Oh I doubt it's objected to- that you write, salonva. I was interested. Do you have a thread going?

I wonder how it's going. ? I post more, partly cause as they have said: leaf through magazine/ houzz pages to discern your likes. I'll share that I tend toward romantic soft types. But black/gold handles can seem contemporary....

faux marble -

https://www.lightingdirect.com/progress-lighting-p400098-palacio-5-light-27-wide-chandelier/p3355119

Sadly, the only thing out of date here is your contractor . . .

Go for the gold.

Well, making one's home look like little Versailles is not an attractive look to be sure.

But #1, I don't think there is any chance of that in your kitchen, and #2 it is not your contractor's place to comment on it unless you specifically asked his opinion.

If you did ask his opinion, even a simple, "What did you think,", you can't blame him for being honest."

If you did not ask his opinion, well, just ignore it.

It's worth what you paid for it.

Remember you paid him for installation, not design advice.

We all receive unsolicited advice all the time all through our lives.

Half of Houzz is unsolicited advice!

Being an adult entails having the knowledge to know what is and what is not congruent with who we are and what we want, (and finding out what is and what isn't,) and looking for what is congruent with who we are and what we want.

Being an adult entails having the ego identity and ego strength to discard the noise and nonsense.

Children and adolescents do not have fully formed egos.

That's why their internet use needs to be monitored, that's why if someone picks on them, the "picker" needs to be spoken to by an authority figure and the "pickee" needs to be counseled, and children on an ongoing basis need to spoken to about appropriate interactions.

As adults, we aren't children or snowflakes.

Unless you specifically asked the contractor his opinion, he has a need to "school the little lady."

If you tell him off, will he change at this stage of his life?

Doubtful.

And it just adds stress to your future interactions with him.

Channel Queen Elizabeth.

"Don't complain, Don't explain."

Let the curmudgeon groan.

Ignore the groans.

If by some fluke, a contractor groaned in front of Queen Elizabeth, would she ask him why he was groaning?

Would she feel compelled to explain or justify any decision?

Your only question would be, "is there a safety or hardware or mechanical problem here?"

He will say "No but,..."

Once he says "No.."

You interject with a smile and say "Then of course you will do your great installation job as always, I will be in the next room," or wherever you will go.

And when he is done, thank him for the installation.

And that is it, Finita la commedia.

And you can decide if you want to hire him again.

[wow loobab, you're on fire today.... I also thought I would hate to hear the guy groan about the faucet, etc...]

deb hasn't popped back in for more than 3 days. let's hope she made a decision.

loobab, you're in rare form today.

lol!

Sometimes, I want to tell people off too, in life, on the job, in the supermarket, in the parking lot.

But then I realize, they are who they are, that's why they did that.

My fussing at them won't make them change, and it only stresses me out, I'm the one left with tachycardia.

And if it is someone I have to deal with in the future, it can become problematic.

It's better to step back. I can still do what ever I want anyway without telling them off.

And if I lose the parking space, or they cut in front of me on line at the supermarket, well who cares. I don't have a plane to catch.

It's beneath my dignity to yell at them.

And when someone behind me in line at the supermarket grumbles because I am too slow (and I am obviously old) now we have to pack our own groceries, or I am too slow counting out my change, I turn and sweetly say "Oh, I would have let you in front of me on line if you told me you were in a rush."

And then everyone else in line starts laughing.

That always shuts them up but good.

n.b. Lemme tell you about getting old....

I am finally realizing how smart my mother was.

That generation was really something else.

She could diss someone and she was a block away before they even realized it.

I hope I am still alive by the time my daughter realizes it!!

My builders project manager felt it was his place to voice his opinion on my island color (light blue) and that went over well. I was happy to tell him that it was a good thing he wasn't a designer.

loobab, amen. my mother had no filter. I realize as I get older (i'm already old) what a diff perspective you gain. that old adage, 'youth is wasted on the young' is so true. If only I'd known then what I know now! sigh.

as for the car parking thing,,,,,this is what I learned from my father.

while he was waiting for the spot, some yahoo quickly zipped in from the other direction and 'stole' the parking spot he was waiting for.

As the culprit exited his vehicle, he looked rather arrogant. While my father was still waiting, he yelled out, "You going to leave you car unattended like that?"

The culprit not quite understanding, ' what do you mean'?

Well, my father stated, " I had been waiting for that spot, as I'm sure you know. It would be a shame if something happened to this nice vehicle of yours while you're inside. left unattended and all".

The guy kept looking back over his shoulder as he was walking towards the store, glancing furtively at my father, who was still waiting patiently in his car. After a few more steps the culprit couldn't take any more, turned around, jumped in his car and moved it.

