Laurie, sorry for so many pictures but I downloaded the pictures from the camera and just had it download all to Photobucket and I was too tired to delete pictures. Next time I share, I will send in less so people will want to view. But I appreciate your nice comments. That is why I sent the way before picture to show that my kitchen is a big improvement from when I bought my home and the mini blinds broke from raising and lowering them. The wall color was also too white for the appliances back then. Since the wall color looks nice in the foyers with my other tile called Akoya Bone that is a little darker, I feel once the tiles are down, it will look nice also. I am not sure how the blinds go yet but I will worry about that next. But I really am liking the tiles and feel they will enhance my kitchen with that outdated in bad shape Linoleum floor gone. I also love that little table. I was dating a guy when I moved into my home and we were looking for a small kitchen table for my kitchen and he kept trying to push me to go with cheap tables at stores that I hated. He finally told me that the deal for the table that was too big for the kitchen was a great deal and he will take me to Ethan Allen to show me what expensive prices are like so I will see that the table and chairs he is showing me were a good deal. The minute I saw this table and chairs, I fell in love and despite how expensive the set was even with the great sale this store was having at the time. I bought all four chairs and the insert to enlarge the table. I am able to add two more chairs from other rooms if I have 6 people at the table with the insert in the middle of the table and it fits in the middle of the kitchen. But I am glad I can then make the table small again for room to walk and cook. The table is so well made and is solid wood with even the side rails for lowering the sides made of solid wood. I went back the next day to bring one of my drawers to see how it matched and bought it. I have always been happy with my decision. I always wished my cabinets were made out of the wood that the table is made out of. Not sure what it(forgot since I did not know much about wood almost 14 years ago but remember it being a nice wood and it was solid wood and not oak so I was happy it went with my cabinets despite not being the same wood). I love the Wheatback chairs so much. I am so glad I did not try to save money and get the table that did not match my cabinets and was too big for the kitchen. Some things are worth investing in. Like you invested in the cabinets and put other purchases on hold. I feel that was a wide decision. I also love your tile floors backsplash, wood floors and baseboard trim in the other room. Again, thank you for being there for me and making me not feel alone during my home renovations. I can't wait to post new pictures when the tile floor is down and then to work on other parts of my kitchen project.

In my "old" :*( kitchen I had those white arabesque tiles. And the grout was very important to the design to give it the right look. I really needed a true white grout. What I learned from Bill V was that a lot (if not all) of the grouts have a caramel coloring in their "bright white" mixture. If there is caramel in the mixture it's in the finished product. There is a product from Latricrete that is called Permacolor. The white was very bright white. Didn't stain, didn't need to be sealed. I suppose you could seal it, but we didn't. If I splashed sauce on it, I could wipe it off, or at least make up a mixture of oxyclean and water and get it off. We are going to use the Permacolor grout in our bathroom. They have made more advances with it as far as the colors and other things the tile guy told me. good luck!

Thanks to all of you for your personal experiences! Chispa, Your point about the ka-chunk is valid, since I may use a wheelchair someday, and will be using a wheeled walker and a wheeled stool. While the wheelchair's tires may not do that, the stool's wheels will, and moving around on the uneven floor will be difficult for that stool. I think that I was not letting myself see that the tile really would leave an uneven floor surface. I was thinking that the slippery surface was not an issue because of all of the grout, so your experience is helpful there, too. The tiles are only 2" x 2.25" and I was imagining the foot having contact with lots of grout with each step. If the recessed grout really does not do this, though, it is good to know! A Sawenz, this is supposed to be a floor tile, and it is porcelain, but I see your point about the PEI number. I will keep that in mind as I look at other floor tiles. I have been looking for porcelain, rather than ceramic, for the harder material.

Kerdi is a complicated waterproofing set up that is just not needed in a residential non steam bath. It actually creates more possible issues with adhesion and you would have been better off just hanging a plastic sheet behind the cement board. Problem you have now is if you pull some tiles you pull the Kerdi. Scuhluter is one of those products that is promoted all over the internet and the Co uses forums to promote their products. problem is DIY'ers don't have the skill set or experience to use it. Any pro using it has had to test their install methods as you have to be assured that it is adhering to the wall. I just don't get why with all the roll on waterproofing methods outside of a steam shower or a high-rise install. It might sound crazy to a DIY'er but I would redo the smaller wall. Yes you will disturb the Kerdi but you will also correct that gap issue. Move the tiles over to the left by cutting the lowest one the size of the gap on the top and then run a plumb line from the outer edge of the lowest tiles right side edge. This will have you cutting the tiles up to about midpoint and then you should have the correct grout line. I think the corner upper portion gaps are just too big. A trick to correct uneven gaps is to run two pieces of tape parallel to each other using the widest gap to space them. What this does is make the gap look uniform top to bottom. Use non silicone color matched caulk and do in two steps First as just a fill for the gap and the second as the finished bead. The bead has to be pressed down after you pull the tape or it will lift off. Good luck and spending time now will save you a lot of work later. Even pros have to redo jobs. Where is the shower head?