hi--have been away for a bit--first, for peace and rubyfig--the handles are from Restoration Hardware. And yes, I was very pleased with myself for thinking of that detail! The only problem is that I wish I had installed them on the lower doors, as the towels are always getting caught when I open the doors (as I do often b/c trash and recycling is there). I actually figured this out going to sleep one night and went down the next morning to tell my GC, but he was so gung-ho that he had already installed them on the pullouts, as I had told him the day before...oh well. Scrappy--I love the Crown Point cabs! And hopefully you see that mixing inset and frameless is totally doable. The only thing is that I did not get my replacement doors from CP--we replaced some drawer fronts on the bases but these were supplied by the local guy who did some other built-ins for us. I think I could have gotten CP to do them but as replacement doors aren't really their thing the other way worked better, I think. However, If I were replacing all of them I'd try to do all CP. They are lovely to work with although they did gently try to get me to consider replacing the bases too--but I said no and they weren't at all pushy. Yes, the pantry is CP also. The crown molding is not CP--I think that probably would be $$$$. It's from a great local lumberyard (Anderson-McQuaid if you are in eastern MA). Our ceilings are 9' and the uppers are about 50'', then the crown on top. THis is including the light rail underneath--I don't remember what the ordering dimensions were. If you look at the pix, you will see there are several inches between the top of the door and the bottom of the crown. My GC actually had to attach a board on top of the cabs and then the crown--it all worked out fine, but I don't know if this was a mistake on CP's part or not. I was worried about the single doors being too big so it probably is just as well. Also, this is an old house and the ceiling wasn't level, which doesn't show with the extra valance board on top. (It's all painted so the seams aren't visible.) I don't think you'll have any trouble at all getting a crown in with the 8'. Crown molding is available in all different sizes and CP will build the cabs to your measurements. You might not have room for stacked cabs if that's what you want, but a friend of mine has stacked and I know her ceilings are lower than mine, so maybe you could. (I sort of wish I had done the stacked, but it was a lot more money.) HTH!

I do not like this white spot, either. I do not think you are being unreasonable to want to fix it. I think that we are just trying to help you think about other solutions. My first experience with stone was my 2003 kitchen remodel. tumbled marble. I remember looking at the finished backsplash and thinking why didn't my contractor set aside those dark ones that popped up every once in a while. After all, I had three boxes of tile left over. To me, it seemed a no-brainer. I also had no idea there was this much variation. But my contractor did. He knew what the tile looked like and how much variation was there. To him, the dark tiles were not something undesirable, or even something to ask me about. He had more experience, and I had not looked through the tiles to see what they were all like and pulled out the dark ones. Come to think of it, I helped him do tile on the second day. I put extra mastic on the back of the tiles that needed to be set forward a bit. On that day, I did pull out some tiles that were "too dark" for my taste. My expectations were different from Jim's. Now I am doing a second, different kitchen. I have an island that will be topped with 19" porcelain tiles that look like stone. I know from watching HGTV that some people lay tiles like this with no thought to the direction of the streaks of "grain" in the color. I hate that look. SO I am taking off a few hours on tiling day to give my input on the placement of the tiles and cuts. I would not know to do this if I had not seen other tile jobs I did not like, or see the dark tiles on my old backsplash. Since the sealer wears off in time, and since it is a liquid, I bet it has a solvent that will remove it. You may be able to do a "faux" finish on the white spot, then reseal it. It is possible that taking out that tile could hurt your wall and mean that the whole thing has to come down. Try something else first. After Bill Vincent jumps in and gives advice. There is a thread here somewhere about people hiring painters to faux finish outlet covers and other obstructions so that they cannot be recognized and ruin the flow of the backsplash. I would try that before taking out a tile and risking tearing the paper off the drywall underneath. Here is a link that might be useful: Painted outlets

Thank you both. Yes, I was worried about getting too busy - I want the fireplace, brick wall/lighting, & vent hood to be the places they eye is drawn... the backsplash should be pretty & subtle, not distracting from the other elements. I was thinking of laying tile offset on backsplash, then herringbone over 48" range with crown or pencil trim. I looked on the Fireclay website. What about something like this crackle in a gray-green london fog or salton sea? https://www.fireclaytile.com/tile/colors/detail/london-fog/ or even a gray like this http://www.thebuilderdepot.com/hparkdg3x6.html? Or do I need to stay more matte? Do I stay with a stone look (fireclay brick, ivory travertine, tumbled creama martial marble) or try to soften the room with a non-stone tile? I'm trying to pull gray tones & tan tones throughout the house so I have a versatile backdrop in case I ever want to switch... Re pulls: Funny, I hadn't considered brass. I was thinking ORB or stainless or polished nickel... brass does make sense when you look at the lighting. I was thinking silver tones to tie in the faucets/appliances & brighten the space b/c I'm worried it's too dark with all the stone/brick & loggia paint on walls. Hmmm...

Taking the siding to the ground might not be the best idea, My husband put a coating on ours (think it was called Fibercrete) that made it look more like poured concrete that block. Then we just left it the concrete color. If your ambitious and in a cold climate, it is possible to add rigid foam insulation the the exterior of the block... https://www.familyhandyman.com/walls/foundation-insulation-panels/view-all/