the ceramic tile I picked is light creamy color, more on a yellowish side than grey. I probably need to get a better digital camera, the flash on mine is so weak it always comes up darker than it is :( I would go for a closer matching grout, so yes, the grout lines wouldn't be as visible. hopefully, anyway. color combination looks better in rl, I promise! I'm still trying to decide if I should use 4-1/4" or 6" tiles. I haven't seen too many photos here that would use 6x6 on diagonal for backsplash, those would give me only 2 full tiles under the taller cabinets and I'm not sure about the look. sammi2, I just wish they were not 10x more expensive than the regular tile! it would just be overkill ... if you have another idea how to include it in that area, I'm listening. I hope I won't offend anyone though by saying that accent strips underneath all cabinets close to countertops or picture frames are just not my thing.

ABB is all but backsplash. :) I guess technically we were not ABB since we still have flooring and paint but it felt like the backsplash was a big hold up for a long time! DH is pleased that the backsplash is done-so is our 15 year old! They both think it turned out really well. DH is going to make me a couple of trivets using that pretty accent tile I found but decided not to use on the backsplash so I will still get to look at it every day! Blondiesc-glad to be of help in your backsplash quest. Isn't gardenweb great?!?

It actually depends most on how the tile was installed in the first place. If it's easy to remove it's an easy job although there is an issue with the symmetry above and below as noted above. If the tile was sunk into concrete.... Maybe you could tell by looking at it how it was installed but probably you can't. So what does that mean for you? If you start breaking the tiles and then realize after breaking one out that it will be an enormous, awful, horrendous job... Or worse yet you realize that you may be unable to control the demolition process well enough to remove exactly one row. But with one broken tile what are your options? Leave the broken one broken-that will probably look awful. Continue and accept that it is a really frustrating job to complete. Realize that because of the way it was installed, the only way it's coming out is if you take out the entire backsplash. Before you start any demolition, mock up the tile that you are thinking of installing on a board first and see how the fixative shows through the tile (a common complaint of people who installed the glass tile is they hate how it looks when it's attached to the wall) and whether or not you can match the existing grout color. Be sure to calculate the cost of redoing the entire backsplash if you elect to proceed, you may not end up having to redo everything but you should financially be in a position to do so should the need arise. Are you aware that they actually sell stickers that go sit on the top of tiles just for this purpose? You might be much better off looking into an alternative instead of undertaking a job of unknown complexity. (My tile was sunk in cement. At one point that method of installation was a common building practice; they made things to last forever. To remove it, significant pieces of the wall came out in addition to the backsplash.) I personally don't like the idea of one line running around the entire kitchen. I really preferred the original tile in the Young House love sample above. The same visual line could be accomplished by adding a small layer of contrasting trim to the bottom of the cabinets... I think that you will realize that it wouldn't look that nice... I don't think the line of tile would look that nice either.

they sound interesting enough to me, being crackled and having variation. larger size might work..what size you consider? Gray is already considered dated lol. Makes no sense to me personally as all this dated thing is a new concept I'm still struggling with-how a color can be dated? but in terms of what happens in trends etc-it's on its way out, yes. they move into warmer tones. they're still into greiges for now to bridge between things a bit. white is becoming big as a neutral. wood stains are making a big comeback. this update on trends can go on and on but i'm sure you can find thousand threads here discussing it so i'll make it short. if you're really worried-it might be you're simply are not attached to a color enough. which is okay, really. then pick off-white. off white is pretty. Even very much so. I like both off whites and grays(I do have preference for much warmer grays though) so I have off whites and warm grays. And many other colors too since I love them too. I commit by choosing something of course,-but it's fine since commitment, paradoxically, is a road to freedom:) But I admit I was also worrying when choosing..well choosing everything except for stuff like toilets etc. Of course one worries, it's a hassle and an expense and you want to love it in the end. So. Try to worry less. If you can remove "dated" from the equation- great. Go with your heart's desire. If no-then ok, take it into equation and don't do gray. Worry less. You did a great job on everything else, so no reason to think your backsplash won't turn out well either. It will.