)

Cat Mom, I love your backsplash too, and it inspired me weeks ago to go look at the Artistic Tile Stilato in person.

Redroze, my quote was $28 sf here in Atlanta. Only the pale colors come in the glossy/matt combo, Fig-aro, M. Butterfly, Ovation, Pavarotti Pearl, Phantom Grey and Puccini Purple. I didn't see the Wolfgang White.

I saw the Interstyle tiles used on a Divine Design about a week or so ago, Episode HDIVD-1208. You can view the episode on the HDTV web site. Candace used a mixture of tile sizes in Stone Arch color (all glossy) and the look is similar to Cat Mom's. I contacted the company to get the specs and they said: Try their Corbusier pattern which is a combination of 1x12, 1.5x12 and 2x12. They even emailed me the pattern and a pretty picture, but I don't know how to link it to this post. Redroze, if you're interested, email me, boysrus2@comcast.net and I'll forward you my email from Interstyle.

It was difficult to get a true price due to the combo of tile sizes which really would require a tile craftsman to construct the pattern on the wall. Anyhow, a very rough, rough guesstimate was $36 + up per sf.

Cat Mom, your lovely kitchen is modern. Do you think this tile could work in a kitchen that is more transitional in style?

Thanks boysrus2! I will send you an email as I'm really interested in getting the 3-size look, and I don't think Artistic Tile deals to Ontario. Is the Corbusier in a mix of matte and glossy? Would you mind posting a link to the Divine Design show? I found the HGTV website and the specific episode but couldn't find the video.

Cat_mom, I phoned Interstyle and the 2x12 that I have my eye on would be $43/sq ft for the meshed ones. So similar to your Artistic Tile, not much cheaper.

Boys4us, I am also doing a transitional style. Our designer has a good eye for this stuff and is very reputable, and she recommended glass tile for us. I haven't shown her the Stilato style yet...but I think it would work. Maybe when my cabinets are up I'll ask someone on GardenWeb to do a mockup for me.

Boysrus2, wouldn't the Corbusier pattern come on mesh, so it wouldn't require a "master tileman" to put it up? I thought that's how patterns normally would come - on mesh.

Redroze, I believe the Corbusier pattern is one that you construct completely yourself. It doesn't come put together on a mesh backing like Artistic Tile Stilato. Since you're putting it together, I don't see why you couldn't have a mix of both matt & glossy tiles. However, Robyn Brown at Interstyle could better answer any specifics for you. She's kindly emailed me twice and seems responsive to any and all questions. You'll have her email address when I forward the pattern and picture to you.

I'm going to the HGTV web site now and will post again on how to view the episode.

I'll email her. Thanks!!

Redroze, I'm sorry. HGTV changed their line-up of videos. It was there when I went to get the details of the tile after seeing the show last Thurs. The episode, Outdated to Updated" won't be on again until 8/2 at 4 PM.

I also saw another product similar to the other two that we've been looking at from Solistone, Piano Glass Tile 10 1/2 x 12. Around 6 color selections. Home Depot Expo carries it. Not quite as stunning as the Artistic Tile, but for $17.55 sf (on sale now) a nice look for the money. I saw a posting on the Decorating Forum that someone bought this Solistone tile from Costco.com for $15 sf. Haven't gone to the web site yet to check it out.

Boysrus2 - if you don't mind me being bold, I don't think the Corbusier style is quite what we're looking for. If you're worried about doing too modern a tile for your transitional tile, I think the Corbusier is definitely more modern than the Stilato.

Here are my thoughts. See how the Stilato has a significant amount of "overlap", sort of like a brick pattern? It's like the ends of one tile are flush with the center of the other stone, or at least close to the center.

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The Corbusier on the other hand has a subtle shift, which to my eye gives it a more modern feel. I can't add a link to eh pic in the post to it cause it's in Flash, but here's a link to it. Corbusier

I could be wrong though, and perhaps the two-colour Interstyle backsplash is throwing me off. I'm going to email Interstyle (thanks for the contact) and find out if she can send me a photo of the Corbusier in one colour. I'll also ask if it comes on mesh - I'm assuming it does though since they are marketing the patterns on their website.

You need to buy your backsplash soon - keep me posted!!

boysrus2, thank you for the compliment!

I think the tile would work with a transitional kitchen (maybe even more so if hung horizontally rather than vertically).

Wow--$28 a sq ft in Atlanta? Maybe if I have you order it for me down there, I could consider using it in my bathrooms, too!

