Thinking about it, I would expect granite behind a stove to be very heavy and overwhelming; however, when I've seen it in person, it has looked pulled together and elegant. I would do it.

If you are going for open, airy and understated elegance, I wouldn't put the granite behind the range, but would use ceramic tile for the entire backsplash. I think that keeps it simpler and would have more of a continuous flow. By the way your granite is gorgeous and looks beautiful with your cabinets. I'm sure you will get some great help on GW with backsplash suggestions.

Things look beautiful so far ! You mention that you are going for an "understated, elegance". I think I'd pass on a granite backsplash in that case - they are beautiful but they do make a statement and it doesn't sound like you're trying to create something that pops.

Perhaps you could look for a creamy tile - either smaller subway type or a well-cut, smaller mosaic, with a darker grout. If you chose the mosaic you might think about doing a subtle pattern behind the range pulling the colours out of the granite.

Handles / pulls I'd look for something in oiled bronze that were a bit "worked" without being heavy...filigree maybe...and would think about sending the main faucet out to have it electroplated in a copper or brass (let it tarnish a bit).
I think you've made some wonderful choices. Serene colour with nice lines - sophisticated ! :)

Your kitchen looks beautiful, if fact it is almost like mine. I know how you feel, I feel like I cannot bring it to a close. Today I picked out my granite, Giallo Ornamental. It has a more white on white look, but I like your color very much. At first I thought it was
Santa Cecilia but the big slap look like Delicatus. Is that it? I am going to get tumbled stone for my back splash, I personally do not like the granite behind the stove, but I am sure it will look beautiful. I chose brushed knobs for my doors and long handles for the drawers. Even my window and hardwood floors look almost like yours. (We have good taste) Ha Ha. Enjoy it.

You're doing a great job! Love the choices you've made so far, and that granite is so perfect. But I have to agree with the others in that it's not the right choice for the backsplash. Have you seen the backsplash and finished kitchens photo gallery? Here is the link, lots of pics and inspiration. It's for the kitchens portion but there is a link in the upper righthand menu for the backsplashes. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Finished Kitchens and Backsplashes

With the look you're going for my first (personal) pick would be ceramic subway tile. I'd stay away from white since so many people have difficulty matching the "whites" with the cabs and countertops. However, if you can find the perfect white it is a very classic look. I like a little contrast and would find one that matched the tans of your beautiful stone.

{{!gwi}}

Here's one idea from Heath Ceramics

{{!gwi}}

bmore rocks! I don't think that looks heavy at all. It's a beautiful stone. Now imagine it bordered with subway tile running vertically and the rest of the subway running horizontally either in a standard or running brick pattern. YUM!

If your kitchen was a "stand alone" space I might recommend the granite behind the range. But given that you have an open floor plan, I would echo the suggestions above to go with a more subdued ceramic backsplash and not break things up with different colors and textures.

My new kitchen is open to dining and LR areas also. Though I've admired decorative backsplashes in other kitchens, I was concerned about installing permanent, busy focal points on the perimeter walls of my kitchen. I didn't want to have to be concerned about it clashing with furnishings/art/decor in the adjoining rooms for years to come - something to consider with open plans.

I love your cabinets and granite. You're headed for a fresh, welcoming and timeless look. At this stage, I would keep the "less is more" mantra in mind.

I love you guys! It is wonderful to have all of your opinions, ideas and comments - what a blessing! It's good to hear that i'm on the right track for the look & feel I'm trying to achieve.

sailormann - I think you're right I'm not so sure I want something that pops - I believe my husband does - I believe my indecision comes from "just loving" the granite.
The handles/pulls - I like the sound of the "worked" but not heavy. Filigree??

Pluckymama - continuous flow appeals to me. I was worried about the transition

organic_nettie - you must have good taste : ) Would love to see a picture of your kitchen - sounds as though you have a few more things to do on yours as well. The name of our stone is "Summer" Giallo Ornamental was in our picks and Santa Celcilia had a bit to much reds. We went with this for its creaminess looked "dreamy" to me.

keepitsimple -THANK YOU for the link. When I get my little ones down I'm going to spend some time there : ) (like your username)

remodelfla - My husband suggested the very same thing. He had figured on taking out the drywall and cutting a bit into the 2x4's to sink it in a bit and than put a type of border up the sides to give it a framed in look - like a piece of art....but my gut says don't break the flow...

bmorepanic - that's amazing! I just learned last night how to post a picture with my message - it took hours! That would be a class in itself for me. I'm not a visual person - Nice tool to have - thank you. Very impressive

amck - good advice with my open floor plan - definitely something to consider. Welcoming and timeless is exactly what I'm looking for. Less is more - I like that mindset...

