Several glass-tile manufacturers make wavy relief tiles - expensive, but worth it!

Two thoughts:

accent tiles of this:
http://greatrooms.net/shop/item.asp?cID=42&PID=1629
and this:
http://greatrooms.net/shop/item.asp?cID=42&PID=1650
{{!gwi}}
- the other is olives

or this:
http://www.cooltiles.com/dtt106l6.html

I really like the first one but think it may be too rustic for our kitchen. The stained glass tiles are unique and pretty but not very soft.

Both would be with the plain tumbled or honed Botticino 4x4 tiles set on a diagonal.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our DIY Kitchen WIP

Let me preface this by saying that I have not started to think about backsplashes, so its not like I have any experience whatsoever. my vote is for #2
I really really really really like the second one. I am always partial to blue and that is a gorgeous blue. It also seems -other than being a specific color, it seems more adaptable.
Can you or someone photoshop it with your cabinets and granite?

We're getting a sample of the blue tile. I love it too - there's so much play and life to it. We're just concerned about adding another hard/cold element to our kitchen. The first set is the look I wanted before we started. That didn't happen, though, as Hubby's tastes led is in a very different direction.

Well, we took the plunge and ordered the Botticino marble for the backsplash. Now we just have to decide on the accent tiles and the pattern. We're wavering between the blue stained glass tile I showed above and metal (pewter finish) accent tiles.

We were at Cost Plus today and I saw some really nice wood accent pieces that I'll be able to add that will give us some warmth and will be things that I'll actually use. Now I just have to convince Hubby that olive wood is pretty.

I am really liking that pewter accent tile. And, by the way, what faucet is that? Do you have it or is it "proposed"? It is pretty!

Thanks. I like them too. Hubby is resistant, though due to their cost.

The faucet is the Danze Opulence. We have it and it's installed. One of these days when the sink area is clear I'll have to get a shot.

Ooops I was just hijacking another thread to ask about your backsplash and here is a thread on it. That cooltiles one is soooooo pretty with your granite (if the colors are right on my monitor). To me it kinda looks like the northern lights in blue - and with your whale and the icy cool granite... wow. We could have the ying and yang kitchens. Sweeby called mine a lizard on a sunny rock - well you can be the majestic polar bear staring out proudly over his domain. :) Obviously you wouldn't want to go overboard with that accent tile .... but... wow... I'd want to work it in there somehow.

I like that image, MM. I see you're calling it a whale now not a shark ;).

I love that tile, too but IRL against the granite and wall I'm still not quite sure...

Which one in the picture of your granite is the one from above? That pale blue in the lower left with a few of the softer purple ones that are against the granite here an there as the accents might look great with your granite. I don't want to say it but something is not sitting completely right with those backsplash tiles... they look like they have a little bit of brown in them on my monitor... that one in the center looks great but the others have a brown tone to me I am not digging with your "softened cool tone" granite and paint.

It still looks like a shark to me. :) I would outline it and post but then maybe you'd start seeing a shark as well and a whale is so much friendlier and matches the general tone of your granite better so I'll leave you with the whale. Now you just have to find a polar bear in there somewhere and you're set... maybe a penguin as well but penguins don't have the soft look of the polar bear that matches your scheme. Anything is possible in that granite right? (I'm not excited about redoing a bathroom in 2009 that I plan on but if I had a granite like yours it would be fun).

I said "pale blue" but its more aqua... referring to the baggie of 3 on the lower left in the pic.

The one in the above picture is the one to the far left - the big one.

The white tiles are Botticino. We had ordered the Italian version (which is generally more white) but the order got screwed up and we only got some Italian and some Turkish (which are the brown, dingy ones). That is in the process of being corrected.

It is a natural stone and there are, even in the Italian, some more brown / dingy ones. Not ideal but with the pattern we're planning we should be able to keep that balanced. It's a payoff for getting the tiles we both enjoy.

We're also planning something different for the backsplash now. Hubby's sister is a reasonably talented amateur artist. We're going to have her draw a design for the area behind the stove and will leave the rest of the tiles plain. So no accent tiles.

