Backsplash advice from the Color Club requested!
Hi all! After years of research and months of waiting, my tiny galley kitchen is finally installed! Well, all but the backsplash (ABB). As you can see from the photos below, it is an all white kitchen. I won't apologize for it, I love white kitchens, BUT I want some color in here somewhere, and I refuse to use gray. So, I hope the card carrying members of the Color Club can help me!
My favorite colors fall into the aqua, teal, blue/green category. My favorite tiles are the handmade ones, that have slight color variation, and I have samples from Fireclay and lust after Mercury Mosaics. However, they aren't in my budget, despite the fact that I have a very small area to tile (~22 sq ft).
So, I am the proud owner of approximately 1 million samples from Tilebar :) I will post photos in the comments of some of my favorites, and I'd like your feedback to help me think of pros and cons! Important note: my house is a small 1.5 story that was built in the mid-1940s and has walnut stained hardwood floors throughout (except the kitchen where I installed marmoleum). Trim is white throughout. I have an ALL PINK tile bathroom that I have no plans to ripe out.
Kitchen (still needs finishing touches, like a new flooring transition etc.):
Comments (15)
AMS
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoHere are some photos of tile I like. For the photo below, the tiles are, left to right:
Lancaster 3x6 subway, color "open seas". $9 / sq ft.
"Nirvana Bliss" rimmed 1" penny tile. $9 / sq ft.
"Jamaica Verde" 4x4 ceramic. $5 / sq ft.
The photo below is of the expensive tiles, from left to right:"Quill basil" - this is impractical. Once i saw it in the flesh, although pretty, I realized it would be really hard to clean, and it's expensive ($20 / sq ft). But very pretty :)
Nabi crackle tile "arctic blue" 3x6. This is also probably too expensive, unless I could install myself (?!). ($20 / sq ft)
Nabi crackle tile "tundra" 3x6. I'm sharing this because on the Tilebar website, it looks gray. In person, it's a soft green. Also expensive. ($20 / sq ft)
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Backsplash input requested
Comments (11)Thanks everyone for your kind words and input! The kitchen continues to be a work in progress. The dark cave effect was my fear as well. DH is not all too keen on a dark backsplash so we are moving in another direction. Sweeby - a friend of mine at work probably best sums up the style of what I am doing with the kitchen and living/dining rooms in my house as 'Casual Elegance' In styling terms, I guess you could say that the overall feel is transitional. I like the clean lines of modern - but also like fabrics and tones that are more traditional. I am including a link of some pictures that will show what I have done and am leaning towards. I think my hope for the backsplash would be that it has clean lines - nothing fussy or overly patterned. I like to introduce pattern in the textiles and decor mostly. For the backsplash, I am pretty sure that I am moving in the direction of glass tile - most likely subway for the majority of the backsplash. I have seen a couple of options for a varied glass tile mosaic which is all the same (or almost the same) color that I am considering: http://www.glasstileoasis.com/item.asp?item=13108 If I do go with subway tiles, I want to do something with more interest behind the cooktop and am considering some of the following: http://www.glasstileoasis.com/item.asp?item=17745 or stainless steel http://www.glasstileoasis.com/item.asp?item=17076 or this one installed vertically http://www.glasstileoasis.com/item.asp?item=17074 Any thoughts on how easy or hard it is to keep a stainless steel backsplash clean? Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Style Samples...See Morebetty's backsplash -big pics as requested
Comments (14)Aw thanks (blush). The tiles don't have any yellow in them, (ah computer monitors and phone cameras) but fade from light avacado to white and aqua/turquoise. And the stacked paintings? They probably aren't going on the wall, they are the remnants of a 2-person show I'd just taken down and hauled home. They are the ones that have been shown twice but not sold, so are in line for....adjustments....(unless I still love them). The rose one above it is also one of mine, but a totally mushy sentimental thing like what I don't exhibit for sale, just do for myself, if that makes sense. I have a website for my paintings & woodcuts, but don't want to violate any "business owner" things here....See MoreBacksplash color advice?
Comments (5)I took some photos today and just managed to get them uploaded. Here's one of the kitchen, showing the counters, the "sinners city" wall color, and the location where the sapphire blue hood will go: And here's one of the very left end of the kitchen and a big part of the neighboring dining nook that has the "feather stone" color on its walls: \ The colors in those look fairly accurate on the calibrated monitor I'm using at the moment. To my inaccurate eyes, anyway. Just for kicks, here's a photo of the backyard showing what's going on with the Bobcat outside the funky corner windows in the second picture: From House Progress - 2013-07-16 That album link has a few more photos. I'd still love to hear any advice you all have on the backsplash color. I think my default choice will be to do what cawaps suggested: the same "feather stone" color as the walls in the nearby dining nook. Thanks! Laura...See MoreBacksplash input requested!
Comments (6)So this is how you start. You Google (or Houzz) "cherry cabinets black counters wood floors" and chose image results, then you flip through images that have a look that you like, save the ones you do like, and see what bs tile they used. Here's an image I liked from that exact search, and they've used a tile that looks very much like what I would have recommended to you anyway, a large format, elongated glazed tile in a light neutral shade. In fact, I love the glazed thin brick tile from Fireclay tile, shown below in Cotton. But the point is, find a look you like with the materials choices you have, then look at tiles that will give you that look....See MoreAMS
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoThanks @chispa! I agree to take my time - I've been looking for 3 months, and am just itching to complete it. I had planned on wallpaper as an interim measure, but I chose something very patterned that - once I stuck some up, was too distracting. I also want to choose tile so I can finally paint/decorate my dining 'area' that is adjacent to my kitchen (see photo below - I will be replacing the light fixture!!). I like the cement tiles in the second photo - I should look into that more...
Thanks @eam44, I value your feedback! I think I'll avoid zellige type tiles, for the reasons you mention - my installer will be my handyman (whose work I've seen!) or I may even try my hand at it to minimize costs. I do like the 4" tile, if I chose a tile like that I'd lay it in a staggered pattern (like traditional subway tiles) rather than vertically, to avoid a bathroom look.chispa
3 years ago
eam44
3 years agoAMS
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoThanks both! Wow, those Fireclay tiles are pricey! Beautiful, but pricey (isn't that just how it goes?!). Here are some inspiration photos - the first is probably my most favorite, but let's be honest - it's a fabulous kitchen with farmhouse details, and I have a tiny galley kitchen. But I love the tile. Part of me thinks - I have such a tiny area, should I even bother trying to make it great?
This kitchen is more similar to mine. Love the color, but my house has more blue (not olive).
Narrow Alley to Open Galley · More Info
This is also very pretty tile. One thing I am concerned about is that I do not want to have a beachy look. I live in Minnesota, not the coast.
Family Home Belmont, Auckland · More Info
I like this one because of the accent tile - I have been trying to locate 'sizzle strips' like this (or fancy liner tiles) and have struck out.
Ballard Farmhouse · More InfoAMS
3 years agoeam44
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoHave you looked at the Cloé tiles in baby blue? They might hit the right balance for you. They are manufactured in Spain using (I think) five different but similar glazes to mimic the variation you can see in hand glazed tiles. They’re available in 2.5”x8” subway tiles and 5” squares for around $7/sf.
AMS thanked eam44AMS
3 years ago
eam44