St. Cecelia full backsplash

17 years ago

The kitchen cabinets are being installed tomorrow!!! Yippee!! (Carly Simon's "Anticipation" keeps going through my head.) DH and I chose a granite today, St. Cecilia.

All along, I had planned to eventually have a tile backsplash. For the time being, it was just going to be a painted backsplash because I cannot envision what sort of tile I would like. I want to incorporate 6 tiles DH brought back from China several years ago, but I will have to dig them out of storage first.

Well, DH went with me to the granite yard and then to the granite fabricators. Both have showrooms. In each showroom, there are full height backsplashes (18") out of granite to match the countertop. Most of them used very dramatic granite. St. Cecilia is not dramatic...nice, but not dramatic.

Has anyone seen a full height backsplash out of St. Cecilia? Does anyone have an opinion?

For reference, the cabinets are white raised panel doors, unglazed. The appliances are SS. The range is a Viking with a graphite gray front (I think it is going to read black.) The paint is a SW color, Svelte Sage. Woodwork/trim is white. The floor is beige tile. The island countertop is cherry.

Thanks to all of you who have given so generously of your time and knowledge. Many of your ideas and suggestions have been incorporated into the kitchen.

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Comments (14)

kellywa
17 years ago
i have black granite tile for the counters and the backsplash and i refer to it as the "man cave". i think it is just too much. right now i am in the process of having the backsplash removed to have tile put in. however we have cherry cabinets and cherry flooring. i have looked on alot of websites seeing befores and afters of all granite versus granite counters and a different backsplash. my personal preference is to have something with more interest than the counters. just my .02.
raehelen
17 years ago
I think it would be beautiful!

St. Cecilia is not too busy- and it would add warmth and be oh so easy to clean!

There are definitely granite BS supporters and those who really seem to disdain it. Go with what you like. I think it would look very luxurious, and I can already picture it in your kitchen.
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mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9
17 years ago
I would do the full granite backsplash. I did that with my granite (Yellow River) and I love it. I actually get to see the beautiful granite. When it is horizontal, you don't really get to enjoy it as much as when it is vertical. Even my Mom, who saw my re-done kitchen for the first time during the holidays, went "WOW" when she stopped in front of the door way to my kitchen. She had seen tons of pictures but you really get to appreciate the granite when it is on the backsplash. I say go for it!
ccoombs1
17 years ago
With a lighter granite like St. Cecilia I would not hesitate for a second to do a full BS in granite. I think it will look wonderful and be VERY easy to clean!
bbstx
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks, all, for your opinions and comments. The fabricator comes to measure on Monday. He will be able to give me a price for a full backsplash. I too believe a solid sheet will be less work to keep clean than a tile backsplash. But, if the granite is too much more, I'll just learn to be happy cleaning grout. :-)
justnotmartha
17 years ago
I did a full tile backsplash of Sant C in my last kitchen with slab on the counter. It worked for me because I feared 'business' with tile on the floor, granite and then another back splash.

Clean up was a breeze - they did the littlest grout ever!
ccoombs1
17 years ago
What justnotmartha did is a great money-saving idea. Instead of using a solid slab on the wall like you would have to if you were using a busy granite, consider tiles. That granite is very uniform and should be pretty darn easy to match to granite tiles which are much less expensive than a solid slab.
bbstx
Original Author
17 years ago
Good idea! I was wondering if they could use 2cm on back and 3cm on countertop. Tiles would be even more economical.

My cabinets are being installed as we speak!!!! :-) They are looking great. Much better than the old ones. Pics coming soon.
bill_vincent
17 years ago
These are tile, but they're full height Santa Cecilia:
pbrisjar
17 years ago
Honestly, if you love your granite go for the full backsplash. We didn't as I was afraid it would be "too much" and now I really regret it. We will be doing granite behind our stove. Hopefully some day I'll be able to convince Hubby (and find the $) to do the rest of the backsplash with our granite.
julie92
17 years ago
not just martha, sorry to hijack the thread, but it looks you have the frig pro series appliances. Do you like them? Tell me about them. Thanks!!!!!
justnotmartha
17 years ago
Julie92 - I did have them (this is my old kitchen I did in my last house) and I did like them, with the exception of the dishwasher . . . it was louder than I would have liked. The dual fuel range was great and the microwave had many cool options. We only had the kitchen for about a year before I got bored and we bought another house so I don't know how they hold up. :-)

If you are looking at getting them, check ebay! We got that set from an ebay store called Camdens for a screaming deal. They sell them in packages but will let you change things out and customize them. SUPER nice people to work with - they even filled out our rebate paperwork and mailed it in for us so we wouldn't miss the deadline.
skitter_2009
17 years ago
We also have ST. Cecelia slab counters,(love them) we are trying to decide to do the backsplash in St Cecelia or Absolute Black granite tiles. Our kitchen cabinets are getting refaced in natural cherry the end of the month. We have 3 windows in the kitchen and family room area so we get lots of light. Please post a picture of yours when you get finished.
kellieathome_nycap_rr_com
15 years ago
We recdently installed St. Cecelia- love it..except at an angle...it looks dirty, like water spots when you look across it. It's the variations in the granite. Do any of you folks have this? I thought it would be a clear glossy shine on top.