It looks great! Thanks for sharing your finished back splash. It's always nice to see everything come together. How are you liking your counter-tops? I am considering those for my own kitchen. They look wonderful in your photos.

Paul, those are flat sawn walnut fronts from semihandmade, on top of ikea boxes. Here's a more full picture. Almost done with this kitchen-- just odds and ends to fix now! Thanks again for all the input!

I gotta say, I love your spunk and your openness to showing off your work even though it didn't turn out quite how you wanted. The encouraging thing (I hope!!) is that the choices you made seem to go together very nicely. Can you post pictures from further back so we can see how this spot relates to the area as a whole? I'm not a pro and I for one can't quite figure out why the backsplash/tile accent isn't above the counter. A wider perspective would maybe help. Thank you :)

@snicks0513 This is the first time we've viewed your post. Nice outcome. We've worked with Susan Jablon over the years with great experience. Also, kudos for stepping out of the box on the tile selection/design (it's refreshing to see character and color which works with your other materials). Good for you for advocating for a quality install. As industry supporters of educating the consumer about quality tile installations I wonder if you would be so kind as to expand just a bit more on your experience for the benefit of others in the community? Specifically, how did you go about finding/hiring the tile contractor that performed the final work? Secondly, are you aware of what he/she did differently to achieve a quality installation? And finally (I know $ is a sensitive topic at times but so important for establishing realistic expectations), what did you pay for the installation (not tile itself) that was done professionally ? This would be the bonus follow-up that wraps this learning experience for all. Thank you and congrats on the new space.