I have not done this, so I do not know the peculiarities of cutting marble, but would it not be possible for you to buy 6x6 pieces of marble tile, rent a stone/tile cutter and slice them into 3 2x6 tiles yourself, at a much smaller cost than having it done? I believe you can rent one at a big box store or specialty tool rental company by the day or a small number of days. It's a messy, messy tool -- it uses a spray of water to keep the dust and friction heat down, so you'd need to use it outside. The rectified corners make it possible to use the pieces interchangeably, unlike a tile with rounded corners, where they would not match. As I recall the backsplash area in your house is not vast, so you would not be cutting forever. I think Circuspeanut cut 6x6 ceramic tiles in half to get subways for her beautiful, buttery kitchen. I don't know if it's any different cutting marble though -- it's a soft stone and the blades are very sharp. It would take some time, you might break/chip a few tiles, so there would be some losses (and some you could hide with grout or use in less noticeable places, like right up under the cabinets). But at least you wouldn't be paying for someone else's labor. I would let the tile setter know that this is what you were planning, and at least get his quote on the work. He or she might decide that they'd rather use tiles they cut themselves and give you a good price on that part of the project, just to make sure they have a good product in their hands. I would not just cut them and spring it on them. Or you might even find out that, once you rent the tools and start breaking tiles and give up your Saturday, that their rate is actually very reasonable. Good luck!

We used them. We did have to go through a little trouble in checking the boxes for consistency. I had gone in advance and gotten about 12 as a sample and we found that some where warm white and some had a pinkish tone. When we bought our final stock I did take the time to open the boxes in the store and lay the tiles out in a little space on their floor to go through the entire box to make sure there were none of those pink ones in there. There were not. Not sure if they had had a bad run when I bought the samples. No such issue with the full boxes but we did check just to be sure. Here's a pic... We didn't use any bullnose on the top edge because there will be a floating shelf just at the top edge of our backsplash...someday soon I hope. Rene

Home Depot Expo carried a very nice 1X2 in white and a light yellow/gold, with the classic crackle finish, in 1X1 ft sheets. When all the Expos were shut down, Floor and Decor sold all of Expo's old tile and glass stock. At the Floor and Decor near us (Atlanta area), you could have gotten all the white tile you wanted for $10 per square foot. I think that was late summer or fall. They had exactly one sheet of the yellow, and that's what we wanted. Ended up finding the 15 squares we needed in a Floor and Decor in Texas and had it shipped. Even with shipping it was around $20 per square foot. I actually have one square foot of the white left - I bought it to practice with. It is by BANAN APPEAL, made in the Dominican Republic. The UPC code is 17877 24359 and what looks like the model number is CSMB1212-C20. Try calling Floor and Decor to see if they have any left. http://www.flooranddecoroutlets.com/ If you find someone who is helpful, they can check their national inventory from one of their mainframe inventory terminals. Here is what the yellow looks like installed: Good luck!

We have considered these lines after ruling out Subway Ceramics due to cost - will make a decision soon! The thicknesses really range here - as well as the "whites". 1) Walker Zanger's Soho collection - also comes in a bevel. http://www.walkerzanger.com/catalog/series.php?mat=Ceramic&coll=Soho Made in Spain. 2) Richards & Sterling - $6.40/SF but their quarter rounds were really pricey ($6.10 per piece)- www.richardsandsterling.com 3) Tile Shop's Imperial Bianco Gloss (mentioned in earlier posts) - $5.99/SF (free shipping over $100) www.tileshop.com/product/productdetail.aspx?familyID=2041&recordID=5039511 - Made in China. 4) Westminster - if you are in the SF Bay Area, Import Tile Co in Berkeley has some back stock - no bull nose. $5.95/SF. The company is out of business but they still have stock. www.importtile.com Made in California. 5) Sonoma Tilemakers - Star collection - $12/SF www.sonomatilemakers.com/LineList.aspx?prod-line-id=8&line-list-id=32&IsLineList=True Made in Sonoma, CA. 6) Pratt and Larson - Simple Solutions collection - $10.50/SF www.prattandlarson.com Made in Portland, OR.