Again thank you all - I SO want to be done with this. I'm a perfectionist by nature but love simplicity - those two don't seem to work together?? seems to bring confusion. I'm afraid to make a mistake. Your input has begun the wheels rolling again, Much to my husbands dismay I've been in a stop mode for the last couple months - this has fired me up & has boosted my confidence.

Hi-me again

I just ordered my sink from Galaxy Tools, I ordered a Tico
S505.(rectanglar) My sink base is only 30 inches, and I am afraid the D-shape sink will big too big looking. What is your faucet called, also I am afraid the goose neck faucets will overhang my smallish sink too much. Does anyone else have the S505 sink with a goose neck faucet? Also has anyone purchased a faucet from Galaxy Tools?

We have a granite backsplash behind our cooktop, but our kitchen is a little more contemporary and our intent was to visually separate the cooktop area from the rest of the wall. Personally, I love it.

I love your granite! I have to side with your DH - I think there is a fine line between simple and dull - a simple off white tile backsplash would be dull in my opinion, and I like simple. Using the same granite that you have elsewhere is still simple, but has more interest without being high contrast or overwhelming. I would finish the rest of the backsplash in a tile color lighter than your cabs, but not white.

And think how simple it will be to clean :)

I think something with a texture would look nice. Like a golden limestone or travertine tile in a subway pattern rather than a traditional bone glazed ceramic. But, one thing jumps out at me with your first kitchen pic. It's the lack of crown molding. That would be a finishing detail that would really take your kitchen up a notch.

organic_nettie I too ordered my sink through Galaxy, was going to get a Franke but decided to save some $$. I'm extremly happy with my sink, I believe it's a S112 but can check into that. My base is a 33 inch. The sink is a single bowl rectangular. It came with a grid as a "free gift" which I didn't think I'd use but I love that to. It keeps my dishes off the bottom of the sink so they can drain - makes washing easier and brings up the depth a notch (my depth is 10") I can hide all my dinner dishes and prep pans in the sink and they can't be seen. I can wash all my large pans, grates, cookie sheets, etc. It's quiet too. Did I mention I love it? : )

live_wire_oak I was just looking at some limestone on the link listed above and found it interesting. We also have the crown molding - half of it is up right now, still putting it in and it does make a very nice finish

daki - not sure I'd like the seperation?? Your granite is beautiful!

pepper07 My husband fully agrees with you : )

organic_nettie My faucet, sidespray & potfiller are from Waterstone, their traditional line. It was a little pricier than others but in my research I had read over and over "get a good faucet" We couldn't be happier with the choice, very solid. I've seen them on amazon and ebay but we bought ours through qualitybath.com I believe they will match any price that you've seen. Both they and Waterstone had excellent customer service (I had an issue with the potfiller and went directly to Waterstone & they took care of it) - (The filter faucet is one that came with our water filteration system - I hope to replace it with one to match the others later).

My particular faucet extends out the same distance as the gooseneck they carried but it was a bit taller so I opted for this faucet. It hangs not dead center of the drain but a bit forward (still in the drain though) and that doesn't bother me. I would think that the width of your sink would be the same but just a bit shorter in the length. Overall dimensions of my sink are 31-1/2" x 18-1/2. Hope this helps

Nettie, also meant to send you this link in regards to anyone purchasing a faucet from Galaxy
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0319463027302.html

I vote for the granite behind the stove. You have one gorgeous hunk of stone. It will be a breeze to keep clean and will look stunning. For the rest, I would keep it a simple subway. Pick one of the colors from your granite and go with that. The picture shows a square but I believe it does come in a subway--Ann Sacks Juane Princesse

BTW, I am LOVING your kitchen. Beautiful!

