Thank you so much to everyone for the advice. That's what I was afraid of...too many elements. It's an older home and I want to keep the "charm" of an older space. I was planning to use honed black granite for the counter tops. It's going to primarily function as a kid's bathroom. I am using the antique brick in a few other areas of the house. I recognize the riskiness here, but was hoping it would come across with a charm that is original to the home. The antique brick blends better with the other elements in the home than the carrara does. I'm still not sure how to bring it all together. I know that the white porcelain is timeless. Will the carrara/black and white bath be outdated, considering it's been such a popular choice the last couple of years? What about the subway tiles? [Traditional Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2107) by New York Architects & Designers Jane Kim Design [Eclectic Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2104) by New York Architects & Designers Jane Kim Design This post was edited by TXBluebonnet11 on Fri, Jun 21, 13 at 4:04

Dear Johnny Dollar, My kitchen planner/cabinet rep was the one who suggested alder with this stain to soften the redness in the wood. I had initially wanted natural maple, as in our old kitchen. The light color of maple just was not right with the madre perla, the new oak floors, and all the other colors. The softness of the wood was never discussed and this is the first time that I have heard about it. We are almost empty nesters, so this kitchen will not get as much wear and tear as in a family with young kids. So far no gauges or dents or chips. The cabinets were made halfway across the country from where I live, so staining was not done on my premise. The finish on the cabinets looks very even.

There are so many good ones. The brand above is I Marmi. I like Porcelonosa as well - their cermaic version is kick ass. You pick tile like you shop for clothes or perfume. It's your take. Your likes. I tell my clients if they reach out because they want to touch it or feel it they most likely love it. I have noticed this over the years. People say "Don't you just love this?" while they are rubbing or caressing the tile sample. I do the same. It's like a body defence thing. We are checkign to see if there is any flaw with the tile. The link above will take you to my blog where you can see more pictures of the install process.

It doesn't look right to me. I think you need to pick which one is your favorite and ask for suggestions of what to put with it. If you really love the subways maybe you could find a Calacatta Gold Marble that would work better with it. Calacatta Gold has both warm and cool tones in it. Here is one picture of Calacatta Gold that I grabbed of the web The picture below is actually a porcelain slab that mimics the look of Calacatta. They are thin slabs and could be used for shower walls. You might want to consider something like that if you don't want to deal with the upkeep and issues that some experience with real marble.