your bathroom is charming! I think the black breaks up the off-whiteness of the tile too, so it all goes together really really well. It's very period looking, that's for sure! I was looking for something that said to me "clean" and "crisp". White floors, white beadboard, silver tones in the fixtures and then a deep blue almost grey on the walls. So an off whitish color just doesn't work in my head..you know? sigh. I may simply resort (for quickness sake) to just small oct & dot. At least I know that's very white. dang. My very tiny bath is one bit in a larger entire 1st floor remodel and I don't really want to hold it up over a floor...

I am also doing a bath in the Catarina Coliseum White and ordered several of the trim pieces. We were unpleasantly surprised when the bullnose pieces we ordered ended up being the same matte finish as the large floor tiles. I spent a lot of money on them and can't use them on my shower surround with the shiny wall tiles. No information stating this info could be found by the dealer I purchased from or by myself on the internet. As for the other pieces, the mosaics are 9 tiles x 9 tiles, filling out the same space as a single 12" floor tile. They are the same matte finish as the floor tiles. We're using this in combination with the Etruscan brown to make a "rug" in the bathroom floor. The only really weird thing is that the white mosaics have a straight edge and the brown ones are beveled all the way around. I don't know why tiles in the same line would be set up differently. There is also a quarter-round piece available, though not through Lowes. It is the shiny finish of the 10x13 wall tiles. All in all, the tiles are nice for the price, but the selection of trim pieces is severely limited. We have found that some of the carrara trim pieces out there blend pretty nicely.

Good points. Yep pbrisjar, that was me with the slopey house. The kitchen is long and narrow, and it would be hard to view the entire backsplash from directly in front, if you know what I mean. So you would usually be viewing it by looking "along" it. Do you think that would make a 5/8" backsplash height difference over 14' look unacceptable ? At least with this pattern, there wouldn't be any horizontal grout lines that would accentuate the level issues, I think ? mnhockeymom, good point about your tile crown, I hadn't noticed that. I like that. And I agree that final colour decision is difficult without having the countertops in yet ... big decision for Friday afternoon then ! I guess this leads me to a broader question ... do backsplash colours generally differ significantly from wall colour ? I suppose you want it to either match really well, or differ enough to make the decision look deliberate rather than a poor match, right ?

The difference is usually very visible, between hand made and machine made. Maybe not if you look at tile X vs tile Y. (Even though I am usually good with seeing it) But when you have a wall tiled-it will be quite easy to see the difference. Together with that, I'd base my decision (after budget considerations, of course) on the style, yours and the house. Couple pics, here in the thread, show exactly how beautiful simple tile can be. There are homes where machine made tiles will look classic and right for the space. I think-more modern kitchens/bathrooms, East Coast, urban homes, Cape Cods, Victorians maybe..? And there will be houses that will beg you for the handmade tile. It doesn't mean you have to cave:) But styles that heavily used handmade tile for years and years-they'll benefit from handmade tile. I think: Craftsman, Spanish.. As for difficulty of installation-I have no idea. In our case, heavily depended on an installer)) Some places are picture-worthy, some ..you're, like "well okay"..some were redone(very nicely I must say)/some will need to be redone. Not everybody can do the same job. Also, some places are trickier than the others, and require more skill. Luckily the trickier tile was done by better installers. But I'm paying for everything to look good..)) The amount of money that goes to compensate for spoiled material, and to purchase a new one, is much more than I ever imagined, and frankly-it's quite maddening. Also, with handmade tile-you have to wait. Sometimes for weeks. Take it into consideration too. Daltile will always be there I suppose, if you encounter a problem..3 days, and you're getting it. Handmade-consider yourself lucky if it's 3 weeks. Lastly, I wouldn't worry what people will say in 10 years. People say so many things about so many things..their opinions about somebody else's tile should be our last concern.))) Just make sure you consider your choice, and love it enough.