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 )

Here are 5 Fireclay color samples: The 1st three: Taken further away: (same exact order) 2 other colors: Further away (same order) From the top picture with the 3 samples, I feel blue spruce is too dark. Foggy morning seems like a good match - perfect shade of gray - not too light or too dark and it's a V3. Not sure what to make of French Linen (V2) - seems like it could work, shade seems not too dark and not too light. Weird thing is when there are no kitchen lights on, it seems gray, but when I turn my under cabinet lights on, it turns white. Out of the picture with the 2 samples, the frost seems to have a little yellow/cream in it which I don't like. White wash could work, but it's very plain, not crackled and is a V1. Just out of curiosity, since I am also considering the sonoma stellar line and if I went with a gray tile, it'd probably be penthouse (I still have to go back to the tile store and look some more), Here's a photo with 2 fireclay colors and 1 sonoma (penthouse) If I did fireclay tiles, should I go gray or white and which specific color? and should I do 2x6 or wave? I still have the hexy in the running; and the sonoma stellar line (which has all kinds of shapes I'm waiting to look at vs 2x6 with mix of gloss/matte)..... Too many choices! Would love other's opinions :) Thanks!

That is some really nice granite! I decided to take a look at some pendant lights (I assume they'll go over an island, but if you need something else, like a ceiling semi-flush mount, please let me know) and chose to look at pendants with nickel finish to go with the cabinet handles. I can expand the search to include bronze or other finish families too, though! Kichler Crystal Ball Fredrick Ramond Globe Kichler Avery Hinkley Latitude Elan Meridian Elk Hammered Glass Feiss Lexi ET2 Starburst George Kovacs Alecia's Necklace Fredrick Ramond Mime Craftmade Design-a-Fixture Feiss Rubin Elk Kersey Maxim Lighting Ripple Feiss Beso These are just a few ideas! We have thousands more pendants to peruse if none of these strike your fancy.

The woodgrain, although subtle, is a strong pattern because it's horizontal. The countertop is also subtle in some sense but active with the movement and contrast of the veins. Honestly I don't think anything so far is quite right. They all introduce more pattern and its too much. A lot of people probably dislike this kitchen, (it's George and Laura Bush's), but I picture it here because it kind of has a universal modern appearance (is it 2010, is it from 1990 but forward thinking?), like your kitchen--and it has an architectural glass or backpainted starphire glass backsplash, which is the direction I would be thinking of for your kitchen. I don't think you want to muddy it up with lots of groutlines and shapes.