I just did a job using Crossville through body porcelain... highly polished.... VS77 Parisian White and VS79 Elba Night black. 7x7's on a diagonal, beautiful, will take more abuse than stone. Another benefit was I could use Spectralock grout. Can't use a sanded type grout on polished stone.

You ALL are totally awesome for helping (sorry if I sound like a teenager!) Great ideas and advice. You all are so right about the paint color--I can see it now. Thanks for taking the time to show me examples! (The existing paint is actually more of a gold- but looks yellow in certain spots and colors). I love those examples of the darker red backsplashes, boxerpups, with cabinets similar in color to mine. Red wouldn't match anything in my house, (I know you weren't suggesting that)but maybe a burgandy or maroon or rust would! Noobee- I can't get over how that darker backsplash you did (in the cut and paste you did over my kitchen photo) makes the cabinets and granite pop and ties it all together. I love it! I think that seems to be heading in the right direction--though perhaps the exact colors and pattern need tweaking. I love the look! Though there isn't any actual brown in the granite, some of the garnet does appear brown-here and there. Do you think I'd need to have gray in the backsplash to tie in with the granite if I went darker, with mixed colors, like that? Also, Noobee, how DID you do that cut and paste-is that a paint program that comes with windows or adobe photoshop by any chance? I'd love to try and play with that myself. I have been visiting a few tile shops, and even the salespeople there have been having a hard time finding the right solution for me. One lady who was working with me is even a trained interior designer. She was thinking darker would work, too, but was having a hard time finding just the right tile. So I really appreciate your suggestions.

Here is what I have learned about hardwoods. Many woods do cause allergic reactions, mostly from the dust when cut. Certain woods can cause allergic reactions when handles green and a couple when dry. All those allergies are specific to the person. Some people are affected, many are not affected. Interior wood flooring needs to have a finish applied. For protection of the wood and for protection of people and allergies. All of the wood finishes of which I am aware are safe when dried/cured. The problems with finishes are those created when the finish is applied and those problems are caused by the material used to liquify the finish material. This is driving the change over from oil based finishes to water based types. Water based finished are much less toxic when applied/curing. A good example of this is shellac. While not a really long lasting or desirable floor finish, shellac was used as a finish for trim in houses for many years. The material used to liquify shellac is alcohol. Usually denatured, but vodka or whisky would also work. If denatured alcohol is used, the shellac mix is poisonous---because of the denatured alcohol. Once dry, the same shellac is edible. And, if mixed with vodka(or other drinkable alcohol) it could be consumed with only the hangover as an aftereffect(I would probably not like the taste, however!). Shellac is used as a finish on some candy. If those companies use a factory applied finish, it will be safe for pets/people---unless consumed.

Thanks so much. If you are looking at the Residence line know that the tiles are uneven around the edges but also in thickness too, a few stick out here and there. I used a 1/16 spacer on the widest part of the tile so that I could keep the grout line as thin as possible but of course with the uneven edges it is thicker in some places. word of caution: We had a lot of breakage. I would recommend ordering more than you need and make sure when you pick them up you actually pull each tile out of the box to check. We had 2 boxes broken initially and then realized later that some of the corners were broke off. Luckily we had a enough without having to replace any of them but only because we over ordered probably by 25%. I am getting a credit back for two boxes tho. also, be sure to seal these crackle tiles. I set them up and then sealed but you could seal them individually before setting too. they are yummy and worth all the extra effort.