I'll have to look for some penguins and polar bears. The granite is Arco Baleno (Italian for rainbow). You can find it listed in stonefinder and a few other places. Hard to find and some places have it classified as a marble. On the upside, it is fairly reasonable priced (comparatively speaking).

argh! argh! argh!

Hubby just IM'ed me. Tile place is saying they only have Turkish Botticino (which is in so many ways a lie...) So what tiles we have are going back to the store and we are once again (!) on the search for a back splash.

*sigh*

We had it all planned and figured out.

So, anyone have any brilliant ideas for us? No subway tiles, none of those 1" glass mosaics and must be inexpensive are the only criteria (besides looking good in our kitchen of course).

doh... um... just throwing out stuff here... what about a white marble tile (are they good for backsplashes? I've only seen it in bathrooms so perhaps not)

Just throwing some pics of diff things out... since you are starting over - maybe one of these ideas will inspire:
{{!gwi}}

oh wait... this is 1" glass - thats out?

{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}

probably too contemporary for your kitchen but would look much better with your granite than the one in the pic:

Just don't do this :)

And really for laughs this wouldn't really work for you either :) (and no, its not a log cabin, the webpage was trying to sell wood planks for use as a backsplash!)
{{!gwi}}

LOL. Those last two are indeed funny.

Botticino is a white marble. You just have to make sure you get the good stuff for it to be consistently white. It's also got hints of pink/mauve, blue and gray so picks up the colors of the granite.

I've thought about the other marble (like the one in the pic with the red accesories) but am concerned that the veining is too obvious / busy for with our granite.

I like the tiles in the first pic - you have any details on it?

And yeah - that other one is too modern.

Thanks!

nah, sorry no idea, I just got these doing image searches on the internet trying to find pictures of things that would work with the granite. I think we're thinking the same thing - that the subtle color in your granite is amazing - so either it has to be a really plain backsplash so that the color stands out in contrast to the plainess or the backsplash has to have small accents of the color to draw it out more. So you are at the stage I hate most - when you have an indea in your head of what you are looking for but don't know where to find it!!

Pbrisjar, I have some info on that first tile, because it was a picture I also saved from a magazine I saw. I think it was in Better Homes and Garden's Kitchen and Bath magazine - they do have a website but I don't know the URL.

I saved the photo as "trikeenan.jpg" because I think TriKeenan was the name of the tile - I'm really not sure if it was one word or two but maybe that's enough to get you started!

Below is Trikeenan Tile Work's web site

And that kitchen is shown in more detail here:

http://www.trikeenan.com/portfolio/index.php?galleryID=1

Here is a link that might be useful: Trikeenan Tile Works

What about a glass backsplash? Sheet glass with a slight smoke to it or a white haze??? (Does that make sense?) Or even a stained glass in sheets (visit a stained glass store and buy samples). It's much cheaper to do than tiles and while I don't know how exactly, I know there are a couple on GW. If you went with a nice wavy glass, or even a bubble glass on white glass...it would be a nice contrast and not too modern.

A stained glass store can get larger sheets for you. (I'm doing this for my upper cabinet glass).

Here is a link that might be useful: some quick ideas of sheet glass.

MM you've hit the nail on the head. That's exactly the struggle. I suspect that in some ways we're expecting too much from the backsplash. But that is the basic thing. Something that will enhance the granite without detracting from it.

sandsonik - Thanks for the link. They have some amazing stuff. Sounds like they're not in our price range, though.

igloochic - Those are some amazing pieces of glass. We may just have to look into that.

Thanks everyone!

All great ideas.... and igloochic's find there of the stained glass sheets looks really interesting. I just spend a few minutes looking and other than not having a clue how it would work, they do have samples for like 25 cents. The pieces can be as large as 16x18 or 20 and would be $20 or so. Some of the waterfall ones in the clear could work?? Or even with other tiles around. Very interesting site.Thanks for sharing.

"suspect that in some ways we're expecting too much from the backsplash"

Well backsplash is nice in that your kitchen can function without it. Don't worry - you'll find the perfect backsplash!

Except for the fact that Hubby won't put the stove back in until the back splash is in. Then there's the 1/2" gap that needs to be covered and the very splashy faucet issue to take care of...