I love your granite so much I had to show my DH your pics - just for the record...my DH fully agrees with you! LOL

Sometimes I wonder why I ask! :)

Hi lovetocook9,

I *love* your cabinets! Would you please share what brand/color choice they are? I'm thinking of doing a white kitchen and have been seeking good suggestions for cabinets.

Thanks in advance!

Pepper, How funny! My husband read your reply and said "exactly, it would be dull!" - thanks for sharing :)

la_koala, Thank you. They are KraftMaid. We chose Maple and the style is "Montclair" we chose the square over the roman (although you can do a mix) the color is "Frost Glaze" It's a creamy white with a little distressing. The glaze is whiter, it isn't very noticeable but we felt it added a nice touch & finish, more character.
We purchased them at Lowes but saw the style at Home Depot. We were already working with someone that we really liked and found them under the name of Monclair at Lowes. If you go to Home Depot the same style is under a different name (which I knew at one time and could probably find out again if needed) Just a side note - We did alot of modifications to get the look we wanted. Looking back I think I would have checked into getting them custom and taking the sample to get the color. I think I had heard through GW after the purchase that custom can be cheaper...Let me know if I can be of any more help. Good Luck!

Lovestocook9 - So glad the link might help! It's a wonderful place to look for inspiration. Let us know what you end up deciding to do!

Thanks too for the compliment regarding my name, so far it's what's kept me grounded and on budget through the diy remodel of our house!

i always find that just putting the granite behind the stove and no where else on the back wall makes it look like you ran out of $$ and couldn't finish the job. You could put stainless steal in that section... or just tiles (maybe subway tiles) creamy....

Your kitchen looks beautiful!! congrats

suzienj - That was my initial thought. It seemed to me it should be nothing or all. It seemed unfinished, like the funds weren't there...

lovetocook9

Found your thread but the interesting thing is I had already read every bit of it. I love your kitchen! I at one time thought about using these same cabinets, aren't they bisque glaze? That is what I remember Home Depot calling them.

The granite makes the cabinets in this kitchen. that is what I call getting your elements just right! It is so beautiful I even did a search for the granite and couln't find the giallo ornamental prefaced with the word summer. It's just beautiful. To chime in here I wouldn't put the ganite behind the stove. It would be easy to clean and it woudn't be a huge blunder by any means beacuse it's beautiful.

I just would do a tumbled travertine that picks up the colors in your granite. Nothing too busy because you have a lot going on in that beautiful stone. But still some nice texture in the backspalsh, I can really see that giving your kitchen the finishing touch! But I love your kichen and I can't wait to see the finished product. Just gorgeous. You must be very happy to have made it this far and have it turn out so beautifully!

You said it's open to the living room but I can't see that from the photos. Do you have pictures that who how it is open.

Beautiful space!

mpeg from
White Kitchens.....what makes it right?

I had trouoble finding this and I finally did a search on google to find you. I instantly remembered this thread. There must be an easier way to find a thread.

Hello Peggy, I was a bit confused with the username different than the post name...yes at times I can't seem to navigate and find the things I'm looking for. Glad you found me - I welcome your comments. Would love to be finished with this project but it seems I take such a long time deciding, now the thing is that I really like it so far and don't want to "mess it up" with a wrong decision :)

The cabinets are frost glaze. Lowes also has a bisque glaze - it had a bit more tinge of yellow to it and the glaze didn't seem as white. You can't tell it in the pictures but the glaze around the details of the cabinets are white white, the bisque didn't have that. There is a bit of distressing in the frost glaze which I'd rather not have but only my husband and I notice it through close examination - looks a little worn but I suppose that will be good in the future :)

I fell in love with this granite when I saw it, nothing else quite "hit me" like this one did. (I orginally fell in love with the look of the white on white as the marble gives and couldn't quite find that in a granite) We had considered others that were a bit cheaper but they never gave me that "wow" factor, so after a month of looking we made the decision to go for the summer - it was exclusive to just one fabricator here in town - went there and to our dismay they were out of it which was hard to believe because their whole yard was filled with it - was so discouraged and then I found out that 2 slabs were released and we jumped on it. I was going all over trying to find it and other fabricators were telling me that others were doing the same thing?? It came in quick and left the same way. I know it's from Brazil but that's about it. My pros of going with it behind the stove were the two reasons you mentioned - love the rock and so easy to clean but I'm pretty decided from everyones comments that I will go with the tile - NOW which one - LOL
I will check out the tumbled travertine - then there is the issue of color, size, shape and straight verses diagnol - LOL and crying again :)

