I will give an opinion but just so you know, I have so far been unable to make this decision for my own kitchen.:-)In looking at your photos, I see some primary color accents like red and blue. These seem like very saturated colors and to me a backsplash in those would be a very stark contrast. Have you considered a warm turquoise? I have seen that in several magazine kitchens. Good luck.

I would say with to go with something more neutral--something of which you won't tire. My MIL has a smoky mirror backsplash that looks really good and it is over 20 years old. I guess glass tile in grays and whites might be neat too. Good luck. This is a tough one.

When I look at your kitchen I see cobalt blue. I think it would give it a nice pop of color and still be cool and contemporary.

Oh, yes, you all feel my pain!! Red / blue / warm turquoise / neutral grey or white / cobalt blue!! My friends stand in my kitchen and say, "Gee, I don't know, maybe you need color / something neutral / psychotherapy."

'Tis a puzzlement.

Maybe these might help? Both are from Kitchen Style and Design. Had a hard time resizing the second one sorry. The first one has the aqua color I suggested earlier. Hope you can tell on your monitor. I like both of these.

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Here are some examples, I think the first one would look great! {{!gwi}}

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Ooo, I like that multi-mosaic dd70 just posted too. I think the overall feeling you have is neutral - all those cool colours and smooth surfaces seem designed to work as one and, while a "pop" of colour would be nice, it would change the mood you currently have A LOT.

The small multi-toned mosaic would keep that mood but with some variety. I really like it!

Haven't seen painted plate glass so can't quite imagine it, but if you go that route, what about picking up the floor? In the photos, it seems like there's one slightly less blue/grey tone in the floor tile - might that be just enough contrast? Of course, that may not be what's there IRL, but from the pix....

Good luck!

I agree with Divamum. I just don't see something as bold as cobalt blue in your kitchen. I love colour, don't get me wrong, but I am finding that I tire of it very easily, and wondered if you might.

Love your kitchen btw.

P.S. Whatever you choose as the backsplash, why not use the bold colours in accessories so if you tire or get bored with them, you can always change? That's my plan.

Mari

I agree that DD70's top mosaic would be great!

Your kitchen is lovely and sleek, and you don't want to take away from that. Have you considered getting foil back instead of paint? Or a metalic color paint? Gunmetal might look fab, or marcasite, or even mica.

Your kitchen is beautiful. I'd be nervous about using a bold color.
What I see is lots of slick and shiney surfaces. I say that you need to add some texture. Perhaps in the form of tumbled tiles. I suggest you use tiles that relate to your floor.

What do you think of these
http://www.hakatai.com/tek9.asp?grp=42

Here is a link that might be useful: mother of pearl

Thanks, everyone, this is helping a lot! I, too, am hesitant to use a bold color for the BS. My inclination is to use a metallic grey / aluminum, but my DH thinks that's boring. I've even considered white (but then, why spend the money?). I love mosaic tile in other people's kitchens and have brought home lots of samples, but keep concluding that the small squares are too much pattern for me.

I painted some cardboard the color of the floor to try it out as a BS color. Take a look:

Plllog, do you have a resource for foil-backed glass? That's an intriguing suggestion that would provide some textural interest.

If you use painted glass, I would match the cabinets or floor. Then use accessories to add pops of color.

If you want to be more adventurous, I like the foil-backed glass idea. Check out the link, below, to a line of glass tile that I love. I drooled over these tiles for quite awhile before deciding they were just too modern for my kitchen, but they would look fabulous in yours. Again, I would choose the neutral glass colors and let the texture be the star.

Here is a link that might be useful: Phenix Glass Tile

I love the idea of a solid glass backsplash. What about a soft green glass (like coke bottle color) and have it sandblasted? So it would be a muted green color.

I think a pop of color would be neat - like lime, or tangerine, but agree that you may get tired of it.

I am wondering though, if there will just be too many slick surfaces with a glass backsplash. That's probably why I'd use sandblasted or textured glass.

Lightlystarched, you've raised a very interesting point -- that it might be too many shiny surfaces. Everything in my kitchen is glossy.

Does anybody out there have an etched glass backsplash?

I've made two trips to Benjamin Moore in the past two days and come home with all sorts of color strips of greys, aquas, and blues. Am still no closer to figuring this out.

Another option to consider is a mixture of materials, like my slate/stainless steel/black glass backsplash:

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DD70 - LOVE that first tile! Could you list the source/maker?

Thanks!!

I know you said you're hesitant to using bold colors, but when I saw your kitchen and the 2 blue ?vases? on the window sill and the blue soap thing on the sink, they made think of organic donna's kitchen:

http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/2006/12/organicdonnas-kitchen.html

Oh, if only I had the decorating gene! Vwhippiechick, DD70 and Uxorial can mix and match and end up with stunning displays! Sigh. My closet reveals my true self -- all solid colors, no patterns, and everything is black or blue or white or pink. My DH is grateful that at least I'm not trying to introduce pink into our kitchen . . .