It'll happen, it's just been very frustrating.

new creature found:

mystery machine,

Do you have any details on the first picture you posted? The one with the two sinks, very white kitchen, skinny subways? I really like that look but wouldn't know how to look it up. Can't tell if it's glass (assuming so). Is it 1x6?

If you have details, suppliers, etc., from the magazine or wherever you found it, that would be great!

Thanks,
Dawn

bungalowdawn - sandsonik posted the link above. It's Trikeenan.

Thanks. I was skimming the post and missed the connection to that. I'm so excited. I just called and found a local supplier and got pricing. Thank you to mysterymachine for posting that photo (which I would have never found myself). I think I've found my backsplash tile! Will post a picture if we ever make a decision on countertop and actually get this puppy done!

Pbrisjar- I just saw your thread about floor finish color and now that I put it together in my brain (?) I think that you should hold off the backsplash until you are firm on your flooring. chances are it won't change the outcome greatly, but once the flooring is determined, it will probably make one of the backsplash choices be easier to pick. (they are all good choices and I am loving getting all sorts of info so no problem here.. still waiting to figure out my countertop. flooring is set because I am not changing it:)

My problem is that I don't get mys tove back until the back splash is installed. Since the stove will be on plywood it can (and probably will) be in place before the floor install. So I want the backsplash first.

We're at 3 months and counting without a stove. Oh well, at least I have my small appliances (micro, crock pot, toaster oven, rice cooker) and we're in CA so grilling is always good. Last night I found myself wondering if we could cook a frozen pizza on the grill.

We're probably going tile shopping again today. Wish us luck!

yargh. No success at the tile stores today. I saw several that I liked that I thought would work but Hubby is fixated on finding Botticino tiles like the few that we found previously. He won't listen to the multiple people who have said that Botticino like that just isn't available any more. There was one marble tile that he found acceptable because it has some of the same colors / values as the Botticino we both love, but I see several problems with it:

It's only available in polished. Not what we want at all. Hubby thinks he can buff the non-polished side and use that.

It only comes in 12x12. That means a ton of cutting as we want a 4x4 laid on the diagonal.

It's expensive. About twice the price of everything else we've looked at.

It's too green/brown/something and too busy in the wrong way.

The back side with some enhancer on it:

The polished side:

(The colors are actually stronger than they're appearing here.)

Help?

This one, while too dark for the rest of the kitchen, shows a much more true representation of the tile colors:

that fights with your countertops. you should avoid using natural stone on the backsplash so as to accentuate the natural qualities of your countertop material.

I just need to figure out how to get Hubby to give up his current picture. He won't look at anything else.

Ironically, I saw a frosted glass mosaic today that I think just might work. Now to get past my prejudice against glass mosaics and Hubby's ideas.

I dunno. If it wasn't for the fact that we need something to cover the gap between granite and wall and to protect the splash zone behind the sink, I almost think it would be best to just stick with paint. Or maybe we should use the extra granite we have and just leave it at that.

If you're still considering glass for part of your backsplash, take a look at these tiles. I think they are pretty pricey, but some of the Opulent Series look like they would be spectacular with your color scheme. I especially like the "Cobalt Irid and Black Irid" group for drama or the "Clear and Frosted with Silver Foil Background" for a more muted look. I've seen the Silk Series, striated and smooth, with foil backing and they are gorgeous and very unusual.

Here is a link that might be useful: Phenix Glass Art tiles

oooooh, now you're in trouble. They have some tiles that would be absolutely perfect. Unfortunately I suspect that they are way, way above our price range.

pbrisjar,

I'm not clear as to why you can't put your stove in, and then move it out again when you know how you want to do your backsplash.

We bought teflon appliance sliders so that we can move fridge or stove if need be.

There are so many BS options, and it appears that you're open to all kinds of choices, so it seems a shame to rush this. I have a 4" granite backsplash just sitting on top of my counter covering the gap between wall and granite (not even temporarily attached), while I take a rest from BS angst. We are waiting for our granite to be replaced, so we knew we had to live with everything temporarily. We did silicone between drywall and granite behind the sink though.

