Thoughts?

Thank you for your thoughts. I'm not a fan of black countertops. My cabinets are white, the floors are medium brown wood. I really like brick. Any other thoughts on a countertop that isn't black? something light?

How about stainless or pewter?

Sorry just saw Hallett suggested stainless already- I second that and add pewter- both are pricey- but so is TM.

No bricks please. If you want brick, you want a softer, more organic, less gleaming and patterned/movement top. If you love Taj Mahal? Forget brick. It's easy to love two different things in isolation..... and hate them when combined in a total look. . Brick is great with Soapstone, it is lovely with a wood counter top, even butcher block, or a honed black granite . It screams for a similar "feel", not one that is its polar opposite!. PS...... soapstone has shades of gray and black, and greens and blue. Use an un enhanced seal ( no mineral oil) and it can look medium gray...etc.

If you love it ( brick) that much and hate all these suggestions? Don't rule out simple white Corian. You don't need or want, two shouting "stars" in any kitchen. If you don't believe it, see the evidence on these pages in the thousands of posts from those who refused to believe just that. Consider yourself warned : )

The fire surround below is SOAPSTONE. It's not black and the same matching slabs/ material were used in my clients kitchen opppsite that hearth.

lake home · More Info

lake home · More Info

As others have said, the two really don't play nicely together. I'd choose one or the other.

It sounds like you'll need to hone the Taj Mahal. There are images if you do a search but this idea needs a good sized sample for a side-by-side. The top here with a simple edge treatment.

I like them together. it's like putting a pretty sparkly chandelier in a rustic space. or wearing a ruffle blouse with a men's style suit. what are the other elements?

Sometimes a thing simply doesn't work. Taj has a lot of green /gold/gray/white. It will turn the red brick quite busy...... and honing Taj rather defeats the purpose of easy care quartzite. Call it putting a square peg in a round hole, perhaps. The OP's brick is begging for simple subtlety and one tone to not compete.. Sorry.

isabel98 - wood floors, white shaker cabinets, white ice appliances, copper sink, big windows. All the tile and stone backsplashes are not appealing to me. I love the rough textured brick with the beautiful stone, And the piece of Taj I'm looking at is very white and gold. I dont plan to have a lot of red/peach in the brick. Hmmm. I appreciate hearing all thoughts/ideas

stephanie, what about a glazed brick? you'll get variations in shades, but not the look of 'brick',,,,

cleTile

the ones above, look like this, installed:

and Fireclay tile has actual bricks as well

https://www.fireclaytile.com/brick/colors/

Interesting idea with the glazed brick & fireclay tile. A couple of the features with brick that I love are the white grouted spaces/smears and the fact that it's really brick. The one I have chosen comes from old Chicago buildings. They cut the fronts off them to make beautiful tile walls. I live in Texas. It's probably more common her to see the rustic/elegant blended well.

What is your kitchen like? Is there room to have an accent wall with brick? Still the same space, just not connected. Can you wait until your TM is installed and then do a dry fit with brick...that will tell you a lot even without the grout/smears. I love the brick you have chosen.

I think it could work especially if your taj is pretty plain. I’ve seen slab of taj that are much quieter than what has been posted here. That said the suggestion to wait until counters are in is a good one:)

Honed/leathered Taj isn't going to need care any different from honed/leathered granite. It won't stain. It doesn't become marble. It's still harder than granite.

dan1888 - can you tell me why you recommended honing the stone?

luckyblueeye - there are a couple places that could work as accents. I think your idea to have the counters in first is a GREAT one!

isabel98 - Yes, I agree...I have seen so many different slabs of Taj. I'm looking for the most subtle I can find.

I am curious how this turned out. I am going through the same dilemma at this point.

Would also love to know how this turned out. We are considering the same setup.

Stephanie, what did you decidento do? Going thru a kitchen reno now and having the very same debate.

@aggiemom82 @bubby4113 @Megan Egan We're having the same debate too. What did you all end up doing?

We ended up going with Monte Blanc and will do a thin brick backsplash. It won’t be up for another 4-6 wks

@bubby4113 Did you think the Taj Mahal and brick didn't go?

We have honed Taj Mahal at the fabricator, and haven't settled on the backsplash yet. We were originally going subway tile, then started leaning toward a soft Chicago brick. Now I want to hear which way you all went.

We didn’t think it would go well. A little too gold. But honestly, at that time we were thinking oil rubbed bronze hardware for the kitchen and now we’re doing a mix of gold and ORB so it may have turned out great!

Here is our oyster pearl thin brick. Fireplaces are “unwashed” and mudroom floors are “washed.”

We will be doing the unwashed for the kitchen backsplash.

Jim Madsen, we just had our brick installed yesterday with our polished Taj Mahal and we could not be happier! The brick really pulls out the veining in the Taj and we love the contrast between the fancier countertop and the rustic brick.

That looks beautiful. I love it!

It looks terrific!

@Megan Egan Did you use regular grout or mortar?

It was professionally installed by someone who works with brick a lot and he suggested Alabaster grout so that's what we went with. The thin brick is Rushmore from Floor and Decor. Everything dried a little lighter than what you see in the picture.

@Megan Egan stunning kitchen. I love the brick backsplash and Taj, Beautiful thanks for posting.

@Stephanie hello, we are about to buy our taj countertop and i always liked the brickbacksplash, but worrying it might compete too much. how did you decide? I originaly wanted very light white quartz but fell in love with Taj and now i have a dillema with my backsplash.

I know people here keep saying that Taj Mahal needs to be the "only star" and you have to use a plain backsplash ... but I think most of those people do not have TM installed in their house!

I'm on my second kitchen with TM and from most angles a few feet away, it just appears as a beige counter! Yes, you need to be careful what you pair it with, but plain white tile isn't the only tile that works with it.

yannac, what chispa said. it's best to wait until after it's installed and then decide. come back afterward w/pics and we can help you w/tile. (start your own post tho)

thank you @Beth H. : will do that!