"I hate the line of cut tile where the wood beam"

Is that actually a beam, a piece of wood attached to the wall between the paneling and the tile, or a piece of wood that's attached to the front of the paneling?

"the accent tile has a small section of cut tile above but not below"

The accent tile and main tile are different sizes so main tile had to be cut. Why not just remove it and replace it with more main tile? Of course you may not even notice it after a while, the range is installed, and you're using the kitchen everyday.

Yes you are overreactin. You would hve been less happy if they had put the cut half on the bottom next to the counter. As for the accent there was no way to center it. You cant have two slivers on top and bottom

Looks fine to me -- nice, even. Better to have the cut tile at the top than along the counter. And, you wanted tiny slivers of tile both above and below the accent tile? Seems less practical to do that and, since the grout matches the background tile, this is not really noticeable, either. Had the grout been more visible, this and the cut tiles at the top would have been a bit more of an issue.

Bad design of "I can't make up my mind".

Should have used the accent tile as the entire area behind the cook, right up to bottom of hood.

It's too small to be effective .

I'd do it over: )

Like Jan said. Use the accent all the way, or not at all.

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it looks fine..however the horizontal beam catches the eye. I would paint the beam a satin white to match the tile and be done with it. the cut tile at the beam is more of an issue than the accent. [ .if any issue ] . paint the beam so all that looks contiguous

Like this.........Please and yes.....paint the beam to tile field white.

A space, (any space ) will only tolerate so many "good ideas" : ) Edit and be happier.

The tile choices were intentional. The amount of tile had to change due to unforeseen circumstances. Originally the tile was supposed to stop at the range hood. Yes, I mistakenly assumed they would cut the white tiles so there were slivers immediately around the accent tile on all sides since that is the focal point. I agree that the edit looks nice but buying that amount of accent tile is not feasible for this project. Will look into taking down the accent tile. Would it be possible to replace the current beam / top row of tile and replace with a thicker beam? Apologies if that is not the right term, it is attached to the wall (not the paneling).

I think the accent tile is a good choice. If the spacing within the field tile annoys you, I'd change the border around the accent group to a wider version. Like a wider picture frame. You won't need to redo the accent to get rid of the top sliver if you make the framing tile big enough. But, to get it exactly centered, you'll need to redo both. This cuts into the side spacing some.

The accent tile is the problem. It's too small and inconsequental for the space. Especially with those high ceilings. Make the hood your focal point.

As for cutting the tile at the top? Not an issue. I've lived in my house for 5 years and no one has ever noticed because when we look, we look at the overall look. Not the pieces. However agree about painting the beam white.

It's fine.

Leave the accent tile. It looks fine.

If the tile edge right under the beam bothers you, can the beam be remounted? It's not really that bad. I mean, your ceiling is at a bit of an angle too.

I can't find a photo for inspiration, but, here is my idea. Make the horizontal beam reworked so it become more of a shelf. I think that getting away from flat trim would add another dimension.

Stain it the color of the cabinets.

What is not symmetrical? Everything is symmetrical around the range centerline. As for the tile slivers, I'm guessing you won't even notice them when the range is installed and you're using the kitchen. So yes, I think you are overreacting, at least for now. Install the range and see how you feel after awhile.

It looks good to me. I would leave it alone. Paint the beam and be done with it.

If the sliver along the beam bothers you, add a row of white pencil tile, which will make the join look intentional anyway.

agree it looks fine as is - Love the contrast of the paneling and the tile!

Honestly, I think you are reacting in a way that is normal when we are focused on a project. We notice every detail. We're so wrapped up in this that we are examining every leaf on every tree in the forest.

When the house is complete and the appliances are in and you are trying to keep up with the dishes and the kids homework and the project at work and all that life throws at us your not going to be looking at the little slice of tile 4 feet over your head or that the accent tile has a small strip of background tile over it.

Step back to the other side of the room and take a quick glance - it isn't some glaring mistake, it is simply how the tile fit into the space that needed to be tiled. It is really tough to make this happen without any cut tiles.

I have been reminded more than once by my friends in construction the "This is construction not perfection." The last time was when, after living in my home for over a year, I decided to add a third light over my fireplace wall. When I measured, the light on the left side was 5" closer to the edge than the light on the right side. I wanted it moved, but because of the joists in the ceiling they couldn't move either one in a manner that would make them evenly spaced. Then one of the guys doing the work asked me if I had noticed this before I started measuring everything. I hadn't.

