I think it looks great!

That looks great. Can you give some details like the size of the tiles, type of tile and name of your granite, etc?

homebound- It looks wonderful! I love your choice of using a brick shape. It adds interest, but not busy by any stretch. A very rich feel.

Sure, the granite is venetian gold, the cupboards are expresso Beckerman kitchen cabinets, and the tile is sunset travertine by TrueStone 2"x4". Thx for compliments. We feel like the granite and the backsplash combo is too busy I think...

I think it looks great! Very warm and rich looking to me. Can you give us details?? What kinda of wood are your cabinets?? What stain is that? What granite do you have? Please share. TIA

What wrecked??? That looks terrific!!

I really like it........it looks elegant & warm!! I don't think it competes with your granite at all, the backsplash doesn't have lots of movement and the colors compliment the granite : )
Love your cabinets too.

I think it's just the newness of it all. Give it some time and you'll love it as much as the rest of us.

I think it looks great and so does DH

Looks FABULOUS to me! I'm particularly picky about having the backsplash look too busy with the countertop. I think that the backsplash really complements your counters. ENJOY!

I really want to like the combination, and maybe if I liked brown kitchens more, I would. I definitely like the backsplash and I like the counters, but ... I think I would find them too busy together.

Are you kidding? I see alot of countertop/backsplash combos tht I'm not crazy about, but that one is gourgeous.

Laurie

I am going to agree with sarschlos remodeler. Like the backsplash and counter separately - but together they are way too busy to me and I really don't like the look (and apparantly you don't as well since you are asking). Unfortunately IMO they don't compliment each other but rather try and compete against each other

I had the same reaction to minw when first installed. How long were you before the backsplashe was installed and after rest of kitchen was finished? Some times tha change is hard on the eye. If you think it is too busy, then I would suggest that perhaps the grout color is too light. If you go to a darker color that blends with the tiles it will "quiet" the look. I like the match a lot.

Looks a bit busy for me, but mine might look busy to others. I guess I have to see it in person. Love the tile and granite, I'm just not sure that they work together.

Here is a link that might be useful: Backsplash

I think when BerryBerry said 'Like the backsplash and counter separately - but together they are way too busy to me' that is what we feel bang on. It's like they compete with eachother. The tile should have been larger square tiles, and less of a 'pattern' to not compete with the counter. It's bothering us this much now that we are probably going to take it down and start over -- what a waste of money!!!

I agree with jillypie, before you take it out, could you try to darken the grout? Maybe that would help make it not stand out to your eye so much??

You have a VERY Beautiful kitchen, btw! Deep breaths!!!

I wouldn't change it right away. Darken the grout first, and take a couple months before you go tearing out brand new tiles. It does not look so terrible. I was expecting something hideous to be honest.

I agree about the grout. If you make the grout lines disappear with a darker color, the backsplash won't catch your eye as much. I think it will be more of the look you are going for.

All your choices are beautiful btw.

When I first looked at your pictures, I was like WOW, what's wrong with that! It's beautiful! BUT, after reading the rest of the post and going back and really looking at the backsplash with the granite, I can see where IF you study it, you might not see the beauty in it, the tones are a bit off. BUT, it really is pretty and gives a beautiful first impression.

I can see where people wouldn't like my choice either. I really wanted to play up the gold in my granite so I went with a gold colored tile and the sample I saw in the showroom had a bit for dark color in it. BUT, I realized that when I got "my" tile it would be different because its a naturally made product, thus you can't control the colors as much. But as soon as my tile guy put in my "accent" pieces, it looked good. AND goes so well with my cabinets that I tend not to see that it doesn't go perfectly with my granite, because I'm so happy with the total package.

All that to say, give it a little time. Decorate a little and see what happens.

I like the countertops and backsplash. I think the cabinets are so dark that there might be too much focus on the two together.

My very first thought was that my eye doesn't know which one to look at. I like both elements, but not together. You need a more subtle splash to compliment the granite, not compete with it. Sorry, I know it's a lot of work and $$, but that's my honest feedback. As others have mentioned, perhaps a darker grout would help some.

I was up against this same issue and ended up doing someting subtle with my splash, and it worked perfectly.

Sorry to be in the minority, but that's my honest opinion.

I can't tell in the pictures is the color is off or not. One corner it looks right another area looks different.

However, I really like the backsplash. I think it is interesting looking. I think when you are used to plain wall the backsplash is bound to look like too much when it first goes in. I think darkening the grout will help "blend things" more.

I would not rip it out. I would live with it for a while and see if your feelings change. I think it could become beautiful to you if you give it time. If not then rip it out later.

