I'm shopping for subway tile now and this thread was very helpful- thanks to all! Let me apologize in advance for the following ramble... if there's anyone else doing a remodel with subway tile perhaps this will be of interest. Mine is actually for a bathroom but the color discussion in this thread is so relevant, I hope it is still on topic enough. Now to decide not only whether it's Home Depot gloss white (US Ceramic, I think... though since we started shopping I think they are transitioning to selling a cheap version of Daltile only instead - which is fine that might work for us too. They no longer carry the US Ceramic we originally sampled in the store by us... though they do online). So... HD US Cermic Gloss white vs. Arctic White Daltile vs. Arctic White Matte Daltile vs. their slightly offwhite version. This is for a bathroom, pretty much floor to ceiling on 3 walls, with polished stainless steel and chrome fixtures, and ikea plain white cabinets (Applad doors - not quire as white and shiny as their ulta-mod Abstrakt). The Daltile HD option is a good one because it is 1/3 inch deep, which means it will match the depth of the carrera marble accent tiles we are thinking of using. It's actually hard to find anything but really common/cheap (and cold/too modern even for us) glass tile to match the 1/4 inch depth of the cheapest US Ceramic 22cent tiles that we thought we would use. I welcome any opinions/thoughts/advice/experiences... Has anyone used matte subway tiles? How do they compare in looks overall to gloss? To be honest I thought the matte finish might make it look LESS cold and sterile. My dad (the tile guy) thinks using subway tile and chrome is going to make my bathroom look like a gas station... I think the marble accent tiles (3x6 carrera hampton pillow top from TileShop is what we're leaning towards) will warm it up just enough. They are just a little visual interest for a border band around the middle of the wall all around the room. Also, the accents in the room are teak wood - the shower drain grill which is the length of the shower pan floor, the shower seat, and probably the shower mat and waste bin, etc. etc. Which also warms it up! Finally, I will be installing a crystal light fixture on the wall facing you when you walk in, to warm up the light in the room, provide some sparkling and "shadow interest". I am hoping the white tile, polished finishes, marble, crystal and teak will all harmonize well! I also hope putting marble and crystal accents in our second bathroom in our 50s postwar suburban bungalow won't be too high-minded an d out of keeping with the house... We are trying to be subtle and keep things in line. The rest of the basement model uses harmonizing and quality finishes... the upstairs has basic nice elements, hardwood floors, quality furnishings --transitional style-- but nothing as high quality as the work we are doing ourselves in the basement. Hopefully the handsome but mundane subway tile will bring down the tone enough to make it in keeping with rest of the house :)... Nicole Nicole

JillandMatt - WOW that is amazing. I love the rich color. I didn't do the finish myself, I got mine from their custom line. How was the finishing process for you? I have refinished a piece with waterlox sealer/finish and satin finish and it went well. I don't know if this offer still exists.. but I posted my pics of my finished Craft Art tops on their Facebook page and they sent me a free cutting board....(and I emailed them before and after pics because I got to be phone-pals with one of the girls that worked there) not sure if the promo is still going on but can't let a fellow Craft Art black walnut countertop owner miss out. laurielou - My black walnut countertops (pic above) were finished with the Waterlox Tung Oil. No real sheen to them as you can see (this photo was taken day 1 btw). I read up on it and saw that it is organic and natural since I had concerns about food safety, too. I've lived with the wood countertops for about 6 months now and love them more every day. For me, the waterproof element is a life saver... My family isn't exactly great about wiping up after themselves if I'm not in the room. Before I had these countertops I had laminate perimeters and a chopping block style island that just had a mineral oil finish. I didn't mind putting the oil on once a month, but it stained and water marked so badly that I was pretty glad I knew that going into this purchase. I knew mineral oil wouldn't work for my lifestyle (and lack of OCD haha). But i couldn't bring myself to part with the chopping block island so I called the company I got my perimeter wood countertop from and they emailed me directions on how to refinish the chopping block. That was pretty cool actually considering I hadn't bought it from them come to think of it. Basically, to refinish the mineral oil chopping block with Tung Oil finish they said to wait till the chopping block was Totally dry (at least a week since putting any oil or water on it). Then sand it down and do the finish. Their directions were way better. If anyone wants them I think I still have them. Let me know and I will try to figure out how to post that.

jillandmatt, just found capegirls post. We bought our waterlox from a woodworking store and received instructions from them as to application. We applied 3 coats of the original sealer. First coat was brushed on with no sanding. Second two coats were applied with a brush and sanded in between. Be sure to use a tack cloth to take off all the dust. Third coat was applied using a lambswool applicator (tack cloth at this stage is very important). We poured the satin WL in a paint tray and dipped in the applicator (the applicator is fairly thick and wide, it is not cloth like) We then held the applicator with 2 hands and pulled it forward very slowly and did not go back over it (this is key). We are DIYers and have been for many years. We did several rooms and were very nervous that it would come out looking very DIY (not in a good way). We were shocked at how professional it looked, in fact I don't think we could have paid someone to do it any better which for a DIYer is a wonderful thing. I have attached some pictures. If you want some closeups let me know. Can you practice this method on another piece of wood? Here is a link that might be useful: Flooring

Missy- have you thought about having him stain the wood to get the exact color you want. I stained our walnut darker before putting on the waterlox. Can't wait to see it! Lakegirl- our island is 84"x36"... I just went down and looked at them and it's hard to say if they would be too big for a 66" length...they could definitely be moved closer together... I'm just not sure if they would have to be too close together for the size. Could you order them and hold them up to see and then return them if they turn out to be too big. I did that with the hundi lanterns from Pottery Barn. After seeing them in person I realized they were too big. I have another idea. Ballard design has the carriage house lantern that is the same style, but a little smaller. The capital pendants are 10" square and the Ballard Design ones are 8" square. I have the larger (12") Carriage House lantern in my foyer. Here's a pic I just looked at BD website and they have a new pendant I think would look great over an island. Check out the Calisse Pendants. I might have done two of those of the island. They are a little bigger (11"). I don't know why my pictures are so big. I resized it but it still huge!