Oh I do like what you picked but in my mind I would love to see some WOW red backsplash behind that range.

You know, I really struggled with that Jterrylynn. I am a color person. But, I have decided that with all the visual activity in my rooms, and the open nature of the house, the backsplash needs to be more subtle. Just for reference, this is what the other side of the kitchen looks like.

There will be two small red pendants going in over the table. There is a very colorful rug in the LR now. More art. There's just a whole lot going on and I had to surrender my idea of colorful tile.

I should also mention that IRL the trim is not as stark as it looks in photos. I will be repainting the trim eventually but it will still be a crisp white in all likelihood. I want to pick a wall color first.

I like the tile a lot and it looks good with your countertop. Textured, layered but subtle. Sure, try painting the window to match. Maybe the other window too, it could help with the balance issue. This is a case where the door frame does not have to match the window frames necessarily.

I just read that Christopher Hyland's Greek Revival apartment has five trim colors in the same room, all whites, all to add depth and interest to various aspects of the elaborate millwork.

That's a tough one. I think it'll be fine. If the window trim is painted a similar color to the wall, or merely less stark than the photos, then you really ought to be good. If it looks top heavy, put a faucet in front of where the apron used to be. OK! Done!

Let her rip!

Love all your color Amy and I do see what you mean. My grown son wants me to redecorate his bedroom in white, gray and black. I just can't do decorating with no color; my inner being is fighting me. I found this great carpet with red black and white in it and have thankfully got his ok on that.

Amy,

I just googled "kitchen window" and checked images and there are LOTS of treatments like the one you are proposing. I don't think your trim is too fussy to pull this off. I suck at implanting images but if you google too you can find lots of examples of just what you are looking to do. I think it will work just fine. Good luck and post pics when you are done.

Ne

I would remove that casing piece and tile up to the sill. I think it will look fine. As you noted, you can use 2 rows of tile, whereas if you leave the casing piece you will have to cut down one row of tile which will be a nuisance. And if you're going to remove the casing on the sink window, you should do it on the window next to the stove as well.

I'm not sure from the picture why you can't do outside-mounted shades on both those windows to minimize the headers. Personally, I wouldn't paint the uppers because I think it will throw off the balance with the cabinets on the opposite wall. JMO.

Love the tile!

See no reason not to remove bottom molding on both windows.
Agree on painting out upper cabinets, matching wall color to tile and painting out the trim on the stove window in same color but eggshell.

I also am happy that we painted the inside sides the same color as exterior but backs to match base cabinets (scroll down for close up). Your cab color makes me thing of F&B Mahogany or BM Wenge.

But you know me -- I'd tile counter to ceiling on the range and sink walls plus paint the ceiling white so eye is kept focus on the gorgeous glazed tile as it catches the light.

I think this will settle things for you. Go for it Amy!!

Soooo pretty! I love that tile with your countertop! It sounds like your kitchen is going to be very monochromatic. I am (by no means) an interior decorator, but I don't think I'd exactly match the wall color to the tile. I would go a shade or 2 lighter or darker so that beautiful tile would shine more. I also hope you're going to add some wonderful splashes of color so that it ties in with your colorful adjoining room.

I think the tile would look fine under the window instead of trim. In fact, that may be a possibility in my kitchen! Thanks for the idea! (I'd rather clean the splashes off of tile than window trim.)

Thanks, Pal. I am happy with this tile, and relieved. I have recently decided to paint some of the doors in my foyer to match the walls to settle things down visually. I would certainly do both windows in the kitchen.

Fori, you make me laugh about the faucet! What you're looking at in the pics is Faucet #2. I think I will need a plumber (and possibly a divorce lawyer) if I decided to wall mount a faucet!

Jterrylynn, I am glad your son has come around to a bit of red. Sounds like it will be a great room!

Doggone, I did a google search and there is lots of supporting evidence. :-) I tend to over-think these things, like the balance problem. Day-to-day, it is not that big an issue. It's just when I am making the decisions that I get stuck on things like balance and proportion....not always my strong suit.

Warmfridge, I will do both. The problem with an outside mount is the cabinet perpendicular to the smaller window. A roller shade there will impede the door swing on that cab. In my dreams, I will paint the entire kitchen. If I can start with the uppers and the process is not too horrifying, I may keep going.

Rococo, thanks for chiming in. You have been "with me" since the start and your kitchen is the one I most want to emulate! Painting the interiors is certainly something I have considered. I believe I will be changing the glass to something less transparent. (Gyad...so much trouble-shooting in this damn kitchen! Last kitchen was so much easier...) In any case, I will not think too much about the interiors before I decide about paint everywhere else.

Flwrs, the goal is to have the walls feel contiguous. I have been concerned that tile just up to the lower edge of the hood with a different color above would exacerbate the balance problem. So, that's the reason for the monochromatic walls. We do have the toaster and I always have plants on the sills. (The big pic is right after we moved in.) One of my Le Creuset French ovens always seems to be sitting on the stove. There is plenty to look at and the kitchen just isn't that big. :-) I totally agree with you about the cleaning. You can actually see the dirt in the crevasse, even though I get after it with a toothbrush. Ick!

Love the tile! I would defintely tile under the window. Lots of folks have the windows that come down to the countertop and have window casing on only three sides and it looks swell.

