Oooh, that mamadadapaige is so smart! As I was reading through this thread and enjoying every photo my first thought (at the reclaimed encaustics) was "wonderful!" and then I saw your inspiration and I thought "fabulous!" and then I saw your proposed tile and it left me a little flat. My initial thought was that the white and charcoal simply have too much contrast, while the tile colors in your inspiration photo don't contrast too much -- a la Goldilocks, they're "just right." Instead of charcoal / white could you do rust / cream tiles, being really true to the inspiration photo? I think what my eye was drawn to in the inspiration photo was the border, or rather how the border fixed the look, the way a picture sings when it's been appropriately matted and framed. Anyway, mamadadapaige said it much better (and sooner) than I, but I guess I still wanted to say "me too!" You have such incredible materials in that kitchen (that quartersawn oak is so yummy!) -- I'll be looking for more pictures from you.

If you can find the time to do some sample boards over the weekend, I would highly recommend it. Give the grout at least a day to dry as the color can change quite a bit. We used Crema Marfil marble tile (creamy beige). I was planning on using a grout just slightly lighter than the tile. DH is doing this, so I had plenty of time to look at it. After the tile was up, but before he could grout it, we decided we kind of liked seeing the pattern with the shadows of the gaps in the tile. We ended up doing 5 sample boards of grout. Very light looked like cheap caulk. Grout both slightly lighter and the same color as the tile made it look sort of homogenous, but as the stone tiles are not all the exact same color, it had some random variation to it that, and since you couldn't really determine the tile pattern easily from a distance, we didn't really care for the look. Since you are using ceramic tile, this won't be an issue for you. We also tried a grout slightly darker, and one quite a bit darker. The darkest grout was way too dark. We ended up going with the grout that was slightly darker. I'll try to post a picture later (can't now from work). I'm sure we would have liked the backsplash if we had used the original grout as planned, but I really do like what we ended up with. Sample boards would really be worth your while, and you would be more certain that you made the right choice.

I feel your pain about your faux wood floors. Unfortunately, I don't have a choice, I am an apartment dweller. 🫤 When they first put them in, I was thrilled, they seemed so "cool," "modern," and neutral (yep, in that fugly "greige" that's so popular now for some strange reason). Shortly thereafter, I discovered the awful truth: they're cold... in look, feel, and insulating properties (I'm in the Midwest). They're very hard and uncomfortable to walk on without shoes or squishy slippers (did they even put an underlayment down first?), they make me sound like an elephant when I walk on them, they have a weird rough "grit" to them that I can't seem to get rid of (is it because they're new?); there's no shine, they always look dirty (probably because they ARE); and every drop of water leaves a mark. It seems I'm constantly sweeping, Swiffering, wiping, vacuuming...and my apartment always has that weird "new car" smell from either the glue or the plastic itself (yay, health hazards). Not only that, but the installers were very haphazard: there are many areas of the floor that sound literally hollow when I walk over them. I then made the mistake of seeing the type of flooring that my next door neighbor has. Because her apartment is older, she has the "older" style of faux flooring: warm, gorgeous, honey colored, and inviting. It was such a marked difference from what I have, I was shocked...and very jealous. 😭 Even my former apt in another state had darker "wood" floors, but they were fabulous: soft underfoot, didn't show water or stains, easy to clean. But not these. So I'm stuck with these until I happen to move again....and since I just moved in, that will be awhile. Sigh. REAL WOOD RULES!

Looks absolutely FAB U LOUS! One thing you may want to consider? In lieu of the "fluffed" leopard accent pillows on sofa? Cover the smaller bolster pillows behind them, same leopard.Why? Because your seating is so beautifully crisp and architectural.! I wouldn't detract from those lovely shapes. I also notice no lower lamp lighting and it IS possible to add that with no loss of that beautifully edited result. !! Lovely room : )