Finishing touches: Backsplash and Pendant Help
Several weeks ago, I posted here about replacing Giallo Ornamental with Colonial White Granite.
We had our install last week, and we are very happy with how the granite turned out. Now, we have to figure out what to do about the backsplash. Here is the kitchen and adjoining family room. Our style is transitional, more traditional in the family room. The kitchen ended up being a bit more contemporary due to the handles in the appliances and cabinet pulls.
We have since hung these curtains in the family room and on the slider:
I would eventually like lighter counter stools (maybe seagrass), but these bonded leather stools are a good option now with kids using them on the daily basis.
I think we would like to do something more than a basic subway, but as as I said in my other thread, we are very play-it-safe. We don't want anything too visually stimulating. I have looked at many backsplash options, and I think I have an idea of what colors will work, but I'm not sure where to start in terms of shape and scale of backsplash tile. I saw a designer at an upscale tile shop, and she recommended either a glass subway or a Sonoma Tilemakers subway. I like subway, but I don't want to regret going too safe...but I don't want too busy. I have looked on Houzz and Pinterest for inspiration, but I really do not see many examples of dark cabinets with white granite.
The related question is the glass pendants in the kitchen pics above. Are the shades too traditional for the kitchen? When the lights are off, the glass looks greenish-gray, which actually looks OK with the granite (there are similar colors in the stone), but less OK with the red in the family room. Any other suggestions for lights? We like the look of these, but we aren't sure whether we should stick with glass shades:
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or ideas or advice!
Comments (19)
mark_rachel
6 years agoCongrats! It looks great! I think a plain subway would look very nice. Maybe adding bevel or crackle will help. Or you can go with an interesting shape.Go to the tile store with your sample & get a few options. I would pull a color out of your new counter. Encore has some really great subways that would look really great.
eam44
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoIt looks so much better without all of that yellow!
Forget about glass... I would keep it light and bright with a larger format rectangular tile in an off white color that coordinates with your stone. This is Gardenia by Fireclay Tile.
Related Discussions
My pendant lights are in ... almost finished
Comments (15)Cat, your kitchen looks terrific, I hadn't seen it before. The marble mosaics are going to be great with the counters. Can I ask you about the upper cabinet that comes down to the counter? I'm in the process of building something similar for myself, but seeing your picture gives me a better idea of how they'll look than my sketch does. I'd like to know the width of the cabinet, and the length from top to bottom. Also the length of the glass doors alone, without the drawers. Sorry to be a pain, but do you know the width of the crown molding? Thank you so much. I'm doing my own kitchen and have not seen most of these things in real life! It really helps me to see photos of what I'm sketching. Finally, your range hood inspires me too. I was struggling with the angle my insert has, and seeing yours, I realize I'd be happier with having the wood cover go vertically up instead of angling. Thanks!!...See MoreVertical Backsplash? A Backsplash Regret?
Comments (28)I can see why it might be advisable to remove the left/rt portions of tile, but I would be inclined to wait until ithe kitchen is completed before deciding. If, as your gut tells you, it "needs" to come down, nothing is really lost except a little more time with it up. Perhaps knowing you are not "locked-in" or committed to it, will help give the perspective to view it more objectively while deciding for sure. This way you will not only have the chance to see it with everything else in place, but you will also have the opportunity to get used to it, before deciding if you truly dislike it, or just haven't gotten used to it being there. As subtle (in color) as our tile is, after months of looking at white painted Sheetrock, it still looked "different" and stood out when we looked at our kitchen. Once we became accustomed to it, we couldn't imagine our walls without it. That's how I am with many things--after living with a blank wall or empty space for any period of time, even a long awaited piece of furniture or decor item jumps out at me, and almost seems like too much, until I get used to the vacant space being filled. Thanks for the compliments on our backsplash Laura and andreak100! It's the Opera Glass tile from Artistic Tile (Stilatto pattern) in Wolfgang White. It does read greenish-blue(-grey) in certain lights or times of day. We had to think about that one while deciding if we wanted to use it, and obviously decided to go for it! Good luck Laura! Honestly, whatever you decide will look terrific!...See MorePendant or no pendant lighting: Can you please help me decide?