Go to your parent's home, your sibling's homes, the homes of your friends and neighbors. Look for the flaws in the spacing of the tiles. Look at the line between their wall color and ceiling color and how straight the line is. Then think about how many times you have been there before and never noticed.

Have a piece of trim (beam as you call it) custom cut to cover the topmost sliver of tile. If the tile and the trim are in the same plane you can install a piece of furring under the trim to make it stand slightly proud of the tile. I'm actually not seeing any cut tile in the inset under the hood. So, am wondering if other people would see it.

I agree that the cut will fade into nothingness once the kitchen is working. However, you don’t like it and it is your kitchen, so I am re-posting acm’s idea in case you missed it.

If the sliver along the beam bothers you, add a row of white pencil tile, which will make the join look intentional anyway.

Install a shelf across the top and it will hide the small strip of cut tile. You can also use that shelf to store seasonings

The small area of the accent tile will be less apparent when you install the range. A lot of the white below the accent will not be seen. You will also have objects on the counter on each side of the range which will take up space. I think the smaller accent area looks better than the mock-up with the accent filling the space.

As a couple of others have suggested, I would add a 'fascia' to the beam, wide enough to hide the sliver of tile. 1x wood plank ripped to appropriate width. Either paint or stain as you had planned to stain the beam. Just because that sliver cut of tile bothers me also.

I like the accent tile as is, a big swath of tile above the stove to me looks clunky, and looks to me like you are trying to cover up a bad wall. Looks nice just as it is, even with the white tile a bit higher than usual.

I think of myself as being nearly obsessive-compulsive, and a perfectionist, and I had to read your post twice to figure out what was concerning you. I think the tilework is better than 95% of the photos I look at. I would be bringing donuts to the tile people when you ask them to change what they did, if you decide to do that.

to me, it's not proportional

This is proper proportion:

so is this

when you have a smaller stove like you do, you have to be careful w/the accent tile.

This accent tile is perfect. above and below, full tiles. side to side were cut, but they're perfectly symmetrical on both sizes. This is a very nice tile install:

I hope you're doing some shelves like this too^.

i would have spaced symmetrically like this (photoshop isn't perfect)

Should have full tiles all around the insert design. (you tile guy has half cut tile right under the hood. What is the distance from top of stove to the bottom of the hood? it looks a bit high)

see the diff once the stove is in? There's too much white space around the design. it's misproportioned, IMO.

here's another smaller size that is properly set

This is such an easy fix.

My friend had the same type of problem where the horizontal wood was not aligned with the top of a window in her case. The contractor had tried many things, but there was always a small wedge. When i when to see the problem it was clear.

Here is how to have both what you want and make the visual problem disappear.

Have your contractor get a piece of wood wider than the wood he used. Have him remove the horizontal wood piece and the thin tile above the grout line. Have him cut the the new wood to fill in the entire space so that the bottom of the wood edge meets the tile at the grout line and cut the top to meet the vertical boards.

Without those thin strips of tile and the rest of the space is filled with stained wood, it will fool the eye that all is normal.

If the pattered tile insert seems out of scale, have the tile guy remove the rope tile and one row of tile all the way around the pattern tile Replace those removed white tiles with the patterned tiles to extend it larger. This should make it more in scale with the wall and hood.

Then I think you will like it much better.

cut it to horizontal wood edges met the vertical edges of the paneling and cut the bottom edge was horizontal to the grout line, and probably removing the small tile pieces above the grout line. When my friends' contractor did that, the problem disappeared. Yours will too because all the wood will be stained the same color and the bottom line of the wood will be aligned to the grout lines of the tile. Most people's eye will never notice afterwards. It is a fast, easy inexpensive fix that works. Once the room is decorated, your eye will drop down lower.

I am missing the "lack of symmetry" part.

It does not bother me and I doubt it will effect the food.

That bothers me the tile lines don't line up on the right top by the wood that's strange maybe you should have had different kind of tile there either larger or those small little pieces or maybe you could do it t i n tile

I really had to squint to see the problem. And honestly everybody who has said that this is just going to disappear is correct. It’s a large white wall nobody’s going to be looking at the lines on the tile. And after a while you will not either…. I would leave it and if it still bothers you in a year add some trim.