I need to see the kitchen or at least the counter and IMO pulling the blue from the island into the backsplash but I need to see them both. As for Zellige backspalshed honestly do not get that much wear and tear . I however do not like those tiles and fro sure not with soapstone but I nneed to see the counter.

Have you seen some of the tile options that have color variation but are not "zellige"? portmore, montauk and cloe are some options that have multiple colors. Fireclay tile also has some high color variability tiles. I like zellige but decided not to go with it because it seems difficult to find an experienced installer.

Not sure what you are looking for but I got Encore which are hand fired tiles with a lot of movement and a lot of color differentiation in each tile. They come in a variety of colors for neutral white/cream to intense tones.

I have them in my bathroom and I still get enjoyment from looking at the variations in each of the tiles.

My kitchen backsplash is similar but a bit different and has an iridescent sheen to it but very subtle. Just a little kitchen zhosh🤣

I had explored Fireclay tiles for my balcony floor as I had very specific needs - I wanted a Malibu Art Tile look in thin porcelain. They were just gaspingly expensive - like close to $200 per square foot versus the relatively inexpensive Encore which were about $45 per square foot prior to the pandemic. I don't know if the Fireclay pricing reflected the particular tiles I was interested in since one got to select exactly the colors one wanted once you selected the pattern.

I'd like to see a picture including the soapstone however you're going to finish it, a door and tghe two tile choices. Or more tile choices if you're considering color options.

Cabinets just went in. Counters won’t go in til 11/28

I considered zellige, but didn’t go that route because I read that they can be problematic to install. I do love handmade tile, and used Pratt and Lambert, Encore, Blue Slide and Sonoma tile in various applications for my renovation and ADU build. All the aforementioned come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and finishes. I also used Adex, which was less expensive than the others I mentioned and has a handmade look. I recommend all these tilemakers.

Thanks for the suggestions for other types of handmade tile! I will see if some of our local tile stores carry these, handmade and easier to install would be ideal!

Andrea- what did you end up installing?

We went with calacatta marble 3x6 tiles and love it.

Can you share a pic?

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing pictures. I love how it all turned out. It's fun to see how all the finishing touches brought the look together compared to the image of just the new cabinets. I'm sure you'll get much enjoyment from your new space!

So pretty

@Andrea Bowen your kitchen is beautiful! I saw you posted the name of your backsplash, but could you also share who makes the tile? I tried googling it and there are so many varying options. Thank you so much!

@melsdream we used Firenze Calacatta tile from the Tile Shop. It was a tough decision, but we decided we wanted calacatta marble to go with the warmer tones in the kitchen, it tends to be one of the more expensive types, but the tile shop version is a little more reasonably priced than some, and they offer a decent discount if you open a credit card

@Andrea Bowen I was just looking at the Tile Shop website at Firenze Calacatta, in the hexagon shape. It looked a LOT more gold/beige in their photos. Yours appears to have a lot of gray. Is it gray/blue in person, or is this just the lighting in the photos? Thanks!