My dad got his parking space.

My dad had that kind of demeanor you took seriously.

My dad was dead serious.

lmao. I sure do miss him.

^^ lol!!

Hey anyone want to respond to houzzer about faucet?

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6028642/klaus-spot-free-antique-champagne-bronze#n=0

Great story Beth !

Hey everyone, first I want to thank ALL of you for your response to my question regarding gold hardware. I went with the gold and it looks so beautiful! So appreciate the tons of advice and comments. What a great community this is! Best ever and happy holidays to all of you! Deb

Awesome! So happy for you.

Photos, please!

@Salvona As promised, here is my feedback on the NuCore splatted maple floors, now that they have been in for a few weeks. They really do look beautiful, however, when I walked on them barefoot, I felt a sort of hollowness to them. The flooring contractor said that is because it's a floating floor. It bothered me at first, but I don't notice it much anymore. It is different than walking on a floor that is glued down. As for the finish, it's really tough. We put those little pads under all the furniture so nothing would scratch the floors, but then I had to move a large upholstered chair, without the pads (I ran out) across the room. There was not the slightest scratch on the floor. We had to pull the refrigerator out at one point and there was great concern over the damage that might be caused to the floors due to the refrigerator wheels. We turned two planks upside down, so the cushioned side was facing up, and placed them on a blanket in front of the fridge, pushed the planks under the fridge until they hit the wheels, and pulled the refrigerator up onto the boards, then rolled it out. Not a scratch on the floor. Also, the surface is not smooth, so I did notice that some dust or debris does get in between the ridges . This isn't noticeable, but can be felt on bare feet. i run the Roomba every night, and that seems to take care of it. I would prefer that they had a bit of a shine on them, but all in all, they are really beautiful floors, and I get tons of compliments on them. Hope this is helpful.

Here is my kitchen with the gold hardware. Still have backsplash and lighting to complete.

Beautiful!

looks good. did you contractor fall over?

what tile are you doing?

Here is our new kitchen

I love the gold and white, I see it in a lot of magazines coming back in style, I also love the white on white walls- go with what you like - don’t worry about the contractor

Deb what is the backsplash going to be and which countertop did you choose?
Would love to see more photos!

@Ikroop The countertop is white quartz. I had it matched to the paint at Sherwin Williams - and we ended up with alabaster - perfect match! I was going to do white subway for the backsplash - not sure now. LOL

plain old white subway?? oh please, no. lol.

what do you plan on displaying in the uppers?

@Beth H. : I hear you. That's why I said I wasn't sure now. Have been thinking about real marble subway or something blue. As for the uppers- I mentioned wicker to a designer who was over the other day, and he said, "OMG NO!" lol. Maybe white stoneware. Any ideas?

Oh, and the contractor stood back with his arms folded and said, "I just don't like it". haha

@Shannon Karten Love that backsplash!

Something like this would be pretty w/what you have. It's Encore Ceramics. they have amazing glaze colors, shapes, sizes.

This is the Brie feather mosaic blend w/4-5 colors. they could do this in this size, or a 2x6, a chevron, whatever you like. take a look over there.

(or maybe you like just 1 or 2 of the colors. you could do that too. look at some of the lighter glazes)

https://encoreceramics.com/product/brie-gloss-glaze/

or just their standard subway in one of their crackle glaze color. this soft sage would be gorgeous w/the wood floors and the gold hardware.

http://encoreceramics.com/product-category/glazes/

did you see mine? I have a gray quartz, but a marble island. I went w/the calacatta subways AND I used the gold Schluter for the vertical grout joints. your contractor would really hate it.

my coffee bar is this,,,and I have a black Zellige inlay in my floor.

I do not like sedate, blah or common. I like pattern and color, and I'm perfectly fine doing something no one else has. It's only tile. I can change it out in a day down the road. not a big deal.

I'm the backsplash queen. if you want something else, let me know.

since you have a solid white, you can do any type of design or color.

for your display, the whites would be nice, but add a few colors up there too

@Beth H. :Thank you so much!! I was feeling like it was getting boring in my kitchen. Your coffee bar is gorgeous. I love the sage subway, but I am not sure how that is going to read in my south exposure kitchen. I don't want the alabaster walls to take on a greenish tint - but it really is gorgeous. Going to take a look at that site. And thanks for the photos of the cabs - great ideas.

If you go blue and white porcelain in the glass cabinets like in one of Beth H’s picture, and you happen to have a nerdy sense of humor, these are hilarious. No one will realize it until you take them down for a closer look :).

https://calamityware.com/collections/plates

Looks wonderful! ( And still admiring your floor).

