Can you tell us which is which?

Colorwise- I like how the penny rounds pick up the green. But sometimes things look a lot different on different planes. I wonder if someone could photoshop it for you? What is the layout of your kitchen, what other features do you have? It would help to get an overall feel for what you want. What colour cabinets do you have? How big an area do you have to cover?

I like the colour of the first subway tile better than the second.

Love the reef color subways. Love how it looks in becktheeng's kitchen and it will look gorgeous in yours as well.

The cabinets are currently cherry - but will change to B Moore White Dove - the walls will be Dove Wing (one shade darker than White Dove)
dishwasher has been changed to ss dish drawers. Only about 20 square feet of bs area. Floor will also change. I haven't selected that yet. Maybe I can get some better pics of the tile tomorrow when the light is better.

Geez.... your soapstone is ridiculously beautiful!

I like the top one, but what looks good to you in your own space and your own light is what matters.

Can you lean the samples against the wall where the backsplash would go, then retake your first kitchen picture? I'm not very good at saying what goes best, but there are some very talented people on this forum and that might help them give you an opinion.

I agree that the penny looks great and picks up the color of your soapstone and would add that fun visual touch to your kitchen. It would also provide a contrast to all of the straight lines in the rest of your kitchen.

But I am wondering why you aren't including your cat's vote in this survey? S/he/it says the first one! LOL!

Of the two subway tiles, I do like the first one better as well!

thanks Remodelfla - the soapstone was totally unexpected for me - but I do really like it. I'm leaning toward the blue subway (Rixi) too (as is Sam, the cat). It looks more blue in the photos - it's softer in person. A couple of photos, as requested, with it leaning on the wall.

{{!gwi}}

Much better visual with the tiles against the wall.
I think that either would work great, but I think the blue (especially if you say it is not AS blue as it is photographing) would be better. You will have white cabinets, so I think the hint or more of pale blue iridescense with the white cabinets and soapstone will be heavenly.

To be honest, I think the penny tile will become dated quickly. I think the creamier subway is a classic look that will be more long term. I like the accent liners too.

Looks like I am the only one who said cream tile, so you definitely don't have to listen!

Would you be able to add a swatch of the White Dove paint to the photos as well? It would be helpful to see it all in perspective. As gorgeous as that soapstone is, your cabinets are another big factor. I love that you're painting them in white, it will make the beadboard sing.

I love your soapstone with that sink! I am sure whatever you pick will be beautiful. Can't wait to see the end result.

Just took a peek at Becktheeng's gorgeous tile and think the Reef tile looks great in her kitchen so you can't go wrong with those Rixi tiles.

She said the tile has some natural colour variation - from the creamy "swirls" to the blue that is predominant in most of the tile. Her soapstone has less white veining than yours, so with the Reef tile you will have two things that have white or cream swirls or veining in them. I don't think that's a problem as your cabinets and walls will be quiet colours as well. However, if you want your soapstone to be the standout, I would do the cream colour Rixi subways. Especially if you plan on doing that thin tile border trim - that's another detail that will take away from your soapstone, and it would be better to do it in the cream.

The penny tiles are fun. But you know what I've noticed about penny rounds? They tend to look great when you're showcasing a large amount of wall space (large kitchen walls with barely any uppers, bathroom floor tiles), rather than a small strip of kitchen backsplash.

Cases in point:

Here's a kitchen by Sarah Richardson, a Canadian designer. Notice the large amount of wall space that's showing:

{{!gwi}}

Here's an example of a stainless steel penny backsplash, but noticed how it's the star versus the plain black soapstone with little veining.

In a nutshell then, I'd recommend you go with the cream subway tile with the trim tile pieces, as long as they go with your White Dove cabinets. I also noticed you have two pieces of white-and-blue dishware - if you get more of those pieces, they would look amazing and pull the blue out of the soapstone, rather than having the blue in the backsplash. If you love the reef blue colour though, I think it would also work.

I was leaning toward the cream and then wandered back to the blue. The problem is that I really want the VERY expensive Sonoma Tantrum tile. Beautiful blue colors! Redroze, those are great pictures of the penny tile. Love that lighting fixture made out of glasses...! Too funny. Here's a picture of the Dove White as requested. I already painted my woodwork that color. And also a small sampling of the oh so beautifull Tantrum tiles.

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: http://sonomatilemakers.com/PhotoGallery.aspx?prod-line-id=9&IsPhotoGallery=True

I don't know why I'm voting for the penny rounds, but I will.

Why? Well, unlike Kelleg, I think it will age BETTER than the crackle subway (which, incidently, is what I have, and love, with my soapstone). But sadly, it's become 'a look' which means it will be possible to date. The penny rounds are just a little more unusual, and aren't part of the 'standard' (but gorgeous) soapstone and subways package.

Ooh, those are pretty looking! Can you do the white subway and a row or spots of the Sonoma tile?

Or, how about the white subway and a liner of say two rows of penny tile for a bit of punch that will be interesting but not trying to compete with the countertops? Now, that I see them upright, I lean toward the white subway or the penny myself.

I think that blue is stunning and would really be fabulous with the changes you have described. I have mixed feelings about the penny tile with it, but only cause it's hard to visualize what your lay out will be. Blue is my vote though, it's really pretty.

