Beautiful tiles. Thanks, sandra 12 for the mock-ups. Much easier than imagining. For me, the first mock-up with the stair stepping gives some "movement" to the kitchen, which I like. The second one with the three rows of tile seems too crowded and boxy to me. Too much of a good thing! The third picture of just one tile is has a nice simplicity to it. This would be my first choice, but I like things simple, rather than showy. With one tile, I think it might look more complete to tile on the side walls. The question is (as always): Do you want the tiles be a focal point, or to play nicely with the other elements/colors in the kitchen? (Your three-year-old is a good photographer!)

Level the cabinets and counters. That's the real issue. And it causes many other issues beyond just an unlevel tile installation. Otherwise, you tile it like you do a tub. You find the low spot. Take the width of the tile and subtract 1/4". Use a level to draw a line all the way around the room at that height. Cut all of the bottom row of tile to fit the uncut edge to that line. You'll end up cutting the top row too, so you will need more cut allowance.

The top of my BS is filled in with grout, and it looks fine except if I maneuver myself into such a position that I can see it. How visible is the top of your BS when you are standing in the kitchen? When you are sitting at the table or bar stools? I think the answer might help with your decision on what to do about this. As as far as I am concerned, if your installer gave you a quote without knowing what material they were going to be working with, then that is their fault, and they should honor their quote. If they are not going to honor their quote, they should have clearly spelled out for you - beforehand - what circumstances would cause them to substantially deviate from that quote, and then given you the option to agree or cancel. I have never received a quote without materials being specified beforehand. Any deviation would result in a change order that we both would have agreed to before proceeding. When i I look at the chunks and ragged edges, I would have thought that was a property of travertine, and would have expected it to look that way. Hope this helps, and good luck!

I think the installers questions/concerns are valid. The two most prominent focal points in the kitchen are that edge which tapers in a pencil, pictured below, and the center of the range. As you walk into the kitchen, both those spots are most visible. Centering on the window wall meant that the edge (circled) may have had tiny pieces, and this would look bad. So we started at that edge. Truly centering at the window doesn’t make sense for another reason- the center line has only about 6” of tileable space. It’s right over the faucet and barely visible. So starting in that edge area then meant that we couldn’t also continue the wraparound at that far corner (arrow) without compromising another prominent area- the area over the range. So there is going to have to be a compromise given the space. I don’t think it is as simple as start in one spot and wrap around. Had we started at the center line over the range and wrapped around to the adjacent wall, we would run the risk of having an awful edge by the pencil.