I think it can be hard, seeing granite installed for the first time.

I know mine looked different to me installed, than it did standing up outside at the granite yard.

I love your granite. It does not look busy to me at all...in fact, the shots from far away look very serene and calming. :)

You did a great job, IMHO!

I agree - not too busy at all. I understand why you feel that way - right now it's all you see - but even just getting the appliances in will tone it down a lot.

It's a beautiful kitchen!

I LOVE it! I think your just in shock because it is new and not quite the way you pictured it in your mind's eye. But it is really pretty.

I see something silvery and metallic working for the back splash.

I LOVE IT!! I would go with something very calm for the backsplash. Something that adds texture, but not busy. We have very busy granite and a mini brick backsplash. It adds texture, but your eye is drawn to the granite, not the backsplash.

I would stay away from any backsplash but a solid color solid surface in full height.

It is gorgeous!!! And looks lovely in your kitchen. One suggestion I saw that I thought was interesting in a design magazine was to get 4-5 different colors of white subway tile and arrange them randomly. From far away it just adds a little interest but it really reads white. It also allows to you to pick up the different white/creams in your granite.

I give you permission to love it. I would look at glass or ceramic subway tile in a light or white for the backsplash.

It's not too busy! Add a medium toned backsplash so your island doesn't become the Darth Vader in an otherwise very white room.

It looks like waves of sand on the beach. I think it's very pretty!

I like it too! Looks similar to my river white (which I love!) We went with a grayish/beige glass tile backsplash with part glossy part matte tiles.

I think it's just the initial shock of seeing it installed. It's lovely, and yes, glass tile in one of the colors from your granite will look beautiful and give you that beachy vibe.

I love it! Is there a frosted blue glass tile in a subway? it would look like seaglass and could be beautiful.

What is the name of the granite?

Too busy? Hardly. It rather adds some character to the kitchen. It will only seem busy if you go for a backsplash that competes for attention with the counters.

Love it! It is great-I would choose a very basic tile in the sandy shade of the darker veins in that granite...I agree with Gpraceman that it will only be an issue if you have a busy b/s.

It's beautiful. I also want to know the name of this stone.

I think it's gorgeous. I would stay away from any blues or greens in the backsplash, too much of a contrast. I would look at crackle tile in a sandy to ivory tone.
Best bet is to go to store and bring home samples, even done of what you think won't work, and look at them. Your choices so far are really nice, don't second guess yourself

Is it fantasy brown quartzite? It was one of my faves!! I think it looks stunning! I would go for a plain warm porcelain subway tile, like a Michael Smith Ann sacks tile.

Loveee! I agree on the glass tiles.

Post some of the options. I'd like to at least see what a calm blue might look like...

I am very curious about the name of your granite too. It looks very much like a part of our Bianco Gita slab. Obviously I like your choice! ;) I'm not sure about the backsplash. I think I would tend to go simple and let the granite be the star. In our case the granite will be on the island and we are using a plain quartz on the perimeter. Can't wait to see your final reveal pix. Your kitchen will be stunning!

I love your granite ! It looks light and different from the normal swirl-it is very very beautiful.

We recently went through a similar situation with my DD granite - her vision was different from the reality once the granite was installed. There is quite a long thread on it as GW helped us bridge the gap. It has been about a month and now DD absolutely loves her granite. I hope that will happen for you too.

Not too busy and very pretty! I would also suggest a pretty glass subway - such gorgeous options these days! Have fun and keep us posted.

I am very picky about granite. I think many of them are interesting stones but I could never imagine looking at them in my kitchen every day. Your granite is really lovely and beachy and it is a perfect start for the rest of the decorative choices in your kitchen.

Definitely pick a quiet backsplash, floor and paint color for the rest of the kitchen. I think you may have to reconsider your black island at some point but that's an easy fix.

I love your granite. It has a calming water effect. Once the kitchen is done and decorated, the granite will be slightly more restrained.

I think a tumbled pearl field tile would look great with it. The Pearl is not as pitted as most travertine and has a smoother, whiter look overall, that I find more timeless than most travertine. You would have to go check it out in person, but I'm linking a photo from the store and trying to copy an installed photo in the message, but that may not work.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=ernNCFH3aueNoM&tbnid=9kBuJiRqtIMJjM:&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.houzz.com%2Fdiscussions%2F150752%2FWHAT-COLOR-AND-KIND-OF-TILE-ON-THE-BACKSPLASH&ei=rHViUpHGKpX_4APKo4GYBg&psig=AFQjCNHZOIhN3DI9q9J5xV5z3Rr6qMBKKQ&ust=1382270765110714

Here is a link that might be useful: Pearl backsplash

I like the stone. It looks like seafoam on wet sand to me and you can't get any beachier than that.