What is the source of those penny rounds? Did I miss it? There's an Ann Sacks penny round that I *love* (a green) but the price knocked me over.

grlwprls - I got the penny tile sample on line just by accident. I sent for a beautiful marble penny tile, but when I got it the color was wrong. I asked for some other samples and they threw in a couple of special order tiles just for good measure. The blue/green turned out to be the perfect color to go with my soapstone. It's only 12.98 a sq. foot. It's from missionstonetile.com. Unfortunately, it's not on their website. Let me know if you want the e-mail of the person who sent it to me.

I am considering the cream with a couple of rows of the Tantrum. I'm afraid with the cabinets White Dove, the walls one color darker and cream tile, it will be all too white. I know there are lots of white/cream kitchens on this forum, and I love them. So I don't really know what I'm worried about. Maybe I should wait until the cabinets are painted and see how I feel. I'm trying to get the ball rolling at getting finished, but I'm not really in any hurry.

Thanks for so much input - I agree with all of you. That's my problem.

prill, I love the blue rixi tiles. I think with your white dove cabinets and dove wing walls it would look amazing! My second choice would be for the mandorla rixi tiles with the tantrum tiles. I agree with you that with the walls so close in color to the cabs it would be too much white/cream without the additional color brought in with the tantrum. I would tire of the penny tiles. When I see pics of them, it does funny things to my vision.

Thanks pluckymama - I would like something that will pop a bit. You'd think all these decisions would be easier. Hope you ended up finding something you like.

I vote cream. I vote cream because looking toward the future . . . the easiest way to change or update a room is with paint. Your wall color choices will be limitless with cream and black. A designer once told me to keep color to items that can be changed easily -- light fixtures, accents -- other surfaces should be classic for a timeless look. I thought that was good advice -- but it just depends upon the type of look you want. Another designer told me she had a client who had to have a green backsplash -- three years later she was back to change the green backsplash. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the choices, but just thought I'd share what influenced my decision since I thought it was good advice. Good luck . . . and I agree . . .your soapstone is gorgeous!

prill--Can you tell me what brand of Farmhouse Sink you have & if you like it? Thanks!

Judy_2009 - that's great advice. I've heard that in all areas of decorating. I was just thinking today that I love my blue and white transferware and flow blue and I should probably use the cream and hang some of my antique plates on the backsplash. Easy to change if you don't want to look at them anymore.

tabteacher - my sink is a Franke - I got it on ebay from quality bath. They had a great price and excellent service. I really love it.

prill- so excited to see your posts on the tile. I was busy this weekend working on the house.

Here's my thought....paint the cabinets first. This was key for me. The simply white is fairly true white, but not stark. The creme Rixi is really creamy and I don't think it would look good for a whole bunch of creamy subway with whiter cabinets.

As someone else pointed out, my counter has minimal veining...it's more variations of grey with a touch of white and green. In the photos I originally took the stone had just been oiled (with the oil/bees wax mixture). It's been in a month and I haven't oiled since. It's faded to more natural state. That being said, I like the Rixi with more natural state of my stone. So, also take that it consideration.

I say do what you love...the backsplash is relatively easily changed in 10 years if you decide your tired of it. I love color, so I'm not as fond of the creme/white backsplash.

Good luck...by the way, if you are putting in Flourscent lighting or your kitchen gets northern/eastern light, the Reef gets pretty blue. Mine gets a south/west natural light and Flourscent with the under cabinets.

Well, I love them all, you have very good taste. But I get the feeling you love the "fun" aspect of the penny tile, so why not go with that? And, you'll love the changing blue/gray/green aspect, that's the color I chose for my backsplash subway tiles. Or, you could let your cat decide, LOL (I see his paw in one of the photos).

Initially, I liked the blue better, but seeing them leaning on the wall, I like the cream better. Of the two liners, I like the dotted one better. I wonder if that liner and a row or two of the pennies could be combined to create an accent?

becktheeng - thanks. I did decide over the weekend I would wait until the cabinets are painted to choose. It will make a big difference in how the whole kitchen looks. I had the feeling the color of blue would change with the light (and as in your photos where it looks more green on my monitor). It's a beautiful tile and I love the sparkle of it. Hopefully before long you'll see a "finished backsplash" post!

I also agree you should go with what you love and I do want a bit of a pop.

Any other suggestions of tile are welcome.

prill-

I had the artist out this weekend. Floors are going in this week....I'm going to help do the mosaic next week...probably on Tuesday. Then we'd grout on Wednesday. So expect finished backsplash photos next week.

becktheeng - can't wait to see it. You must be so excited.

Prill,

I don't want to add more to your list rather than less (and honestly, I think any of these 3 options are fantastic!), but since you said that you love the Sonoma Tile tantrum, I figured I could let you know...

I was obsessed with the Tantrum tile for a while (actually the cute little Chicklets), and I discovered that there are quite a few companies that do a Tantrum-knockoff. In fact, I even ran across a few batches at the Habitat for Humanity Restore from Malaga Cove mosaic. I've also seen them at CTM (Classic Tile and Mosaic) under their own house brand. (I know they have branches, but I don't know how national they are.) CTM also has a bunch of sales that could bring down the price considerably. I think someone once called it "shattered glass" when I described it to the tile guy. All that to say, if Tantrum is what you really love, you may be able to find a knock-off for cheaper than the Sonoma Tile option.

dcclerk - thanks. I did see a knockoff the the Tantrum on a website recently - but I don't know where. Then I noticed Home Depot even had one (now discontinued). So I'm sure there are some out there. Now that you say it, I think it was called "shattered glass".