Also: Have you duct taped the tiles to cover the area in question yet? (Do the duct tape rolls on the back to make sure the tape doesn't show (if you know what I mean.))

Good luck!

Hey, I did that! In my case I really didn't like the wooden apron hitting the counter. With all that goes on in the sink workspace, I don't think the window trim looks top-heavy. I only have one course of tile under there; I suspect two -- like yours -- would look more balanced. (Funny, I just posted this picture in another thread for an entirely different reason):

"Anyone want to stop me before ... ?"

Go ahead. I'll encourage you too.

I really like the tile with your counter and it can carry the balance of the heavier header. I don't think you should paint the window trim out, but I think the wall colour should not be the same as the tile. If you're going to all this work for the tile then show it off. Either go a shade or two darker or lighter (I would prefer you to go darker) as already suggested. As for balancing the stove wall - I can't tell what the circle thing is that is on the wall But what about a colourful piece of artwork that is long and narrow.
Oh and don't paint your upper cabinets. Do the tiling, paint the walls and then see how you like it. By the way - where else is that tile going? Under all the cabinets? behind the stove? Where? and are you doing the same thing to the other window?
My tile runs under my window and I like it because when water splashes it's easy to clean up.

Amy, I would do the functional. But if you can get the trim removed without too much damage, keep it, in case you change your mind later.
Do tell us, how the tile is going to be installed, which walls, where?
and always, have fun :)

First...to Jterrilynn....an apology for repeatedly misspelling your name.

KK, I did not tape up the tile. They are so heavy and so expensive! I am really afraid one will break. I ordered extras, but not with the extra course under the windows in mind. So, I did a mock-up using paper and it looks darn good when I squint my eyes to get a sense of what it will look like.

Circuspeanut, thanks so much for that picture! That says it all! At first I thought, "yeah, but her counter matches the window trim." Then I realized mine does, too. doh (Are you a her, btw?)

Thanks for cheering us on, davidro!

Blfenton, I plan to take this all one step at a time. I won't paint the window trim unless I really need to. I still think the uppers could benefit from paint and the truth is I always wanted a painted kitchen but my builder didn't offer it. I just ordered the espresso (almost three years ago now!) and figured I could paint later if I wanted to.

The tile is two colors which, in combination, look like a third color somewhere in the middle. So I will probably use one of the two actual colors, so there will be some variation from the visual blending of the two. (Did that make any sense at all?!) Anyway, I need the tile on the wall before I get too crazy picking colors.

The tile will run under the cabs on the L side of the kitchen. The opposite (fridge) wall will just be paint. The tile will end at the lower edge of the hood. I will remove the apron from both windows. Like you, I want the easy clean-up. Thanks for all your input!

Hi, Punamy!! We cross-posted. I think I answered your questions about where. I will keep the aprons. Thanks. I am told they were NOT kreg-screwed, so they should pop off easily. Gotta kreg-screw up my nerve and get at these things! :-)

Please, no apologies...I am the typo queen.

Hi Amy! Just want to say I love that tile! It seems ideal with your countertop and the rest of your kitchen. It is simple, but it has such an interesting, subtle pattern & a beautiful, glossy sheen. It will look casually elegant, which is how I would describe your entire kitchen, and your style in general. Please post pics when you're finished with the project! (Bet those cookies were good!)

Hey Stinky, my friend! Thanks for your kind words. I will certainly post pictures when I am done. There have been so many people who have helped me with my backsplash issues over the last couple years. It's been a long road and the least I can do is share the final product! :-)

Cookies turned out great. A friend of my daughter wanted my recipe so I invited her over to bake here. Her parents were in the throes of getting ready for a party tomorrow. The girls had a great time, I sorted tile all the while. Thankfully, almost all the cookies went home with the friend.

Amy, Far from stopping you, allow me to be the cattle prod urging you to do it. That benighted skirt is perhaps one of my only misgivings in my own kitchen. While mine isn't as low above the sink as yours, I hadn't wanted the skirting either and wanted the splashback to go all the way up to the sill. However, the DH felt otherwise and felt quite strongly that it ought to be there for uniformity with all hte other windows in the house.

So, we got our sheet glass splashback installed as well as the skirting, upon which DH mused that perhaps it would have been better afterall without the skirting. Grrrrrr! Since my splash is sheet, there's no fixing without undoing the glass sheet installed as no patchwork is supportable - and my DNA doesn't run to too much deconstruction of labour and materials. So we live with that skirting and laugh at the cock-up.

That skirting provides neither function nor form if you ask me - go forth and get rid of it with ALL my blessings.

OUCH.....what was that...?!! A cattle prod? :-)

Mindstorm, it is hard to imagine anything "wrong" with your kitchen. It is one of my favorites. But, I took a peek and see why you wish you could have convinced your DH otherwise. I am sure he is "perfect in every other way" as we say around here when there is razzing for such things.

So, I will rip my aprons/skirts in your honor.

We still haven't gotten to that point yet....sorting through a few different colors of tile and trying to figure out what to do about it. (grrrrrr) Picture doesn;t show it so well, but we have three distinct colors in the order. Grayish, yellowish and reddish undertones. I am not a happy camper.