I have the Subway Ceramics Avalon / Minas with a medium gray grout. And a Shaw's white sink, if anyone is considering that, by the way. (My contractor could have ordered it directly, but at his request, I went through a tile store, and by the time everyone had put their sugar onto it, it was OBSCENELY expensive.) I'm not an installation expert, but at least with the Subway Ceramics, the installers use little plastic spacers between the tiles (I think some others have their own spacers?) when they put them up, they don't do it freehand, so how much grout you get is a function of 1) the limits set by the curvature of the tile and 2) what size spacers they use. So you might be willing to go a little darker with a smaller grout line, or with a handmade tile that refuses to go close together, you might want to stay light. The traditional color is close to concrete. But most modern people don't seem to like that, so do what pleases you!

Oooh...I am just so excited that we're finally getting back on track TODAY! The counters will go in on Monday. I've ordered the backsplash tile from Walker Zanger. Colors??? Finally! I'm going with Parchment from C2 as the wall color and Delicata for the upper cabinets and bookshelf. I'm a little nervous about the Delicata...is it too bright...too dark...too...??? But I've just had to take the leap. Here are the elements... I just love the countertop. The backsplash is half stone (pretty neutral, mostly beigy-grey with some coppery-orange accents) and half irridescent glass that IMO really picks up on the Quartzite's crystalline feel. Since some of the stone pieces have a bit of a orange color I hope that the Delicata works as an upbeat accent. I was concerned with the kitchen being a bit too dark with all the Wenge cabinets. The paint colors aren't right here, but you can see a bit more of the backsplash sparkle. Here's a bit of where we are... As of today, that dreadful yellow on the walls will be the parchment. The painted-with-primer upper cabinets in the top kitchen picture (they'll have frosted glass panels) and the bookshelves will be Delicata. Counters go in on Monday. And the backsplash is on backorder...of course. This has been a hard process. I so hope it all turns out. Thank you SO MUCH for your support with all this!

THANK YOU ALL for the great suggestions! I'm definitely going to go lighter for the countertops then! Showed all the comments to my hubby as well to convince him ;) At the warehouse now... just found out slab #3 (light gray and white) has a "smiley face" crack on it :/ I'll have to see if the fabricator can work around it. The "super white" looks super gray here. The frosty carrina looks great but still a little expensive for us :( Aprilneverends-You're so right about the movement on the cabinets! We had painted over builder's oak. That is a big factor that I'm considering when picking the movement on the countertop Aboxofcrayons-I love your cabinets! Is it the distressed wood look? I would love to see your kitchen once the countertops are installed! Oldbat2be- I have laminate right now and there are few burn spots on it too. I'm dying for something new, glossy, and durable :) Torreykm-We had our cabinets painted with a gray stain. I originally wanted a distressed wood or driftwood look. Our GC ended up painting it! We just left it then lol. I can find out which color and brand we used and I can post it here when I get back home :) I'll keep you guys posted! Thanks so much again!!!

Thanks for all of your suggestions! I think the blue I chose is way too blue, and the tile is not in yet. The paint looks beautiful, and the tile/paint won't be next to each other directly. I'm really unsure. The pic above is exactly how i hope it will turn out! I will post pics when done. My biggest issue is that the room blends into the dining room (with what is left of the wall we took down), so I was guided to keep colors in the same family, which seemed tough for me.