Comments (20)Thanks for all of the input!!! It sounds like a pendant may not be in my future. I loved the idea of it but as I was looking at it more, I was worried that there might be too much going on there. I was having second thoughts and wanted to get opinions from all of you. Holly-Kay: we are planning on changing out the chandelier above the table to a bronze finish to tie in with the darker wood and fireplace things. But I see how a pendant above the sink might be too much. Snookums2: we removed the dark screens and it looks much better. I can't wait for everything to get started! I thought about tiling to the ceiling but wasn't sure since our cabs don't go to the ceiling. We are going to add a taller crown but nowhere near ceiling height. That may be the subject of another post. Nosoccermom: great idea about hanging a balloon. I don't have photoshop but maybe I could cut and paste something there and post again. Thanks for the suggestions!...See MorePendant light/mixed metals help needed
Comments (30)Hi namarie, if you are considering this fixture please check it out in real life if you can. You might want to see if you would be able to later swap out the bulbs for 60W equivalent LED filaments so that it will be sufficiently bright to work at your island -- shouldn't be too bad since there are only 6. The look of LED filaments seems to be improving quickly. Good luck!...See More
Blueberry Abode
6 years ago
emcsq
6 years agoThanks for the responses thus far. I have held it up to white/ivory subway and everything with remotely similar colors in 3 tile shops. I can definitely see us going with subway, I just want to make sure I am not missing a chance to go with something more eye catching. Here are some collages of pictures I took.
mark_rachel
6 years agoemcsq
6 years agoherbflavor
6 years ago
lucky998877
6 years ago
barncatz
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoHi emcsq, I don't know if this tile would be too gray with your family room or too dark with your cabinets, but I saw it on another thread and thought of your kitchen. It's Adex Ocean Surf Grey.
Here's the thread with more photos of it. Scroll to the very end. Both of the posters who used it have painted cabinets. The posters say it has a green undertone, so it might work well.
eam44
6 years ago
PROEden Mosaic Tile
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoHave you considered using a stainless steel or aluminum metal mosaic tile to achieve that transitional look you desire? We invite you to check out these kitchens and our selection of tiles to give you some ideas.
We are a premium online supplier of metal mosaic tiles
for backsplash and other wall applications. If you are looking for ideas, feel
free to browse our customer installations for metal backsplash ideas:http://www.houzz.com/projects/72838/eden-mosaic-tile-installations
You can also check out our Houzz store at:
https://www.houzz.com/pro/edenmosaictile/eden-mosaic-tile
We offer the possibility to receive samples.
Good luck with your backsplash design!
emcsq
6 years agoUpdate...I do not normally like mosaics (AT ALL), but after setting up larger samples in the space over several days, I kept finding my eye drawn to this one (link):
I am hoping that it doesn't look too busy or trendy because the colors are pretty perfect. I like that it isn't too stark and mixes several of the shades that are in the granite. Here are some more pics with and without cabinet lights. Honest opinions welcome! If it's too busy, would you recommend doing it as an accent with subway instead?
emcsq
6 years agoYes, definitely honest opinions are appreciated since we don't want to make an expensive mistake! I won't be offended.
Ericakn, would you recommend a basic ivory subway, or something else?You summarized my thoughts well, Czarinalex. I normally skip over mosaics when shopping because I do not like the high contrast or flashiness of most. I think that is the same reason I did not like the carrara herringbone sample I set up at home...it looked fine with the granite, but it had nothing to really coordinate or complement the cabinets...so too much contrast for me.
Ultimately, we would like to cover the brick fireplace in the FR with stacked stone, so even though I did not go looking for mosaic, I am hoping this particular tile shape on the backsplash would also be a good option to tie the FR and kitchen together. Inspiration pic for FR fireplace (maybe different stone colors, have not shopped yet):
Thanks, everyone! Keep the ideas coming!
E ORegan
6 years agoemcsq
5 years agoIt took us almost a year, but we finally decided to use an off-white crackle subway. By itself, the tile can look light gray, but I think it works well with the granite.
Last major decision is grout color. I am leaning toward matching the grout to the tile color so that the grout lines disappear. Yes or no? Here are some photos...Pics 1 & 2 have undercab lights on, while they are off in Pics 3 & 4:
emcsq
5 years agoAlmost a year later, we finally committed to and installed an off-white crackle tile. It can look light gray in some light, but it goes well with the granite.
Last major decision--what grout color? I'm leaning toward matching it to the tile color so that the grout lines disappear. I don't want to go whiter because I don't want the tile to read gray. Would you recommend matching grout? Or darker? Once again, walls are SW Accessible Beige.
Here are some pics with undercab lights on (1 & 2) and off (3 & 4):
czarinalex