I think you did a fabulous job! I would be very pleased with myself to have done the job as well! Congrats! I love your tea kettle, what make is it?

Boy is that clean looking... Love it and will very much look forward to seeing it grouted. Congrats!

Boy is that clean looking... Love it and will very much look forward to seeing it grouted. Congrats!

Thank you, holly and oldbat! It's really fun to be able to share progress (finally)! holly, it's a Simplex kettle. oldbat, I can't wait to see it grouted, either! I hope grouting goes a little more quickly than laying tile.

can't wait to see it grouted! Can you share the tile name and source, and also your cabinet info? Are those framed or frameless? Is that soapstone on the perimeter?

Nice job. Looks great and compliments both island countertop and your perimeter.

Is the perimeter honed absolute black? Or a quartz? I'm thinking of reverting to a white (cabinets) and black (countertops) look again for better durability of surface.

I've never tiled but my husband did a beautiful sunroom floor in our prior home. Wonder if I can talk him into it...

It's amazing how that backsplash makes it look like a different room! Great choice, it adds SO much. Can't believe you did that yourself, Wow.

PS, I love to see a cast iron skillet or two on the range!

scrappy, I got the tile from glasstileoasis, foggy random brick, AKA Apricot Tile (manufacturer) Yura (line). Some online retailers make it difficult for you to learn exactly what tile you're buying. The cabs are Starmark framed.

The perimeter counters are Paperstone chocolate.

Sparkling, it would be terrific if you could get your DH to tile for you! My DH is the handy one in this house, but he was too busy to take this project on (and rather less interested in it than I). So he advised me to buy a good wet saw (more tiling projects are in our future, so renting isn't cost effective), and left town! He was pleasantly surprise when he walked in the door. :) And he cleaned up all the mortar buckets an tools, since I was wiped.

Thanks, smiling! I keep walking out of the room just so I can walk back in. And cast iron is my #1 choice!

BTW, I'll share that working with mosaic was rather difficult for this first-time-tiler. Any sheet that required more than one cut got very wet from the wet saw. The paper mesh backing got very soggy. So when I put it on the wall it sagged badly. Some of the spaces are intended to be less than 1/16", so I couldn't really use spacers. So rather than being crisp and linear, there's a definite wave going on -- the depressions over each outlet and wall switch.

Just something to consider when picking tile for a DIY. Thankfully, I envision large format tile for our upcoming projects. Though I'm sure there will be challenges there, too!

A lovely, warm kitchen. All of your choices work together really well!

It looks fabulous!

Your tile looks great. Don't beat yourself up about slight waviness or irregular spacing. Once its grouted nobody will notice unless you point it out to them.
I hired a professional tiler to put up my mosaic backsplash and was disappointed because it was definitely not the best tile job. I could have done as well or better myself and saved some money. I let it bother me for awhile and when I showed the imperfections to some people they thought it was no big deal. They said they would not have noticed if I hadn't made them aware.
So take pride in what you accomplished. Your kitchen is lovely.

What badgergal said! Sweat equity also comes with a really scrutinizing eye. Likely you remember each and every sheet you laid and which ones you had to hold longer, were to wet, etc.. But to the visitor or anyone else they just see the beautiful tile and beautiful kitchen! As I am typing this I look up at my own that I think is also really pretty good but yes I see a slight wave too (which no one has ever mentioned) - or maybe it's just the light. ;) Enjoy!

Can't wait to see it grouted.

Four - wow - great job! Love what you did and you will be so happy to have your backsplash in place. I appreciated all of your help along the way and am so excited for you!
I tried tiling once and failed - so I am in awe of your backsplash!!

Thank you, sudaki and cat_mom!

badgergal and Autumn.4, your words of encouragement really make me feel better. And I know the sag won't bother me forever. I am not a perfectionist, and am able to selectively ignore all kinds of stuff. It's just taking a bit of time for me to get there, since I put so much into this project.

a2, nice to hear from you, it's been a while! I really appreciate the help and encouragement you've given me along the way. Our sister counters live in very different but wonderful kitchens!

I'm so glad you're tiling on each side of the window. I was trying to figure out how to tactfully suggest you do so, but now I don't have to!:) Nice job. And it won't take long before you don't see the waviness anymore.

LOL, hemera! The pic makes the tile ending look so abrupt, but the tile isn't as dark or as warm-toned as in the pic, so I can live with it for now. Going up either side of the sink still has to happen, though! I'm waiting on more tile. (I ran out of time, energy, and tile last weekend at just about the same moment.)

Looks really great!