You're justifying it. Get what you really want. There's thousands upon thousands of "creamy white" subway tile photos out there, and conventional wisdom says that once something is overdone by the masses, it's out.

Sherriz' kitchen was the inspiration photo for our 2x4 subway tile backsplash. She used Daltile Rittenhouse Square 2" x 4" brick joint semi-gloss tile, and that's what we used. I absolutely love it.

I do not have a photo of our backsplash, but I will link Sherriz' kitchen. Our kitchen is very much smaller and plainer than Sherriz', and she has white cabs while we have cherry. The 2x4's work beautifully either way. Daltile makes several whites, as well as bisques and almonds. Both Sherriz and I chose Daltile White 0100. Her grout is a couple of shades whiter than the one we chose, cause we wanted the grout lines to show just a tad more. Also, we were on a tight budget, and the Daltile was not too costly.

Backsplash behind Hood

View of Sherriz' entire Kitchen

2x4's Close-up

Thread from Sherriz

It was tongue in cheek, but I don't think people get very excited about white subway tiles these days. 4 x 4 square white tiles are classic too, and most everyone would agree they are "out". It's okay to say that on GW, but we end up singing Carly Simon whenever someone mentions a OTK finish as being on its way "out".

Sharon, every sentence you wrote speaks to the fact you don't want to settle for what your husband thinks is good enough. Does he settle when he wants a new power tool or a TV or some other electronic gadget? Most men buy what they really want. The kitchen is our work space and many of us bust our butts in there for hours a day, so why should we settle?

I agree with May that you should get what you want (assuming that is where you wish to put your resources).

Agree that I have no crystal ball, either. However, I have to agree with alwaysfixin that I would be more concerned about glass tiles becoming passe than ceramic subways (even in 2x4).

Haha, you're all right, Ladies! The photos are beautiful and really give me an idea of how mine would look. I found another pic that had the ivory tiles with ivory cabinets like mine but it just looked bland, although her countertop was along the same ivory color scheme, where mine are dark. Also, her hardware was light and blended with the cabinets. Mine are black. But I'm sure she loved it and that's what matters. I love the clean look of the shiny tiles. I don't have enough natural light in my kitchen and the backsplash I'm replacing was matte and didn't reflect light from the undercabinet lighting.

Here's a big piece of the puzzle of my dilemma that I didn't go into. My kitchen is open to my den. The wall directly across from the kitchen is old chicago brick and is visible from all points of the room. I have to take that into consideration while choosing my backsplash so that I don't have too many designs going on at the same time. The brick pattern of the subway is perfect to complement the brick wall. How would it look if I picked some of the darker colors of the old chicago for the grout? That would break up the monotony of being one solid color.

My dear hubby says get whatever I want. Maybe he was thinking of those extra power tools, the four-wheeler, and the boat at the time! lol. I'm just not sure I know what I want.

Thanks for all your ideas and help!