Sue I am a major blue and white lover and think that calamityware is to die for. I don't want a service for 4 or 6 or whatever but the flying monkey plate looks pretty good. I would have wanted mugs but those are sold out. Thanks for sharing!!!

You are on the cutting edge of design and he does not understand the difference between the brass of the 90’s and brushed brass of now. Not dated very chic, stick to your plan.

Please consider a soft color for the backsplash. Before you reject the sage get some samples. A caramel color would complement your floors. The gold hardware is great! Glad you listened to your gut and the cheering squad here. So far, your kitchen looks amazing.

@RedRyder There is a tile shop in Palm Desert that carries the Encore line Beth posted. So, I am off to see them tomorrow! And, yes, thank goodness for the cheering squad!

@everdebz - no it's not Hdepot, but a shop that was listed on the Encore website. Tile Designs by Fina. I called them earlier and stopping by tomorrow. Still not sure what I will display in the uppers, but I do love white stoneware, likely mixed with soft blues.

Looks nice! Can't wait to see which backsplash you choose.

I always think gold taps etc look tacky

What’s a gold tape?

@ikroop, @Beth H. : @everdebz, @RedRyder et. al., Ok, so today I got a quote for the Encore ceramics subway 3x7 - It's over $42/sf . It is beautiful. So beautiful and delicate looking that the installer upped his price, because he said he needs to use a special saw, so as not to injure the edges of the tile. I couldn't even get a sample to take home. I finally convinced them to let me at least take the sample board home, that among others, included small pieces of the Brie and the other 3 colors in the photo Beth H posted. I promised I would be back tomorrow to return the board, but I really need to get a full size sample, before placing the order. Maybe I can give them one of my kids to hold as ransom .

42 sounds about right. It is rather pricy. but totally worth it. Luckily you don't have a large area to tile!

as for your tile guy, all he needs is a diamond saw blade. (Not a special saw) same blade he would need to cut glass tile. I don't know why he's making it out to be a big deal. the blades are about 50-60 bucks. tell him you'll spring for the new blade ! lol

As for charging you more to install, I think that's a bit much. It's ceramic tile. marble is more fragile. glass tiles are more difficult to work with. You're doing a 3x7 size, not a tiny glass mosaic. So I don't know how much he upped his price, but I'd ask him to explain why he feels the need to charge you more. With the proper blade, their won't be an issue w/damaging the edges of the tile. yes, it's a crackle glaze, but if he tapes the front, cuts from the back and uses the proper blade, it shouldn't be a huge deal. I mean, if you gave him a 3x7 solid glass tile, he'd have to do the same thing, would he charge you more for those?

Perhaps he could reevaluate once he actually sees, and feels the tile? I would at least propose that to him, in addition to what else I've informed you.

@Beth H. : Great info, average backsplash price here is $25 -$26/sf. He is charging me $34/sf. I'll pass on that info to him. You are such a great resource.

Brushed gold-color hardware is trendy. Now the white walls become background for some art, some beautiful colored serving pieces and party dishes, tile backsplash, wall paint. Consider rugs, window treatments and other items with color. All white all over the house is just too much white.

deb7600 I meant Taps

Do you mean that install averages $25 sf ? Just curious. Are there 2 walls where you are doing backsplash?

Glad for you that you found something you love! And so wonderful that you are getting such good guidance here.

Natural names: Legacy Glass tile in Dune; grout Mushroom; cabinets SW Alabaster [not too white or beige]. Floor stain was 50% English Chestnut and 50% dark walnut by Minwax.

Transitional Kitchen - Williamsburg VA · More Info

I posted the above as further comment on RedRyder's suggestion for a caramel tile. With gold hardware, maybe a lighter bread and butter look? [than rich caramel]

If it makes YOU happy and YOU like it go with it. I'm seeing more and more gold show up in hardware and fixtures. Knobs and faucets can be changed it is not a life long commitment.

If it were my kitchen, yours is beautiful BTW, I would choose a marble chevron or subway pattern which would be pretty and easy to live with over time. I’d select a subtle marble with some tans and grays to tie in the stainless steel appliances, gold hardware and flooring.

Can you show us the sample board they let you take home? Use Beth’s advice to calm down your tile guy and convince him to give you a reasonable fee for installation. It’s not a huge space, luckily. But it will be important. You have a lot of Nervous Nellies in your remodeling community there... I’m sure your contractor can see that the gold hardware is stunning. Thank him for his comments and for doing what you wanted. And get the tile guy a bottle of booze for Xmas so he’s calmer about this type of tile job.

Definitely in agreement about calming down but make sure you give the booze to the tile guy maybe a few days before the tile job---------or certainly after. :)