Sea-glass colored backsplash in a plain pattern with same color walls and some natural accessories and some intense sea blue and you would be so there.

here's my vision pic:

This post was edited by lazygardens on Sat, Oct 19, 13 at 12:41

Sue-Bee - like others, I love your counter
I love lazygarden's idea as well but might go with a bit more green than blue as your glass corner glass has a green tinge to it (but maybe not IRL)
Enjoy the beach!

suebee-I rather like it. I like how it marries the white of your perimenter with the stain of your island. I don't think it looks busy at all. I am hoping to achieve that same thing when I get there. I can see how you would be concerned about backsplash though. Sorry I don't have a suggestion - I just wanted to say that I really like your choices and I think it looks fantastic so far!

lazygardens-wow - I first pulled this up on my phone and on the small screen I really thought that was a piece of stone instead of the waves on sand. Depicts it very nicely!

Thanks to you all for your responses. The granite is White Galaxy. The photos do not show it, but it has tons of white sparkles. Now that it has been a couple of days, I think I am going to love it. The quest for the perfect back splash tile is still ongoing. I will post some pictures soon to get more of your valuable feedback. Again, your support is so helpful!!

I like it, and I don't generally care for granites with "movement". I think part of what I like about your counter is the relatively linear movement - granites with swirly movement distract and disorient me, but yours just kinda flows straight through. I also agree that it's totally consistent with the beach theme.

This post was edited by GauchoGordo1993 on Mon, Oct 21, 13 at 15:21

I think your granite is lovely, and you'll probably get used to is and love it. Here's one of my favorite kitchens, with a lovely backsplash just for one idea. I like the subtle variation in color of the mini-brick tiles. You can also search Houzz for "beach kitchen" or "coastal kitchen" and see a lot more projects. I know you'll find the right tile.

Here is a link that might be useful: Coastal kitchen

Sue-bee--White Galaxy is another name for Bianco Gita, per the sign on our slab. I thought I saw it's cousin in your beautiful slab. :) So glad you are settling in to loving it. Ours is not in, but I'll attach a picture of the slab so you can see why your beauty caught my eye. Happy for you!

Ditto what ILoveCookie said! I like it!

Here is an example of a sea glass type of look that I was thinking would be fabulous in your kitchen. They have a range of 25 colors in their Beach Tile line.

Here is a link that might be useful: Beach Tile (bathroom pic)

Hi everyone. Just wanted to show the pictures of the kitchen after the back splash went in. Thanks to all for your help and support.

Another pic.

Here's another

One more

Last one :)

Wow, wow, wow. I hope you all love it now because the end result is stunning! Well done!

Absolutely beautiful! Great job. Enjoy!

Beautiful - love all of your choices!

Looks lovely! I'm curious, what pulls did you use for your cabinets? I'm looking for something that is like the "standard" Euro Pulls, but has a little bit of an arch.

Beautiful! The pale green backsplash against the sand colored counters does remind me of a beach!

Love it! How do you feel now that it's all put together?

Uber clean and serene....I especially like the close-ups of your gorgeous backsplash. Congratulations, it's lovely!

Beautiful! Would you share the backsplash details?

We do love it now that everything is complete and we are back to cooking in the kitchen. Choosing the back splash was the most difficult decision. I ordered samples from Ann Sacks, Walker Zanger, online tile stores and spent weekends visiting other specialty tile stores in Miami. Nothing seemed to fit right with our âÂÂbusy graniteâÂÂ. My husband found the tile at Home Depot of all places. The color is arctic ice. The cabinet hardware was purchased online at Kitchen-Cabinet-Hardware.com 26201-G10 (3 inch) and 9362-G10 (5 inch). We also thought the euro pulls may be too much and are very happy with the quality of these. I believe you can also get these steel bow pulls at Home Depot as a special order but they did not have the 3 inch size we needed for our smaller drawers.

Again, this forum helped me so much when planning the renovation and second guessing myself every step of the way. Thanks to all who contribute and take the time to post constructive advice and comments!! Happy New Year!

The color of the backsplash is exactly what I pictured with it -- I was looking at the green tint to the glass in your cabinet door.

It looks lovely, nice job!

Great job and so happy you made friends with your gorgeous granite
i bet your granite is happy to have found a new friend
Congratulations and welcome to the ABB alumni club
Now, we want to see KAW pictures!

It looks fabulous - glad you are happy now that it's all complete! A2 is right - we need KAW photos now!!