We had originally put a couple slabs of kashmir white on hold and were setting up to have it fabricated for our kitchen. I loved it and went home to look up photos of kitchens with this granite and instead I found site after site of people complaining about staining. It really freaked me out and I brought up my concerns with our fabricator. They doubled sealed a sample of the kashmir white for us to take home and I did some testing with it. I put a few different things on the granite for about 10-20 minutes. Tomato sauce, oil and juice. All 3 stained horribly after I cleaned them off. I have read there are things you can do to get out stains but I certainly did not want to deal with a high maintenance granite like that, especially with 3 young children. We ditched the kashmir and went with something darker. I do like the look of the kashmir better though.

Ah, a topic I may be able to help out with. We recently installed off the shelf (Lowe's) white subway tile. The brand is American Olean (not sure about the spelling!). I remember reading in a magazine that in a white kitchen there should be varying shades of white to keep it from looking sterile, just as someone mentioned above. When my husband installed it he and my mom both liked how it looked: as if it had been grouted with gray grout. I knew I didn't like this look but was almost talked into it. I mention this because of your previous statement "i have always loved the white subway with white grout look, but i donno, with the different shades, i might have to try something else, and that really worries me because i am detouring from what i originally like. " Stick to what you like or you won't be happy. I almost went with gray grout. Perhaps it may look better or more appealing but it is not the look I'm going for. And since you've mentioned that you are worried about the shade of white you've chosen change it now before it's too late. I personally think it will look great but being that you are questioning it makes me think it is not really what you want and are hoping to be talked into liking it. But if you stick with your tile I wouldn't go with a cream grout but rather one that matches the tile and blends nicely. To answer your question In my opinion the color of the grout makes a difference. Just look at kitchens with white subway with gray grout vs white grout and you'll see what I mean. I don't think an off white grout will make it blend with the cabinets better, it could make it look soiled. White will make it look whiter but IMO cleaner. I say keep the backdrop (backsplash) simple. As someone mentioned above you will have things on the counter to break it up. I plan on putting more items on our counters and the gray grout for me would be too busy. Not to mention I'm not the tidiest-so I need everything else to be simple. I sure hope I did't confuse you! Here are pics of our off white cabinet, BM moonlight white, though not quite as creamy as yours, with white subway tile and bright white grout. Below is a link to segbrowns kitchen. I think the pewter grout in this kitchen looks great because of all the other elements. But with such creamy cabinets as yours I'm not sure about gray/pewter grout. Gray grout look (before grouted). My cabinets look quite stark here but are really creamier in person. Hopefully you can see a difference in the shade of the cabinets compared to the white subway-it is hard to capture in a pic! Here is a link that might be useful: segbrowns kitchen

FYI, here are some of my inspiration photos. I love the red accents in this first one (my compliments to SoonerMagic--I hope it's OK that I'm re-posting this) but I'm just not sure if white subway tile might be too stark in our kitchen. Our cabs are white rather than off-white, there's no window above the sink and there won't be much painted wall showing. If we went with this color scheme we'd probably do something like BM Bennington Gray on the walls. Not certain if we'd use the contrasting grout or go with something whiter. I like how the beige-y backsplash in this 2nd photo adds a little more color to the room. Was thinking a subway tile in this shade might still work nicely with red accents (with paint in a similar beige shade): A third option would be to do a grayish paint (BM Gray Owl?) and go with a subway tile in carrara marble something like the one below (sorry--I'm not sure whose pic this is). The problem is I'm not sure that would coordinate well with the red in our dining room. It's also a cooler color scheme than I'd originally planned. Any thoughts? Our floors are hardwood, by the way--similar to the color in pic #2 or just a touch lighter. Thanks again for all the input!

Regrettably, that is not my kitchen. It is one whose colors I tried to replicate, with results so bad (this is how I know how wrong colored stains can turn out) that I had to go another direction completely . The kitchen is by Timeless Kitchen Design. They have a web site and a blog, and even a proprietor -- Kevin Ritter -- who may be able to identify the hardware. For anyone who might yearn to have one of his wonderful kitchens, forum member honeychurch has posted here and on a blog about her experience. The irony is that the photo that so won my heart is actually somewhat distorted from the original, which is slightly warmer in its coloring. Here is a link that might be useful: Timeless Kitchen Design