Good morning! I had a short shift in bed. Our DD called and woke us up. She's in Senegal, Africa helping with primate research for 6 months. It's broad daylight there! In my little microcosm of tile life, I've got my next test underway. This time with a 1:2 ratio, 1white:2gray. Hoping for a slight tone down from the dark. And, I'll have to remember to start getting the soft trowel out to smush the grout into place, instead of the putty knife I used to stir it up with. That explains the multitude of scratches on my samples, if anyone has noticed. Now there's and analogy I can use in the macrocosm of my life, always use a soft trowel so I don't leave scratches. Ellendi, The grouts at the tile store are all their standard colors. They didn't offer to mix up custom grout. I'm a DIY'er and never thought to ask for them to do it. Of course I ask them to give me all sorts of advise on what I come up with! I guess they are providing me with therapy. I thought about Ivory too yesterday, but as a blending color. I think I might pick some up for blending today and see if it warms the dark up a bit. Having an ever so slight peach, to the Ivory grout, it might mix with the dark gray and move it to a warmer tone. I'll reevaluate, it may be something I'd like straight and on the rocks, :) couldn't help it. BTW, my grout is sanded. This morning the dark gray looks a teeeny bit lighter, and the center has receded a bit so may not look as flush as it did yesterday. Yesterday was a rush job, using a hairdryer to dry the grouts. It must have dried even some more overnight. Don't strangle me if after all this I go with the dark gray. Getting the hairdryer out and another cup of coffee before I get ready for work...

bmore always has good ideas. Here are a couple more. First questions - how out-of-level are those windows? Are they new-installs? Can you post an image? First of all if a window is not level and plumb, it's not going to open properly. You know it should be fixed and you really should do this before you install tile. But if you're dealing with a 100+ year old house and windows that have been there forever, and you don't want to touch them I get it. Can you level out the window trim a little so that it appears less out-of-level with the counter without looking too tilted to the window? If so, any option you pick will look better. Herringbone, that I love by the way, may be fine but it is a very linear look again. It may not be great in your space. My guess is that avoiding lines altogether is the way to go, so pick marble, but consider a mosaic that uses rounds or octagons, and yes, if you can take it to the ceiling that would be great. I know this will be a departure from the look you wanted. I love this tile, and at least one GWer has used it. It'll give you an idea of what I mean. mpagmom's bs: You don't have to use color, but if you can get away from straight lines, you'll be happy you did.

lmao. what Jan said! Although, I had to help out my guys who did my herringbone wood floor. it's the starting point where everyone gets messed up. after that, it's simple. Look up how to properly start a herringbone layout and read it. you need to use a speed square at the end of your tile in order to get the proper middle starting point. much easier to illustrate than trying to write it out here. This is how I showed my guys how to start it. see the blue tape w/the two lines? you have to start on the middle after you mark your corner. that's the only way you will get perfect even cuts on both ends. this is how most do it, and it's not correct IF you want perfectly symmetrical left/right borders. All he's done is set the corner of the tile on the line. doing it like this will leave you w/one side smaller than the other: see how the sides of the window don't match? this is what you don't want. your tile guy should be doing a dry layout in order to determine where he starts so he doesn't get this look or these tiny triangles. Again,,,see how the ends don't match below? the right has longer tiles than the left edge. that's because of the way he started his first tile. And don't do these vertical tiles for your edging. get proper bullnose tiles, pencil liner or a Schluter edge. This is a layout board of my herringbone for my shower. took a few hours in order to get this almost perfect. since this was an odd size, and the tiles were even at 3x12, it couldn't be perfect. the right bottom corner triangle is the only portion that doesn't match. luckily, it's not readily visible! Even the subway tiles are perfectly matched. this layout took hours to get exact, even around the niche. 2x6your 3x9 will be 1/3 larger. 3x9 is a good size for a backsplash. this is a regular 3x6. again, a 3x9 will give you 1/3 longer.

IMO those tiles were a poor choice I think not beveled and no herringbone would have been a much simpler choice and if that counter is not marble then marble was also a bad choice.IMO that backspalsg now requires a white grout and no other thing on the counters and for sure not above the cabinets all that just adds to the eye clutter you have created. If at all possible return those tiles and go simpler and not a real stone next to fake.