Thanks again, all. Well, I just spent the last two hours at yet another tile store (open late on Friday night...imagine!) and came away convinced that the tile designer person is full of finoopywater. The Motawi tiles just do NOT look right with natural stone, no matter how muted. They fight. So with your encouragement and the conviction of my own eyes, I'm sticking with ceramic tiles. Now to answer some questions/suggestions: Yes, the darkest, middle yellow tile "matches" best. The other two are lighter, but in much the same tones as the oak color in the dard hunter tiles. So, they coordinate more than match. And they aren't AS light in comparison to the other as they look in the photo, in part because that darker center tile is matte finish, while the other two reflected the camera flash. On the question of whether what I'm contemplating would have the same variation as Circuspeanut's kitchen (and yes Circuspeanut, I could see my Motawi tiles in your kitchen....) it depends on which I choose. The one I like best now is the Ann Sacks subway (the bottom, rectangular tile in the pictures. It is handpainted and has an A&C feel and I'm comfortable that the color is good. It's $12 a sf plus about $150 for shipping. Apparently you can only buy them at AS stores and they are few and far between???? But there is Florida tile in a color called Mellow Gold that is VERY, VERY close to the AS. It's about half the price, but is clearly more regular in size and color across the tile. And it is a V3 rating for variation from tile to tile and I've only been able to see one tile at a time, so I expect there will be more variation, more like Circuspeanut's kitchen. CP...what IS the tile you used? Rhome, you are right about the plan for behind the range...I'm not satisfied with it either. The problem is that the larger Dard Hunter tiles are 4X8, which just won't line up with a 3X6 subway tile. It my mind now, I'm thinking of not grouping the three together behind the range, but sprinkling them along with the 4X4 decos in the backsplash. (One reason...got feedback yesterday on the a post on a shelf /niche behind the range, which made me realize that I couldn't put everything back there...a focal point of tiles, bottles and a pot-filler and expect it to look like anything but junk!) In any case, whether grouped behind the range or sprinkled throughout , I think they'll look better with a 1" border tile around them, as I show on the plan with the 4X4 tiles. Of course that won't make them easier to work into a pattern of 3X6 subways...I'll have a 10"X 6" piece to work with. So...back to the drawing board. As for how much tile I need...well a fair amount. BEfore I came up with the idea of using oak beadboard for the backsplash in the butlers panty/scullery off the main kitchen, I thought I'd need 60 sf. Now it's down to about 45 sf. And if I frame each of the Motawi tiles (now contemplating the 6 I've got, plus 3 more small ones) with Motawi 1X4's and a 1X 1 in each corner, I'm talking 42 1X4s and 36 1X1s...paying $2.60 EXTRA for each side I need glazed because the Motawi tiles are much thicker than any of the subways I'm contemplating. Guess I'm playing with graph paper again tonight!

Fireclay Tile is great -- I just moved from downtown San Jose (where their hq is located) and not only is the tile beautiful but the people in the showroom are so friendly. I'll have to look for photos to see if I have anything good --we used their tile on walls, floors, kitchen, bathrooms, laundry-- but we just sold that house so I might be out of luck. This was five years ago and their styles might have changed, but I'd say that if you like a very streamlined or modern look, e.g. rectified porcelain with tiny grout joints, it might not be your thing. Our old house was a 1919 Craftsman so it was a good fit. Glazes are beautiful and they have every color/finish under the sun. A lot of crazing which I love but I know others hate... If anyone's in the SF Bay Area and on a budget, I'd recommend stopping by because they also have a boneyard -- where you can get seconds and overruns for less than retail. Not as good a deal as it was 5 years ago but if you are open as to color and don't need all the trim pieces to match, you can score a deal -- I think they're selling first-quality overruns for something like $10/sq ft now. I had to forcibly stop myself from driving to the boneyard "just to look" when we finally finished our renovation. I'm so bummed I moved 45 minutes away. I got so many ideas just digging through the boneyard and browsing the showroom.

From what I've learned from Bill Vincent, sanded grout is used for larger grout lines and unsanded for smaller ones or very delicate tile. You might also consider epoxy grout for your kitchen, since it's indestructible, mold-resistant, and doesn't need sealing, although it costs a bit more and your tiler might upcharge a little for the installation. I'm about to tile mine myself and plan on using the same epoxy grout (Laticrete's Spectralock) that I used in the bathroom, which I'm loving for its smoothness and consistent color. Most folks seem to go with 1/16th for a 3x6 subway tile, although some use 1/8th (bluekitobsessed, yours actually look like 1/16th to me?). If you take a stroll through the John Bridge tile forum, you'll see all kinds of examples of the different spacings in grouted tile. Here's one at 1/8th. From what I have read by the experts, it's OK to use your existing kitchen drywall for a backsplash. As long as it's in decent condition, you don't have to replace it with hardibacker, which is meant for places like showers that get lots of serious water exposure. I'm sure Bill V will wander by soon and give you the real skinny from the pro's perspective. Enjoy! Here is a link that might be useful: John Bridge's tile forum

"Joe you would need to put in the hours with the materials in and on many different jobsite demands and conditions to better understand your allegiance to orange that youve used what 2-3 times?" thatsmuchbetter: Your response above is the logical fallacy of relevance, ad hominem circumstantial. I could be an illiterate illegal alien landscaper and still make my Orange arguments. My circumstances are not relevant to my arguments. It's like you posting "Joe, your shoes are brown, you can't know anything about tile." I've asked you to substantiate your claim that Schluter foam board is unsuitable for its purpose. You've not done so yet; links to idiot installations don't count.