i love it!!

It looks great with your cabinets and the vintage containers.

Not to be repetitive but I LOVE it!

Gorgeous. What is it???

So beautiful! I also would like to know what it is.

Val

That makes me smile. So cheerful! Looks great.

I am so excited for you! The colors are beautiful and that whole space just sings with your new backsplash.

I think you did a terrific job!

its perfect!!!

Wow, I bet it looks even better in person! It's tweaking some weird memory vibe for me- don't know what it is??? Maybe cuz my Dad was a coffee/tea wholesaler, and with the antique cans and those cabinets, but it feels just right, very familiar to me some how...and yet the before picture does nothing for me, so weird!

Yummy! It's made a really dramatic change in an already beautiful kitchen!

I'm guessing that you like caffeine, right? :)

A big smile here, too!

Beautiful! If only my DH would let me get tile...I would ask where to get it...

Looks so nice! Love the bright colors. So cheery! Also love the old advertising cans. Great compliment to the contemporary kitchen. Great job! It will be great to live and cook in there. Bet you can't wait to get back and enjoy it. Congrats on all your hard work and great choices!

I have been wondering about you recently! Hadn't seen any posts of your kitchen in awhile. Simply love your choice of backsplash!! It really complements your beautiful cabs! Glad to hear it's all coming together and will be completed soon! Still in love with your soapstone? :)

Beautiful! Is that a custom mosaic? or does it have a name? I may have to steal your gorgeous backsplash. The kitchen looks fantastic.

rayna...it looks wonderful ! Have a great trip to Ohio , c

Rayna!! It's awesome!!! Absolutely perfect for your kitchen and for you, the artist! I couldn't imagine anything better. It ties everything together and has just the right amount of visual interest and "pop!" Great job!

PS still loving those gorgeous cabs of yours, too!

What a dramatic transformation from so-so to fabulous!

Can I please have the name of that backsplash? It might work in my kitchen.

Super!

Looks great!!! No need to second guess yourself. I'm sure Michael is glad it's in also. How happy you must be!

AWESOME. How are the soapstone counters holding-up,have you oil them yet?

Congratulations on a wonderful choice! The tiles warm the kitchen up so nicely and they look perfect with the cabs, as well. Beautiful backsplash!!
Lynn

What a bold & beautiful choice...I'm glad you enjoy it, 'cause the rest of us surely do!

Thanks, everyone! This tile is Bella Ceramic. The link to their website is at the bottom of the post, which will give you a list of dealers. The colors on their site look washed out;they are much more vibrant in real life. You need to see a sample or see it in person. I loved the blue and the blonde, but the red was IT. All of the colors are fabulous. Steal away!

Raehelen - I have a huge collection of vintage tins, but the coffee and tea ones are my favorites. I also have vintage wonderful signs that I may put up when the kitchen has been finished and painted.

Mary and Amy - the soapstone is holding up. Island is still light and beautiful; counters have darkened all by themselves in places and are starting to get - uh - patina (aka dings and fine scratches). And I don't mind a bit because the gestalt is so amazing.

Caroline - are you back home?
Jane - I love my vintage tins - been collecting since the '60s when they cost 50 cents- $2 each because nobody wanted them.

Leslie - Michael's on another job and sent Billy the tile guy to do the job. He is terrific - so make sure you request him if you are using Michael.

The electricians were here and now I have power in the island - but the ivory switch plates on the backsplash will probably be replaced at some point, maybe with stainless. For the moment, it's fine. The tile guys are back, doing the grout as we speak.

In closing, I have to say that it took me forever to find tile. I was in every tile store in Northern NJ, plus Ann Sacks in NY. I sent for samples on the Internet, none of which looked like they did on the computer screen. Bleh.

Customer service ran the gamut -- mostly abysmal to non-existent: sales people who were too busy talking to each other to be bothered with me, others who apparently didn't think I was dressed well enough to be their customer, and still others who didn't actually know anything about their products.

Of the 20 places I went to in NJ, there were two where the sales people were knowledgeable and patient: Nancy at Fuda Tile on Route 46 in Lodi, and Nella at Apex Tile on Route 46 in Parsippany. Nella gets the prize; I must have been there 8 times and she was terrific. This is where I found the red tile - and only because she had previously showed me one of the other colors (the blonde or the blue, I think)on the sample board. I would never have thought about it if she hadn't shown it to me. And I didn't look twice at the red, even when I brought the board home to audition the other color.

In the end, when I realized I needed the energy and the complement to the green counter and stainless serenity (really, too laid back and boring for me), the red jumped at me. I ordered it from Nella and she spent a lot of time on the phone with the warehouse in Indiana or wherever, getting the best shipping price for me. I was 1 ft short (aarrgh) and just called her to see if I could get 1 sheet. She ordered it and had them add it to their next order so I don't have to pay shipping for one sheet. She bent over backwards and customer service like that is so rare. I just e-mailed her the picture from above.

Oops - short a foot of tile and short about 1 cup of grout. Well, Billy will be back to finish the job when I get back from Ohio and my cousins from Paris have left for home. Meantime, tonight we will have to eat out. It's soft shell crab season!

Here is a link that might be useful: Bella Ceramic Tiramola Mosaic

WOW! Beautiful choice on the tile, it just makes everything pop!

Yep I got home Monday night....DS had to be back at work. I am already trying to plan another trip !! I love you guys and can't wait to come back. c

Well, you know I've already told you how much I'm digging this backsplash, Rayna! As one of those people who must have red in her kitchen (yes! I confess!), I clearly agree that this tile brings just the right kind of pop to the overall design when juxtaposed against those gorgeous cabs and soapstone countertop. Of course, I'm loving the vintage can collection as well. Can't wait to see more! Have great Ohio trip!

Thanks, Marthavila. Well, you have the RED AGa - what could be more exciting than that??? I have to do about 8 bazillion things before I leave on Friday a.m., including taking my mother to lunch tomorrow on her 91st b.d. (she keeps insisting she is 100 - we won't even go there).

Hope to see you in early July - and all you other NJ locals, it wouldn't be a bad idea to meet, either, since you didn't make it to the NYC GW brunch.

Oh My! It truly transforms your kitchen to a showplace! Beautiful! Amazing - an advertisement for a splash of color!

Looks great with the soapstone too!

That is really pretty!

That is AMAZING. What a wonderful find.