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Sonoma Tile backsplash anyone?

Kristen Hallock

7 years ago

Believe it or not my kitchen was finished around September 2013 and I STILL havent put up a backsplash. I am really ashamed of myself. So I made it back to 2 tile stores last week. The salesperson helped me narrow it to either Walker Zanger Gramercy Park in Brownstone, or Sonoma Tile Stellar in Dulce de Leche.
I'd brought samples of the WZ Brownstone home before and although it was nice, there seemed something off about it in my space. My husband, kids and I all decided we preferred the Sonoma Dulce de Leche best. Its pretty simple, but I want to keep the kitchen light and bright. Whats killing me is I cant find any photos of this tile/color combo. I like being able to see what a large area of it looks like.
You can search for my username khallock to see pictures of my finished kitchen and hopefully offer some advice.
Also, any experience with prices for this tile? I think we will go with 2x6" tiles and the salesperson told me it was around $26-$28ish a sq foot. I was really hoping for something that cost a bit less. I have something like 38 sq feet of backsplash, so its not going to be cheap!

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Comments (6)

aprilneverends
7 years ago
I went to your idea books but couldn't figure out which kitchen is yours..))

I think I know Sonoma's Dulce de Leche..it's very pretty for sure, was playing with the idea of it myself at some point (not for the backsplash though)..yep they are expensive

the stores we used gave us 30% discount on all tiles as long as we mentioned we're working with a contractor

but i don't know whether it'll fly in your case since you've finished your kitchen a while ago

who's going to be laying the tile? maybe you can have his name as a pro reference?

the stores we dealt with didn't really care about getting all the info..but i think they did need some minimal reassurance there's a pro there somewhere, to give us this discount. they were pretty laid back though. i'd say my impression was this discount was already built into their asking price..they could easily afford to go 30 off so they weren't fussy about it.

but if i hadn't ask for example-i'm not sure they'd offer me that info and that discount. maybe yes as they were all very nice to deal with..but maybe no.

i think pics won't help you as much-they will be of different spaces, in different lighting, professionally shot, maybe photoshopped too a bit..and then you'll see them through your monitor which might cast blue or green or whatever monitors do

as long as you decide it works with all your finishes and in all of your lights-you're kinda good to go. you still will be scared a bit until the tile goes in of course..but really, no place will give you as great an idea of tile, as seeing it in your own.
Kristen Hallock
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks for the feedback. My kitchen isnt in my ideabook. Its here in a GardenWeb thread (look at the one that says Backsplash Help! from Jan 3 2014. I cant figure how to add those photos from my thread to an ideabook.

I'm not working with a contractor. I was planning on my husband and I laying the backsplash tile ourselves. We have a tile saw. He's laid tile before, but only floor tile. I'm not sure the price on hiring someone to install backsplash tile but it doesnt seem like rocket science and we (mostly husband) demolished and remodeled the entire kitchen with the exception of sheetrock and countertops ourselves so i figured we could handle the backsplash install. So I cant even drop a name to try to get a discount.

I think this is the link to my kitchen pictures

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2412481/backsplash-help?n=13
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lmao. what Jan said! Although, I had to help out my guys who did my herringbone wood floor. it's the starting point where everyone gets messed up. after that, it's simple. Look up how to properly start a herringbone layout and read it. you need to use a speed square at the end of your tile in order to get the proper middle starting point. much easier to illustrate than trying to write it out here. This is how I showed my guys how to start it. see the blue tape w/the two lines? you have to start on the middle after you mark your corner. that's the only way you will get perfect even cuts on both ends. this is how most do it, and it's not correct IF you want perfectly symmetrical left/right borders. All he's done is set the corner of the tile on the line. doing it like this will leave you w/one side smaller than the other: see how the sides of the window don't match? this is what you don't want. your tile guy should be doing a dry layout in order to determine where he starts so he doesn't get this look or these tiny triangles. Again,,,see how the ends don't match below? the right has longer tiles than the left edge. that's because of the way he started his first tile. And don't do these vertical tiles for your edging. get proper bullnose tiles, pencil liner or a Schluter edge. This is a layout board of my herringbone for my shower. took a few hours in order to get this almost perfect. since this was an odd size, and the tiles were even at 3x12, it couldn't be perfect. the right bottom corner triangle is the only portion that doesn't match. luckily, it's not readily visible! Even the subway tiles are perfectly matched. this layout took hours to get exact, even around the niche. 2x6your 3x9 will be 1/3 larger. 3x9 is a good size for a backsplash. this is a regular 3x6. again, a 3x9 will give you 1/3 longer.
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eam44
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
There's this thread dated 2013 that can give you an idea of prices at Sonoma. They are outdated, but you'll get the idea.

Actually there are several threads on this site relating to Sonoma Tile. Google "Sonoma Tile Gardenweb".
javiwa
7 years ago
Kristen: Don't forget to account for tax and shipping. We received a quote a few months ago for Sonoma tile (beautiful, BTW), and the shipping for $1,500 worth of tile (~ 30 sf) cost ~ $500 to ship to TX.
Kristen Hallock
Original Author
7 years ago
holy crap! I hadnt thought of shipping at all. If thats the case I guess I will keep on looking. That is just insane. I am thinking of going to Best Tile because last time I was on the backsplash tile hunt I saw Quemere tile and it was also expensive but they are in NY at least so if you have to pay for shipping hopefully it wont be as much.
Kristen Hallock
Original Author
7 years ago
I've also thought of maybe ordering in NH since there would be no tax, but I wouldnt do that to just save $150 or less.

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