didn't have time to read all the answers. I have no backsplash and have never regretted it...been over 6 yrs. It is painted with BM matte...which has ceramic in it. It is as beautiful now as it was when first painted. I love the fact that I can showcase other things ...art etc in my kitchen and no competition. Also if I ever want to change it is as quick as a paint brush...expense is minimal..paint only ! All in all I think it is serene as you point out . Here is one pick. Since I have a lot of high heat cooking in my kitchen..built in deep fat fryer as well as gas cook top I can definitely speak to the longevity of paint only. c ( more at this album )

Posted by budgeteer_s (My Page) on Wed, Dec 31, 08 at 18:18 Thanks for all your suggestions. I wanted so much to follow with ci_lantro's suggestion because then I'm done. I'll gladly let you snatch that paint brush out of my hand. ha ha. But at the same time if a little tiling will tie up the project, then I'm game. jodi_socal: I'm a little disappointed when you said fire and ice won't work. I just LOVE that F&I BS. But then agin, I think I know all along it's a little too much for my kitchen. Caryscott & petra: Thanks for the picture petra, it says a thousand words. Is spectralight glass tiles? Prices are pretty reasonable. What about that milk green color? will it work? maybe with some garnet pieces sparingly mixed in. I will take some pictures and post two HD Behr's paint card to aid in the discussion of color. Thanks again ALL! Correction: My tiles were Alfagres: Gema4x4: different from what caryscott posted: I loved what caryscott linked:

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.

Hi Chispa, House is a townhouse built in 1996, trying to modernize the look. As far as decorating style, I like modern/contemporary, nothing too funky. Something that would be cohesive with the rest of the kitchen, and bring the kitchen to life a little. It's very white right now.