The pot filler faucet is a Grohe. I'm not sure if they still sell this exact model/handle style (it matches our Ladylux Cafe Grohe faucet; both were purchased/installed in 2007). The finish is SS. I never remember which of their finishes is actual SS (I think there are two with steel in the name?), but you can call Grohe USA to find out. Our tile guy used TEC Accucolor(?) Bright White grout; a mix of sanded and unsanded (I don't recall the ratio). AquaMix Gold sealer was used. This was in 2007. If we were doing our backsplash today, we might use TEC XT (XT is more stain/crack resistant--we used it in our MB and hall bath), though ours is holding up beautifully. Right over the range vent (island height trim) is the only place that acquires stains, and requires scrubbing (from vented steam, grease from the oven). Since I started deflecting the vented steam away from the backsplash with a piece of foil (while using the oven), there's rarely anything to scrub. (Our backsplash elsewhere seems to stay even cleaner. :))

Just to follow up, I did hear back from the tile distributor. Their response is below (in short - yes it's the same tile): ... Thank you for your interest in our products! These are all the same product, just with different lighting. From experience working with this material personally, I can tell you that it looks truer in color to the first two pictures (light grey with a slight blue undertone). It is a beautiful product! I would definitely encourage you to get a sample so you can see the color in person and match it with the finishes in your space. Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with. .... So it would appear as though they are the same time... Time to order a sample. :) -OCJeff

mycatz-- We bought a wet saw. I just taught myself how. I have already done 3000 sq. ft of hardwoods and plenty of finish work on this house so figured I can do tile as well. Its a long story but we have an absentee builder and a bank who says we must finish, even though they chose our builder. I have learned a great many things from doing all this and feel I could tackle just about anything. Oh and yes you may have to put in extensions,we had to anyway as we have extensive beadboard and need extensions for that as well. Here is some of what I have been working on. Cabs will be white, haven't decided if I am going with lt grey or white grout yet.

You guys, I can't thank you enough for your input. My builder has been a little, "well, this is what Marazzi told Arbuckle Flooring, so ....", but the interior designer helping me w/furniture 'n' stuff is very, "I can't believe YOU aren't throwing a fit! You're the first one to b*tch about things if you things you're getting ripped off or taken advantage of!" (She meant it in a nice way, I promise.) And, she's right. I don't know why I haven't been more aggressive about this - I think my tile guy showed me on a day when about 47 things were going wrong, and I kind of pushed it down and wouldn't let myself get upset about it. Then I left for two weeks, and this was how I thought I left the situation: tile guy told me he'd spoken to owner at Arbuckle Flooring, and he'd been advised to go through all the boxes and pick out the sheets w/the worst breaks, bring them in, and Scott (owner) would make sure they were replaced. His pocket or Marazzi's, I don't know. But that was the conversation I had w/my installer before I left, and yes, I ACTUALLY thought things might get handled in the way I was told while I was away. (Not my first rodeo, I should know better.) I get home, tile guy is out for a week w/tendonitis and my builder has no idea about this conversation. He wasn't present, and since tile guy and store owner have a relationship this may have been an "agreement" between the two of them that Scott didn't pursue if tile guy never showed up w/broken tiles. Why it didn't go down the way I expected while I was gone, I don't know. But WILL find out. Before I left, he "installed" a few sheets on a piece of backerboard for me to see if the squishing issue he was concerned about was going to be a real problem. Fortunately, it wasn't. However, we hand't wiped any grout over that sample board (waiting on right color.) You can see two breaks near top when looking for them, but all the glossy glare makes it hard to know what this will look like when viewed vertically: It's not as if it's been six months since this was ordered, maybe a bit over three since it arrived? At the most. Interesting, on the day we discovered all the damage Arbuckle Flooring owner was in OKC at Marazzi picking up more of the same product, because I'd just decided I wanted to use it on my kitchen backsplash. (was going to use same product, diff color.) Needless to say, he opened every box of the new stuff while he was there. I haven't had my hands on it, but I'm assured it's all in good shape. As I typed that, I realized: if second bunch was in good shape, there's no reason the first boxes should have had so much damage. They went through the same shipping/delivery process, right? Aargh! I'm going to call store owner right now to verify conversation I had w/my tile guy 3 weeks ago (I know, should have done it before I left), then get my builder involved. He's a good guy, just not very confrontational. The store owner IS, though, and he knows how much business he's gotten from me and from my builder in general. His relationship w/Marazzi is new, so maybe he's been hesitant to push them on anything, but if he won't I will. Again, thank you - I just needed to be told I wasn't being a picky b*tch (as has been said before) in this particular situation. Not that being one is a bad thing, esp when building a house!