BTW I am a beadboard backsplash type -- so I don't lean in this direction and I still think it is really sharp looking

I do think the backsplash is lovely, but I totally get what you are saying about being busy and competing with the granite. The colors seem just fine on my monitor. Its just that there are too many different shades of tile, some dark and some light, which create a visual texture that does not work so well with the visual texture of the granite. This BS would work great if the counter were more of a solid color, I think, providing more contrast between the two. Assuming you plan to keep the counter, I would really love your BS if all the tiles were in the lightest shade, with light grout, making for a quieter, more serene field. Then you could add some accent tiles, or a border, or a focal design for interest over the range if you wanted, to keep it from being boring. Using larger or smaller tiles would also help distinguish the BS from the counter, but I think it is the color variation from tile to tile that is the problem.

It is not bad the way it is now, but I can understand why you are not totally thrilled with it. I'm sorry you are having this problem. Every TKO deserves to love their BS unconditionally!

I too, like it. I am looking at the total package, the total look, and I like the rich warm tones I see. I don't don't see that it it too busy at all. Darken the grout if you like, but do live with it for awhile,like others have said. I think the colors are rich and serene and that makes it work for me.

Maybe we wil try darkening the backsplash first. We left it for the weekend, came back and while we are still not thrilled, did some research and we will be wrecking the drywall ripping it down -- it's going to be a big mess. How hard is to to change the grout? How does one get rid of the old one?

The granite and cupboards are brand new - would never replace that.

btw. The owner of the shop offered for us to buy the tile and his installers would put the new one in for free (that was very nice) but we have to take it down ourselves and prep the wall. Now it's even more tempting to rip it down but repairing dry wall without damanging the cabinets --ugghhhh

I ABSOLUTLY LOVE IT!! I am a picky person, but i have to say, it's warm, rich and elegant. I love the combination very much!! Sit with it for a bit- Sometimes i second guess myself and then i learn i should take deep breaths- enjoy my project! I love it love it!

No, you know what - the backsplash looks terrific with the counter, and I think you are going to be hard pressed to come up with an alternative that goes as well with it. But what I think could improve things would be to paint your white shutters a tone that goes with the overall look rather than the contrasting white. Umm, wouldn't venture to say what, just bring home a bunch of swatches in complementary colors.

I like how the backsplash and counter looks in the areas where the junction of the materials can't be see (ie. behind your range, the areas where you have things on the counter). Before changing out the grout, what about trying a piece of molding to "ease" the transition of the two materials?

Since its real travertine, how about if you try a penetrating sealer on some of the lighter ones- you could try on a sample that is left over. Maybe if they were more uniform in color with a darker grout, it would be more what you intended. You can also tell if it will work by wetting some of the lighter tiles.

Its a bit difficult to tell in photos. Don't take anything we are saying too seriously. It might look just fine: a) in real life b) with accessories c) a week from now.

I think it looks nice. If you think it's too busy, maybe you could tone it down by hanhing some art of some sort, so you won't see so much backsplash? Smme sort of mellow, almost plain metal of some sort maybe?

it looks like the really light tiles have a white swoosh in them which came out in the seal. The other lighter looks is because the grout filled the holes in the tubmled travertine.

WHOA Nellie! Don't rip it out! Homebound, I'm going to tell you what I'm doing with my kitchen. I have similar tile. The grout turned on me and it's too light. I also am not done glazing my cabinets. I took some spare tiles and glazed them perfect!!!!! I even did a small section already on my backsplash and it's gonna work out fine. You can do it, too.

That being said, as for your tile: I love it. I think what you both may be seeing is the different tones in the granite -Vs- the tile and grout. You can 'influence' and introduce more depth into your tile, so don't worry about that for now.

As for the pattern, you may also sense it is lacking. That is what I felt when chosing my kitchen. I went back in and put in some accent pieces, too. Here's a photo during progress.

You can tell the grout faded on me here and turned a pale, sickly pink/brown after it was enhanced and sealed. Also, this was before my lawsuit, so cabinets do not still look like this!

I'll post photos after I glaze the tiles. It will be a few more weeks before I get it done.

Sherilynn,
I like your backsplash!
What grout did you use? I am about to choose my grout and want to avoid the same problem.

WOW, the darker grout makes a huge difference. This looks very nice. How did you go back and add accent pieces? Removed tile or just put on?

I am coming to this a bit late...I think it looks nice, but I can see where you might not like the overall look. However, the pics show very empty counters...are you planning on retaining that look, or will your counters be full of assorted appliances, canisters and stuff? That will change how the counters and backsplash appear, if they are not the only show in town. Are you planning on any art/accessories that will echo the "checkerboard" pattern? That will help as well to make it look like part of a whole plan instead of two isolated elements. I think you can tweak the look with some minor changes or additional elements in the kitchen to turn into the kitchen you were dreaming of. Good luck!

The accent pieces were laid on top of the brick and traced where I wanted them to go. The pieces of stone that had the pencil on them were removed and cut on the traced lines less grout room; and any stone not needed under the accent piece were removed, too. It was quite easy.

Here is a link that might be useful: WEB page telling about the grout and results