The first picture is so you have an idea of the overall size/layout of the kitchen. Please ignore the green paint and light fixtures, as they are old - the kitchen redo is still in progress. Also, the cabinet hardware hasn't been installed, which will be simple brushed nickle knobs and drawer pulls and the crown isn't done. I want somewhat of an updated vintage feel (guess that's an oxymoron). I'm very conservative and like to play it safe - classic look would be best. The kitchen cabinets are a soft white (not stark), and the granite counters have a softness to them - they have creams, greys, whites, and a little salmon. The floor looks aged - it's wire brushed hickory. I will be having 2 seeded glass light fixtures above the island, and seeded glass in the wall cabinets to the left. BTW you'll notice in some parts of the kitchen where the backsplash will go, that I taped up white paper because the green paint was distracting me.

I've picked 2 different subway tiles, both are very similar in that they both have a shine and both have a handcrafted look. So the edges are no perfect, but rather irregular and the surface has a waviness to it. There's also no bevel around the perimeter of both. The last picture shows a close-up of one of the tiles, so that you can hopefully see the handcrafted look.

The sample tile to left in the 1st picture does not have grout and seems to me to be a softer white than the one with grout. The one without the grout comes in both 3x6 and 3x12, the one with grout comes in 3x12 and I believe 4x4 (still waiting to confirm if it comes in 4x4).

So which do you like better, the one with or without grout? Whichever one I choose, I want to keep the grout white; I don't want the grout to stand out.

Also, would you choose to do the kitchen in 3x6 or 3x12 tiles? Behind the stove I want to do a picture frame, and keep it simple on the inside. So depending on what tile I choose, I could go with 4x4 diamond design with no accent pieces or 3x6 herring bone design. Which design would you choose?

Last question - I will be able to get 2 rows of subway below my kitchen window. Will it look okay to do just 1 row of subway tile around the picture frame above the stove? My stove is 30" wide and the hood is 36" wide. So I'm thinking it definitely would not look right to do 2 rows around the picture frame, but someone said it should match the # of rows below the window. Also, I just don't have enough room to do a 3x12 herring bone within the picture frame above the stove and make it look right, so it has to either be 3x6 herring bone or a diamond pattern, depending on which tile I choose.

Thank you - I've been staring at these samples for a week, and think I know which one to go with, but afraid to pull the trigger.