UPDATE

Glass templater has been here twice. DH and I have been struggling with colors, then discovered that the sticking point is how shiny the glass is. In contrast, the high-gloss laminate cabs look murky / blurry / smeary. (Susan 2008 and Lightlystarched -- you all figured out the glass was too shiny way before we did!)

Am told by the glass fabricator that (a) etched glass is a poor option because it will capture dirt and fingerprints and (b) plexiglass scratches easily.

Manicotti, are you out there? I would like to hear about your experience with 3Form Varia (a polyester ecoresin.) Anybody have Manicotti's email address?

Any ideas, kind GWers?

Sheet stainless, or what about something unusual like textured glass? They make so many different styles for shower doors, or for cabinet inserts. Something modern such a reeded glass, or a grid pattern, either with an opaque backing, or clear. It would be really nice, and very different! I don't think I've ever seen that done but it should work, and look stunning!

Hmm, maybe you should take a hint from your wardrobe. It could be that you don't really want to add a splash of color in your kitchen and just think you should. Perhaps your wardrobe reflects your preference for a basically neutral, monochromatic background, with just splashes of color. If that's the case, then I think dd70's first mosaic tile would be an excellent choice. (I'd be interested in knowing where to find that particular mosaic, too.) It's neutral but not boring.

One thing about a more neutral background is that you can always add splashes of color to brighten it up, if necessary. It's a lot harder to tone down the bright colors if they're not to your taste or you grow tired of them.

I know you are looking for color, but this backsplash just struck me. It combines the shiny with the brushed to cut down on the shinyness a bit. It would great if this came in colors.

Sue

Hi Coolbeans, from reading your posts and seeing your kitchen, you have a lot of reflective surfaces, the cabs, countertop, hardware. You're asking for a backpainted glass BS, so I guess you want more reflective, clean materials. I think that a color to match your floor would just be too much grey and rather than go bold, you could have a subtle greenish glass. That would bring some soft color into the mix, without being the center of attention.

Coolbeans, your kitchen is beautiful. You said earlier that small mosaic tiles end up being too busy in your space. Have you considered large-format tiles? We chose 18x18 marble tiles. They happen to be the right size to fit exactly between counter and upper cabs, so the only visible lines are vertical ones, and our installer was able to get very tight grout lines.

here's a pic -- we went with a white-grayish marble (from Expo), but of course you could choose something with color. most tile would probably be less shiny than the glass if you wanted to go that way.

If you really love glass look at Villi Glass. They have some beautiful, unusual glass surfaces that aren't really shiny.

Here is a link that might be useful: Villi Glass

I'd suggest making a couple of really large cardboard cutouts then trying a variety of different colors. Get sample paints and just try things out to see how they feel. Make a list of colors to try, divided into 'bold', 'neutral', etc., then eliminate whole categories when you know more. The first thought that popped into my head when I saw your kitchen was 'tangerine!' then 'turquoise' -- you have the bones for it. You might also try pink for a 'neo-retro' vibe.

Some other thoughts that came to me were a high-gloss wood veneer - something dramatic like a wenge or tigerwood. That would be very unexpected with your other surfaces. I've also seen some very textured large-format ceramic tiles that could be fabulous.

Is glass out altogether? Because if it's not, what about installing it with those plain metal clips like they use for mirrors, and leaving a way to change out what's behind the glass? Then use wrapping paper, artwork, wall paint, blue prints, sketches - whatever strikes your fancy and change it out every few months?

so sorry, haven't checked back on this thread for a while. for those of you that asked where I found that tile, well, I didn't bookmark it but I found a few other sites with similar that I will list.

Here is a link that might be useful: tile

You got me thinking and I has saved this site for me. I don't think these stainless backsplashes are boring. Do you? Also, check out the recycled tile section. There were some nice colors there.

Here is a link that might be useful: tile

Sweeby, I love your idea. Have you ever seen it done? I am back splash commitment phobic myself (resulting from bathroom tile trauma, but that is another story, and I digress). I would really love to be able to do that myself. Do glass backsplashes use tempered plate glass and is it very expensive in a clear, non-colored glass?

Sue

Sue, so we're officially backsplash commitment phobic, huh? LOL To answer some of your questions, my glass shop told me that I didn't need to use tempered glass in this installation. (The BS is not behind a cooktop, which might be the reason.) And the trick with using clear, noncolored glass is you have to use mirror-hanging devices (clips and/or frames) instead of glue because you'd see the glue.

I emailed a 3form varia sales rep and hope to pursue that option further. But boy, I'd love to talk to manicotti to see how that's worked out in their kitchen.

LOL, I didn't mean to imply that YOU are backsplash commitment phobic, just me. I understand about the clips, just noting an additional side benefit of using them, and I just have no idea of the cost. Since part of my backsplash will be behind a slide in range, I wonder if I could still go with regular glass? The glass would be a lot tougher to install, I would think. A piece of plate glass long enough for the backsplash would be quite heavy and the risk of breakage very high. The 3form varia looks really cool, I love the storm colors. It also looks VERY expensive, although it probably shouldn't be. Do you have to go through 3form directly, or are there places where it is sold, like tile places?

Sue

Look what I found tonight.

Here is a link that might be useful: glass backsplash