BTW, the stilato tile is mounted so some of the tiles project out past the ones next to them (this way one sq ft section can interlock with another sq ft section, much like a jig-saw puzzle).

Cat Mom and Redroze, I purchased the Artistic Tile Stilato today in the color Fig-Aro. And I did pay $27.10 sf, so let me know if any of you want me to place an order! Even at that price, for my rather small needs, it costs quite a bit and that's before install. I know it will be stunning though and the gray/green is a color I didn't see in any other lines except Walker Zanger which is $48 sf.

That is an incredible price, boysrus2!! I would love to take you up on your offer...I live in Toronto Canada though. I would be happy to pay shipping fees and cross border fees but let me know if it would be too much trouble for you and I would totally and completely understand. i actually have a Fedex account that I've used to ship things before.

Did they have the colour that Cat_mom has - Wolfgang White? By the way, the contact at Interstyle hasn't responded to me yet.

Ooh, I'll have to keep that offer in mind boysrus2!!!! If I don't see anything I love as much when it comes time to choose tile for the bathrooms....!

I am very excited for you and I know it will be VERY stunning. Will you have it hung horiz or vertic?

Redroze, sorry to take so long to post back. Tried twice yesterday morning, but had modem problems that are now resolved.

I bought from:

Traditions in Tile and Stone
3065 Trotters Pkwy
Alpharetta, GA 30004
Phone 770-343-9104
Fax 770-343-9119
www.traditionsintile.com
I dealt with Karyn Draper
karyn.draper@traditionsintile.com

I don't see why you couldn't place a phone order with them. They could then fax you the exact order specifics for signature and once you faxed back, take credit info and place the order. Shipping might be another story to Toronto. Artistic Tile does not pass on a shipping charge to clients, but does pass on a $15.00 stocking fee. If Traditions can't ship to you or won't, and Artistic Tile can't ship to you directly, I can pick it up and ship to you with your FedEx account. I'd be happy to help!

I believe they can order all the Stilato colors. Do you also need any batons? Ihad a run of tile that did not end into a cabinet, so I needed 4 batons. They are an exact match to the skinniest pieces on the mesh squares. They are 6" in length and you can order in satin or glossy and are $8.12 each.

Would you like me to call them tomorrow (it will be in the afternoon) and get some specifics or would you prefer to call or email yourself?

Cat Mom, I plan on hanging mine horizontally. I think yours are amazing hung vertically - truly my inspiration for buying the tile, but my kitchen is not as modern.

Wow Boysrus2, you are one incredible lady!! This information is so incredibly helpful. I will contact them myself but thank you SO much for offering to call them. A $15 shipping fee is nothing - that is a great deal for such a beautiful glass tile!

I won't need batons (first time I've heard that term) as the left part runs into the wall oven cabinetry and the right part runs into the glass cabinet that goes down all the way down to the granite.

I'm so excited for you. When will your backsplash go up? You absolutely must post photos! Is your kitchen modern like Cat_mom, transitional like mine, or maybe even traditional?

I'm so excited too..on another note we are getting our floors restained (try #1 was a bust) this Tuesday and our cabinets will go in shortly after. I need to buy the backsplash soon then. How long does it take for them to come in? One tile place near to us said it take 1.5 to 2 months which seems like an awfully long time.

I meant to say a $15 non-refundable stocking fee is nothing.

Redroze,

They quoted me 2 weeks for the tile to come in. I paid $27.10 sf to be exact and added 10% over my sf needs just to be safe for a total of 19.10 sf. That came to $521.95 and with the 4 batons, bone unsanded grout, bone caulk, my total was $584.95 before tax.

Work begins again tomorrow on the kitchen and they're hoping to finish it in the next 10 days. The tile install will be the last thing done.

Here's my kitchen in progress. Straight back will be a lighted china hutch, but the top isn't on because it sits on the granite that was installed that day.

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What elements besides hardwood floors will you have in your new kitchen? Would love to hear all about it!

Wow, your kitchen is gorgeous, so warm and inviting and spacious! I love it and your backsplash will take it up a notch even more. I can see how the Fig-aro will work really well with your granite and cabinets. Are your walls a pale green? Are you going to do pendant lights over that gorgeous huge island? I really like how you did white chairs which match the island, and a caramel table that match the perimeter cabs. Your kitchen's so nice already...can't wait to see more photos!!!

