As soon as I clicked on the grout color link and saw it led to Jablon, I wondered if you were using the "Jill mix". I'd recommend staying with a lighter grout. The delorean, what a huge mistake. I understand your angst now. I'd go as "white" as standard white grout, stepping down just a tad in grayness to the pearl if you want to avoid the white. The Silverado they recommend is on the dark edge for me. That's as dark as I'd go. My hokey analysis? With that tile I wouldn't want a grout that's darker than the tile. I'd go similar to slightly lighter, and I'd actually lean towards lighter. A darker grout will come to the visual forefront and break the wall into a grid, emphasizing the gazillion individual tiles. A similar to slightly lighter grout will sort of disappear into the background and let the tiles be the focal point, and allow the tiles to blend with one another across the wall. Just my opinion, and that's what this is about...how you personally perceive color, shade, and pattern. Your eye may be different than mine, your end goal may be different than what I'm picturing in my head. But the delorean gray? Ouch!

I asked my tiler which he would rather do: remove the old grout and re-grout, or use the colorant. He said re-grouting would be easier for him (remember, he's doing this for free). We saw him do it, and it wasn't as difficult as I had thought. They just took it out with a utility knife. They did about 50% of the floor, since we still had stuff on it that was too hard to move at the time. I bought a $400 Fein oscillating tool for the job, and I plan to remove the rest myself. The other argument is that you could apply the colorant yourself, one section at a time, without paying for more labor. When I do stuff myself, I take forever, but I do it about a million times more carefully than any worker seems to care to do. Grout seems to be the black hole of flooring knowledge. Daltile is a very good high-line supplier, but another tile supplier was able to solve most of our problems (mainly, finding the Hydroment grout samples there). At first we had a lot of effluorescence, but they had the product that removes it effectively there as well. Good luck!

oldbat2be-I'm kind of thrown on the pink tiles. I don't think they quite coordinate. I've been staring at them all day and I've pretty much talked myself out of them. Now I'm back at square one on the backsplash. Not a huge deal, because I really don't need one. Behind the sink seems to be the only place that needs a frequent wipe down. I blame that mostly on using a horrible sink/faucet combo while waiting for the sink decision. I can handle wiping it down until I choose something else. Got any excellent suggestions? Cheap is the name of the game. Whatever it is will likely cover the entire sink wall up to the cabinets and the entire wall in the range alcove. Those tiny mosaics and more brick are the only definite nos I've got. The only tile I've looked in person were in the home improvement stores. Mr. MM liked some Dark Emperador Cafe tiles from Home Depot that we looked at. I think there is a better choice. He's leery of letting me loose in a tile store. I know I'd fall in love with something that was $500 a sq. ft. Like the first backsplash love that I've ever felt. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/new-look-for-an-exclusive-coastal-residence-mediterranean-kitchen-san-diego-phvw-vp~264799) [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by La Jolla General Contractor GDC Construction I had dreams about that backsplash for months. It also sings with the voice of angels. Really, in the end, I just want a kitchen that looks lived in. Comfortable and cozy. Something that ages gracefully with little maintenance. That's the vibe I'm going for, if that helps at all. The addition is much needed and has been discussed since we bought the house. The plan was to save up for a bigger piece of property and a new construction, but land prices went from about $3500 an acre to $10-14k an acre in the last 5 years. So we're going to stay put at least until the kids graduate. Most likely will stay put for good and just buy land for the future generations to enjoy. 5 people, two bedrooms, one bath won't work for many more years. The addition would be ripping out the old kitchen, and extending that out another 8 ft, digging a basement under that portion, fixing the rest of the foundation, and adding a second floor. We'd gain a proper laundry room, 2 bedrooms, and two bathrooms, and we'll have more than 2 tiny closets in the entire house. I think we're done expanding the family, so each child will have a bedroom, although I expect they will all stay in one for at least a few more years. They cried when I told them they would all have their own bedroom! I feel about the same as you when it comes to faucets. I'd like to love one, but I have yet to find one that truly makes my heart sing. Maybe a cheapy will do until I find the one. I think the Karbon might be a little too modern for the space, but I do get the urge to find one in a showroom just to play with for a few minutes. As far as lighting goes, I hadn't thought a ton about glare, just because I have exposed bulbs now that don't bother me, but moving them down a foot or two might change that drastically. As far as what I'm lighting, it would mostly be the island and the area directly around it. But if they lit up the entire room, that would be fine as well. Unless we eat around or after dusk, I don't even turn on the main kitchen lights. Just the two above the range. I like to be able to see what I'm doing, but don't require stadium lighting to do so. Maybe I should start a new thread on lighting and see where that takes me. I just hate to post too much, don't want to spam up the board for more important issues.

The pattern of the tile is fairly common for 12x24 tiles(stock set). However, it should always be discussed with the customer first( with at least a drawn detail of direction and how it is to be installed, Second, worked from the center of the room so it looks balanced to the eye, also if that back part were the wall is in fact a an extremely small shower, then the comment before me is right, you do have MUCH bigger problems. I have been a floor covering contractor for close to 30 years, and no matter how small a project is, it is important for an installer and customer to go over the customers wants( best to get it in writing). One can always show a customer setting patterns with some tiles(as they are not tile contractors. Some customers will say,(you are the expert, do what you feel is best), which can result in customers being upset with the end result.