Don't have pictures right now of the open areas - will get but we are working on finishing touches in there too. I don't have the measurements but the rooms are quite small compared to alot I've seen here. One story ranch. There is an arch that cojoins the living room and the dining room (if you can call it that :) the only thing that seperates the dining table and the kitchen is the island. There is a sliding glass door with mullions (to give it that "french door" look-didn't have room for a swing) and then out to the deck which overlooks our yard.
Thanks for the compliments. We are trying to make our small space beautiful, warm and open. We're happy of the progess so far and have to remind ourselves that it will eventually be finished and will be worth it!

You will have to let me know of your progress - would love to see where you are with it.

Me again,

I think you are 100% on the right track. I can't see you messing this up but you sound so mcuh like me I just had to laugh. I am so exactly the same way it's not even funny. I follow you on not having anything busy for the backsplash and I understand you loving the stone. I do too. It's the perfect amount of contrast to your cabinets. I just think placing it behind the stove would be too much of a good thing.

To tell you how bad I am. We have holes in our kitchen ceiling for recessed lighting, part of the wallpaper pulled off, and our living room painted then I just stopped because I couldn't make a decision. At least you got this far.

I would just bring some samples of tiles home and play with them. Until you find the right look. I think if you keep it tasteful and subdued you'll be fine. I know several mentioned glazed subway tile. It's not my thing because I like the texture of stone with the shiny granite. It's a nice contrast in textures. But either way you'll be fine. Add your drama in your accessories that can be changed.

P.S. Don't listen to me I'm the girl who can't make a decision on her own kitchen......LOL

We just need someone to hold our hand. But then again these are big expensive decisions. Hence the anxiety.

Hello Peggy,

LOL, we were in the same predicement, I start something and then freeze, can't make a decision. Right now our stove has been pulled out about 10" with only 1 door attached and has been that way for 6 weeks due to my indecision with the backsplash. We've been pulling at the sides of the drawers to get them open for 3 months!

Your advice has been welcoming. Sometimes its easier to help others and give advice than it is to act upon our own - I think you're right - need someone to hold our hand through these expenses! Thanks for your support :)

Just curious, when did you start and how far have you gotten?

You will have to send me pictures of your progress and let me know how your project is going!

Hi Jen,

I'm still in the design process........LOL.

Her's pretty much my plan at this point. I have a samll space without a lot of architectural details. I've changed how I am going to my kitchen so many times! I am now leaning towards mixing a dark cherry and cream cabinets together. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I don't feel I have the space to pull off all of the above mentioned details. It's just not there no matter how I slice or how many times I think it over. I can't leave a lot of things open, ie shelves, have a lot of glass. I can do the lighting, the texture and the contrast. I just don't feel I have the interesting space to pull off white and that is my problem. So the next best thing for me is mixing finishes. I just went and visited with a designer that has some really wonderful ideas for my kitchen, mixing cherry and cream cabinets in a tasteful way. I'm really exctied about his design. So that is my plan.

Actually I love you granite so much I would like something similar for my kitchen. I would have to see it with the cabinets. I may do mostly cream with the cherry mixed in or reverse it and do mostly the cherry with cream mixed in. I'll see when the design is completed and get a feel for what it would look like.

I'll keep you posted and if it looks good whem I get done I'll post pictures. If it doesn't I'll be committed some where and you'll never hear from me again!

Some of that advice I just gave you came from this designer, He likes the textured tile with the shiny granite. I have seen the glazed subway tile with cream cabinets and shiney granite also. It's a very elegant look, lots of shine. I taped an HGTV show where they did that, it was an English country kitchen. So you really can't go wrong. It's going to be up to you and what you like. I would like to see your kitchen when you get it finished also. It is going to be wonderful!

It's funny that you are just like me. My husband and my mom say I will never get my kitchen done. How's that for support and help. Neither one is very helpful either. Not that they don't mean well it's just not their thing.
Keep in touch!
Peggy