Hi Ladies-
A few months ago I had my kitchen completely redone. When I picked the tile out to go with the granite, I only had a small piece of granite and it looked like the two would flow nicely. However, when the granite was put in and the tile was delivered, I put a few pieces up to it and it did not compliment my granite at all. The tile looked like a dreary gray instead of a very light shade of green. (No offense to those of you who like all gray tiles.)
Okay... so my kitchen is an L shape and the granite is a not your common green shade.... it has like a blue cast to it too. So it's been very hard to find any tile to coordinate. There are some swirls of dark green and a little bit of cranberry spots in it too. So my question is ...... do you think using two different size tiles on the backsplash would look good? I thought about starting with 6X6 on the bottom but to turn these so they look like a diamond and then a thin pencil type tile on top of that. After that I thought I'd do 2 rows of 4X4. I guess I am going to go with a neutral color like almond or beige for tile.
Any help on backsplashes would be great. I think I've tried every possible tile store and hardware store and I am still not "wowwed" by anything. I just don't want to hate it after putting it up. It would be great we could share photos of projects on this site. I've looked at the DIY website and Garden Web site seems helpful but I am still at a loss! Any tile design ideas would be great.
Thanks ladies!!
Thanks so far ladies... please keep sharing! Denise.... I forgot to mention that I don't want to do that. My neighbor suggested that but that idea would be way too busy since the granite on the countertop is already busy and kind of dark. So... I wouldn't want to extend it up on the wall.... at least not 18" high. Most newer kitchen designs are not including the granite go up a few inches on the wall and then start tile but rather the tile just starts from the granite countertops and up.
My friend is an interior decorator. She did a back splash in her kitchen I never would have picked out but I ENVY it in her house. She has a dark counter top with a dark stained cabinets. She picked a mint green/cranberry mix. The small tiles.
You might be able to do a search for design blogs to get some ideas
I just updated my kitchen and I used the punched tin like they use on ceilings as a acksplash. It goes great with the stainless steel. It was inexpensive and easy to install. And it tied everything together. I have gotten alot of compliments on it.
I like the look of a neutral colored stone tile with granite.. I also like the look when 2 different size tiles are used. (ie maybe a two rows of 1 inch tile laid square then a 4 x4 tile layer on a diagonal?).
I recommend you go to a tile store (not like Home Depot) but a real tile store. They typically have designers that will work with you to find something to go with your granite.
I did a 12x12 sheets of 1x1 tiles, they were mixed of glass & stone, but my granite isnt so busy.
If your counters are busy, go with something neutral, w/o patterm and not too much texture, and that coordinates, not matches. In CA we have 'tile row' with tons of warehouses and design studios, do you have something similar? Take a picture of your kitchen and countertops and take them with you when looking, ask stores if you can take samples home to see it in person and dont settle!
Have you looked into recycled glass tile? They have absolutely lovely colors available but it is pricey. I am planning on using sheets of glass for my backsplash rather than tile...again pricey but very hygienic. You can also use plexiglass to the same purpose. I don't know how traditional you want to be with your design (I like to use found items or recycle).
I'm clueless when it comes to stuff like this, but my aunt's business is 'the tile chick'... she might be a good person to ask, and she won't B.S. you (not just saying that because she's family, LOL!) PM me if you'd like her number or facebook info, I know she wouldn't mind throwing out some suggestions :) AND it's not like she's going to pressure you into anything, she's in VA ;)
take the granite all the way up for back splash.
We went with the same granite we used for the counters to go up the wall to meet the upper cabinets.
Can't you just have the matching granite back splash installed?
