thanks everyone, yeah--i do like a little bling too. my house is more transitional/tradtional. behind the range will be a focal point from our great room so i would like a little something extra back there. i read on other posts on here the challenges with my space restrictions...only aboupt 28 inches to tile. so, i think i'll go ahead & purchase the first mosiacs and perhaps only use one row. I can have him edge out some type of picture frame with the herringbone pattern inside. tile guy said he can lay it out for me, than if i don't like it i can forgo the glass tiles. despite having windows in the kitchen, it's not very bright so i would love to have a little sparkle in there. thanks again everyone your suggestion/comments..you guys are the best!

This is just my humble opinion, but a lot of the wood-look porcelain/ceramic tiles that I've seen look better quality than some of the cheapo engineered or laminate "wood" floors out there. And after a year or two, I imagine the quality of the better tiles is even more evident compared worn low-end engineered or laminate flooring. Whether you're talking about tiles or engineered wood, quality makes a huge difference. I love the more unusual looks that wood-look tiles can pull off - looks that would be hard to achieve with real wood like driftwood, etc. For example - That would be a low-maintenance rustic chic look for my busy family lifestyle. When I had ceramic tile in the kitchen, I generally found that wearing "house" flip-flops eased the hardness for my feet. We just extended top-nailed site finished oak planks into our kitchen because we have an open concept living space. Love the look but it was super expensive and I am dreading the fussing at the kids (and myself) that will be required to keep it in decent condition. High traffic areas of the new hardwood were down to bare wood after 12 years before refinishing. I think a lot of flooring looks that are popular now will look dated in a decade - including engineered wood, etc. My grey kitchen tiles weren't too bad, but the 12"x12" shape looked dated after 10 years. So, realistically, plan what will work for you for the next decade, then if you're lucky that your choices work out for longer than that, it's a bonus :) . Here is a link that might be useful: Mission Stone Tile

Have you looked at David T Smith's website? That might give you some ideas. I think you could do a softer sage on the cabinets to look light without being white if you want to connect with your sage door without matching. But there are lots of choices in the items you show. A lot of white kitchens caught my eye when I was looking for inspiration, but I knew we are a 'wood couple' and I wouldn't feel at home in a white painted kitchen. So I looked for other elements in the white kitchens that helped contribute to the overall feel I wanted, and mixed in some painted cabinets, and you know I used plenty of colors. For a busy family kitchen, I recommend staying mainly with med to med-light colors in heavy use or larger expanses... My dark burgundy cabs show flour and baking spatters, the cream island shows anything not light and ends up dark in any crevices or corners, and the gray is the best for not looking dirty. Save light or dark colors for special accent pieces, maybe in lighter use areas, like dish storage, etc. Keeping other surfaces light can help if you have wood cabinets...Like counters, floors, backsplash, etc. Natural light, lighting, and some elbow room (not overcrowding and doing things like leaving some empty wall space around windows and doors) all help with a lighter feel. You have great colors chosen and inspiring you to make this work. Your fridge and freezer do work against a truly old-time atmosphere, but I love a mix of modern and old... If you look at it, it's a truer sense of 'collected over time,' since if you did that, you'd obviously have some later things, too. Here is a link that might be useful: David T Smith kitchens

I'm not picking a standard tile floor, I'm going with wood look tile because everything goes with wood, where a colored or pattern tiled floor you are stuck into certain paint colors. I want to be able to repaint my island a different color 5 or more years from now without worrying about the color of a tile floor.