Your kitchen is nice and warm, ours will be more on the cool side I think. Our granite has a greyish tone as a starting point. Here are current pics of our non-kitchen as nothing is in it! The potlights were installed last week. The kitchen attaches to our family room, which has a brick fireplace which we will make more modern with a concrete face. The hardwood flooring is not the right colour, it will be a medium brown stain called cocoa. The paint colour will be a greyish taupe by BM called Natural Cream. Perimeter cabs will be white recessed panel, island and pantry/desk will be dark ebony stained maple raised panel. Definitely a transitional kitchen...with elements of both traditional and contemporary.

Here are the latest pics. You'll have to visualize real hard as there's nothing in installed yet!! =)

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Redroze, that's a nice space you have there. I can visualize the elements, but not exactly how you're going to lay them out. How will you design the space around the column? Your selections sound classic and lovely, and I can't wait to see them. I'll keep a lookout for your posts.

I'm jealous of all your natural light and windows. You'll also have a lot of light with the 12 recessed cans that I counted on the kitchen side. I know as I've got 11 5" cans. They're on two seperate dimmer switches, and I love that part!

What a great idea to do your fireplace in concrete too.

My kitchen is currently BM Soft Fern, but I'll change that to coordinate with the Stilato Fig-Aro. The designer at Traditions had a BM color wheel and suggested Dried Sage, so I'll paint some of the wall and see.

Best Wishes and let me know how the tile conversations go at Traditions and if I can help.

Both your kitchens look so spacious (ours is 13 X 13 and I am sometimes envious of a few of the larger ones I've seen here and in person).

boysrus2, you are so sweet--thank you! If need be, I will certainly take you up on your very kind and generous offer.

Your kitchen looks lovely so far (your granite is absolutely gorgeous!!!). Cute little one, too!

redroze--wow! What an awesome kitchen space! Can't wait to see it as it progresses!

Thank you, I'm so flattered! Our kitchen is roughtly 17'x17'10". The room with the fireplace is the family room and a separate room. I am happy with the lighting plan, there will be two pendants above the island, and everything will be on dimmers.

Cat_mom, your kitchen is gorgeous and appears to be larger than 13x13. Your kitchen no doubt inspires a lot of envy. ;-)

Here's our aerial plan, with the family room appearing off the page to the left. We'll put a round kitchen table to the left of the island (empty space on drawing, bottom left corner) in front of the large window. The column will stand on its lonesome which we considered getting rid of but it was too pricey. Maybe in the future. As you can see in this old photo, our kitchen island used to end into the column to "ground" it, but it limited our island size. The old kitchen didn't make use of all the available walls so I'm happy with the new layout.

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A few more of our old kitchen. You can see that we put a temporary desk in the wasted space here:
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This blank wall will house the new desk and pantry area. A good shot of the column here.
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Cat Mom --

Your backsplash is beautiful; as is your entire kitchen!

We'd like to use the same white tile & white grout that you used for your backsplash.

But we'd like to use it for our shower walls.

Do you think the grout would get discolored over time? Would it be difficult to squeegee the water off of the shower walls?

Thanks for your advice!

Cat_mom - Along the same lines of ccc123 - I think you were going to look into the grout colour. Were you able to get a hold of it?

Boysrus2 - I got in touch with the tile place that you bought from. The Wolfgang White apparentally is more expensive - I think the quote was $33/sq foot. But I'm glad that they can order it! I need to get back to them on the amount I need. But they said they can most likely ship to me. Thank you so much!!

Redroze, I hate that the Wolfgang White is more expensive. Why the difference I wonder? I would think all colors would be the same. Thanks for letting us peek at your blueprint. That's going to a huge improvement in the use of your space and functionality.

Cat Mom, thanks for the kind words about the kitchen and my son. He's actually a twin, but the "ham" of the two and had to be in all the pictures.

ccc123, I'd like to use it on my tub/shower walls, too but I have to make an attempt at finding cheaper tile I like just as much first!!!

The grout is TEC Bright White # 910-- a mix of sanded and unsanded (25 lb sanded/10 lb unsanded).

I don't think the grout would be any more likely to become discolored vs any other grout, or with any other tile, if that's what you mean.

I wouldn't think it would be difficult to squeegie, maybe less smooth a surface than larger, flatter tiles, but certainly not difficult...

Cat mom --

Thanks for all of your helpful advice. I really appreciate it!

Looking forward to hearing more about your bathroom remodeling projects!

Thanks Cat Mom!

consider installing kitchen backsplash tile to give your kitchen a unique appearance. check out http://www.glasstilewarehouse.com/ for a large selection and reasonable pricing.