What material/color is the kitchen floor? Is there an open floor plan and if so; what kind of colors do you have in the adjoining rooms? That info will help us to guide you better. Looking forward to hearing your response and the feedback from all the GW'ers. This will be fun!
Elyse

The maple is lovely --
And I love soapstone! (have it myself)
And the dark green subway (brick-shaped) tiles sound wonderful.

BUT -- I'm NOT loving the idea of dark green tiles with soapstone countertops. It COULD be absolutely perfect, but it could also be a near-miss, and that's what I'm afraid of.

The thing about soapstone is that it changes color. Typically, it's charcoal grey when you pick it out, dark green after the first oiling or two, then gradually changing to dark gray / nearly black over time with just a hint of green in certain areas. How dark gray versus black? And how much green is a 'hint'? Depends on your stone and how often you oil.

So when do you see if the tiles 'match' your countertops? Anything sooner than 6 months after your counters are installed is, IMO, very risky.

I'd suggest a lighter tile to get more contrast with your soapstone. Whites and cremes are gorgeous with soapstone; even a light green or medium green could work - provided it's not too yellow. Or change your countertops to something more 'predictable'...

I live in a 1952 ranch. I am going for a "subdued-retro" style. The kitchen and living room are in an "L" shape, with the kitchen and living room as the legs of the "L" and the dining room between them. So, open but not all together. We just bought a black leather sofa (the "Madrid" sofa from Ethan Allen. We have 2 side chairs in black leather and aluminum ("Stockholm" from Ikea). The dining set is teak with narrow tapered legs and pretty minimalist. The living room now is painted Summer Tan with one wall in an olive color. We count on painting the living room again once we decide on kitchen colors. I love painting and change colors often (well, every few years).

I love greens. I like cool, serene spaces. I think I way messed up in getting golden color cabinets. My old kitchen had hideous fake walnut pressed wood doors that we painted white and they seemed to always look dirty so I was scared to go white with this remodel. I wanted the cabinets to look like something that could have been in the space in 1952. I have plain brushed nickel pulls that look a bit retro, but with a nod to modernism. I really was attracted to the aqua "boomerang" formica, but I think I would get tired of it. DH really wants the soapstone, and since he let me get the induction stove....

Oh, lastly, the demo'ed kitchen had a lovely soft yellow paint called "panache" that I liked, so I'm not wedded to cool colors.

Can you tell I'm the most indecisive person in the world?

I like Rachel Ray's set with the yellow vintage appliances, maple slab cabinets and green tiles, if that helps.

One suggestion is to use some glass mosaic tile (one of my favs) as your backsplash. It could give off a retro vibe and tie in your colors depending on the color blend. I don't think you made a mistake with the maple. It's a versatile color and blends nicely with your teak. I found this one company that has nice color blends. There is also a company called Sicis (?) that has nice blends. I think you might be able to find some of their tile from ebay suppliers. I did a glass top table with tile I purchased off ebay and saved about $30 per 12x12 sheet off Expo's price! I'm attaching a link to one of the suppliers I found when I googled for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: glass mosaic tile ideas

Thank you so much for the comments. I had horrible nighmares about a yellow and black kitchen and dh just rolls his eyes at me. As long as you (the general, GardenWeb you) think these cabinets will go okay with soapstone I will relax. I can figure out paint and backsplash later. The cabinets are supposed to be in (in meaning "in Phoenix") next week. As things are coming together I am getting so panicky about my choices.

I may just hire a color person to come in and help with paint choices. It would be money well spent.

My problem is that I like too many things. I like retro, I like supermodern, I like cottage.... It is hard to pick one style and I end up with a mish mash. ALL the kitchens in the FKB are appealing, how do you decide on a style?

Boy do we have that last line in common. A blessing and a curse. I do think the soapstone will be extremely nice with your cabinets. Both are fine, high quality materials, and you're going to be blown away by them when they're in. Color and designwise the soapstone will tend to go with just about everything and also sit back and let other elements make the big statement--a good thing for someone who loves to make signficant changes now and then. Regarding the backsplash, deep green is one of my favorite colors (have you checked out green onyx? Umm!), but how about just planning on painted drywall for now? A relaxed sophisticated look and leaves all options open for when you absolutely fall in love with something.

I like the cab color and the soapstone. I do remember someone did a pale sage green subway tile with soapstone and it look very nice. On the finished kit blog try a search for s stone counters and check the pictures.

I think a lot of people are afraid to work with green because it can get funky real quick. I've done several rooms in green over the years very successfully by being very careful about what shade of green I used. I've even used multiple shades together and it turned out excellent.

I think eandhl gave you good advice. A shade of sage might look very good, especially if you can find tile that leans more toward a slight greenish brown. I have a 1/2 bath with a faux technique done in dark green with a dirty green as the ground color. I found tile almost that shade of green with black specs on it. Oh wow--it turned out so good. Looking in tile shops that sell decorative tile should yield a good tile color. I'd take one of the cabinet doors along with me.

Hi-
I have maple cabs just a tad darker than yours with soapstone, if it makes you feel any better- I am completely frozen on the choice of a backsplash- and knobs! Who would have thought it would be so hard- just wanted you to know you're not the only one out there :)