Just when I thought I'd probably be going to something fairly neutral, I found a hand-blown glass vase that I'm thinking about buying for my DR table, and seeing the blues, and little bit of copper in there, I thought, wow, wouldn't those colours be great in a BS! So, I didn't buy the vase, thinking maybe I should wait, and get a BS, and THEN a vase/centerpiece to match, so I totally get where your head is at- swimming with just too many decisions!

We don't want to be moving the stove in and out due to increased risk of damage to both stove and floor.

I do believe the problem may be solved, though. *crossing fingers* I'm not going to say anything more until we have it all figured out and set but this morning I came up with a (what I consider to be) brilliant idea for our backsplash. Hubby and I hammered out some of the details and it looks like we're a go for what promises to be a rather distinctive low-cost backsplash that will fit right in with our kitchen.

More details as we progress...

ahhhh COME ON... you CAN'T leave us hanging like that. That's evil. I'll be referring to you as pbrisjar the temptress from now on!

A word of warning with glass accent tiles ...

Most glass has a grain. Take a look at your cooltiles sample. It has a pretty obvious up-down grain. If you use something like that on a diagonal, you'll be looking at it sideways all the time.

Unless you go with a smooth tile or a bit of a mosaic (with the grain lined up randomly), you might want to think twice about using glass accents at a funny angle.

:P.

Guess I'm being superstitious. Seems like every time I get excited about an idea something / someone comes along and it becomes no longer workable / desirable / whatever.

So anyhow, Saturday am Hubby was showing me the new window trim and I realized that the white that he's been looking for is the white of our trim that we both love. It looks amazing against the purple. Mind churned. I remembered that there's people out there with plain painted backsplash areas and some with beadboard backsplashes.

Bingo: Let's do a painted wood backsplash. Not beadboard (too busy) but hardwood, routed to match our cabinet doors, painted the white that we love, probably with a few simple embellishments. Simple, inexpensive, customizable. I plan to do something really special / fancy for behind the stove (maybe interchangable somethings).

If we get tired of it and/or do eventually find that perfect tile (perhaps in a few years when we have the budget for something more fancy), it'll be easy to replace or change.

you're going to put wood behind the cooktop?

Yup. It's an electric / glass top stove and we don't do any greasy / high temp cooking. No fears of anything happening at all.

When this stove dies and we convert to a gas range we'll probably reconfigure but for now this will be more than fine.

Latest update:

We're sticking with the wood for the majority of the backsplash. Found a trim piece at HD that is perfect for our wants. I want to fancy it up a bit but we haven't decided quite how yet. But that can come whenever.

For behind the stove, I am thinking of doing either stainless of some sort (possibly a brushed, quilted one like vwhippiechick(?)'s) or doing this marble:

I love this marble. It's got some sparkles, is a beautiful white, and has gray veining (which unfortunately kind of washes out in the pic). It's also at a reasonable price point. Still too busy to do the entire backsplash but I think it will work for behind the stove. That area is only 17" x 30" so it would be contained.

So what do you think? This marble or steel or ?

I am definitely keeping this marble in mind for our other projects. The store is calling it Lycian Letoon (I think Lycian is the supplier . manufacturer).

I was wondering how you were faring. I think that marble looks beautiful with your granite and your kitchen in general. I also really like the quilted steel behind the stove... great options that I don't know how to suggest incorporating together in your kitchen but I think they will work great together and with what you have already.

Thanks. I'm leaning towards the marble behind the stove for a couple of reasons:

I love it
It keeps with the natural materials theme (stone and wood)
I'm getting a pot filler that matches my faucet and I think the metal on metal would be too much.

OTOH, the steel would be much simpler to install, simpler to maintain and I love it too.

I think the final decision will come down to whether or not the marble looks good with the white paint, budget concerns, and Hubby's willingness to install tile.

Hubby plans to have the rest of the backsplash up tomorrow, so we'll see.

How about an illuminated backsplash? Eluma is a lighted backsplash that consists of an acrylic or tempered etched-glass.

Here is a link that might be useful: A splash of light - illuminated backsplash