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hudsonvalley_zone6a

Help me pick a backsplash!

So we are nearing the end of our kitchen remodel. We took a 1950's kitchen with orange and yellow cabinets and psychedelic floral wallpaper and converted it into something more contemporary (not modern per say). Now we need help selecting the tile backsplash. Any recommendations are appreciated!

New Kitchen. Window soon to be replaced, backsplash and countertops to be installed next week.

Tile option 1 with quartz sample and floor tile in background:

Tile Option 2 with floor tile (without quartz sample): The glass tile would be an accent to the plainer beige ceramic tiles:

I wish that I had before pics because this is a dramatic transformation. If you any tile suggestions, please, please share!

Comments (17)

  • 15 years ago

    What will your counter look like?

    This will make a lot of difference in choosing the backsplash that goes best with everything.

    Nice looking so far, BTW.

  • 15 years ago

    I'm lukewarm on the first - just a little too busy for me. Your counter and it would not be friends. The second one, although I think the glass tile as an accent could be interesting, not with that tile.
    By accent, with that glass tile, I mean squares of 3x3 set in a random pattern every once in a while with a very plain simple subway rather than a band of the stuff.

  • 15 years ago

    Both options read very orange to me. Are you trying to get away from that?

    Also, for me, its too much pattern on pattern on pattern. The floor is busy; the quartz is a little less; and the tiles are also busy. My eye would need some relief. Does the quartz have a soft brown you could pull out?

    Any pics of your psychedelic wallpaper? ;)

  • 15 years ago

    My first thoughts were the same as breezy's. Those two options are reading too orange in your space. I do like the idea of glass. I think a stillato glass in a lightish nutmeg color would look awesome. I'll try to find some pics later.

  • 15 years ago

    Thanks for your input so far. I don't want the space to look too busy. Remodelfla, would you recommend the glass tile in a subway style?

    Also, any suggestions for lighting up the space? The floor and cabinets are darker, but I don't want that the continue in the BS. That is my only hesitation with a brown BS.

  • 15 years ago

    It may be beating a dead horse, but I am also not loving those tiles for your bs. I think that look has been done a lot and even more so in real life than here on the forum. It will make your reno very specific to a time range.

    I would personally not do anything with orange or brown tones. Is there another color you like? I picture an ivory, lt green, aqua, lt blue or pewter color. You need something that works with beige and orange tones without being that itself.

  • 15 years ago

    To cut through the orange... how about... something akin to...

    Suggestion 1

    Suggestion 2

    Suggestion 3

  • 15 years ago

    Thanks uroboro and dianalo for the advice. My only concern now is the quartz countertop which has a brown/green/ivory/beige tinge to it. I wonder how blue would go with that. I got the red/orange/ivory flooring b/c I felt it matched well with the cabinets and b/c red is a complementary color to green. HELP!!! Now I feel like I have royally messed up with the floor/countertop selections. I'm far from a professional decorator!

  • 15 years ago

    Here's the tile I thought of from Artistic Tile. I'm sure others have something similar.
    {{!gwi}}


    {{!gwi}}
    Or Bravo Beige
    {{!gwi}}

  • 15 years ago

    Oh, my countertop is SIlestone Ivory Coast.

  • 15 years ago

    Thanks for a bigger look at your quartz.

    Remodelfla has a great idea. Those are the colors I was meaning when I said soft brown. Looking at your counters, something in the tone of the Bravo Beige seems to work well. You wouldn't have to do the random brick widths in the picture. I wouldn't, however, do it in tiny 1x1 glass mosaics. Those are getting dated to me.

    You didn't mess up royally. The counters will be lovely, and you can pull it all together with the perfect tile.

  • 15 years ago

    I just redid a psychedelic kitchen too. I think your kitchen looks great so far, and I think a nice ceramic tile would be your best bet. I like the beige one that remodelfla posted. You should probably live with your kitchen for a while (without the backsplash) and get a sense for what would be right for the space. You can even get out some paint and paint the backsplash area different prospective colors and see what you like and then pick a tile in that color. Another thing that might look nice is to carry the quartz to the backspash.

  • 15 years ago

    Hi Hudson,

    I love your countertop choice.
    And I love the warm orange glow of your rich cabinetry.
    Why don't you go with the glass tile for the entire
    backsplash?

    Or just use the simple square tile in cream to match
    the countertop you showed.

    If not maybe one of these ideas....



  • 15 years ago

    I like option 2, the plainer beige tiles (or other beige-y tiles), with a colored glass piece here & there, not all together.
    Or even small metal accents: Description

    Or a border, maybe placed partway up the field: Description

    Or a strip of horizontal partway up the field: Description

    I do like what you've done so far. Don't worry about the choices you've made. They're all good -- and they are what YOU like. I would not add a blue if there isn't blue in your counter tones or your floor tile. You've come a long way from that "flower-power" kitchen!

    Here is a link that might be useful: metal tile accents

  • 15 years ago

    "I wonder how blue would go with that."

    Easy as pie.

    Have your accessories in cooler colors. Blue-gray... tablecloth, pendant lamps, kitchen rug, dishes, cookie jar, window treatment... It will look fabulous!

  • 15 years ago

    Had to step away from the computer in mid-post (renovation going on even as I type), and you got a lot of great responses I hadn't seen when I completed my post! All the options Boxerpups posted look great to me, sort of what I had in mind. You could go with the brick pattern tile (like in the 2nd option you listed) or all square, either one.

    I think we often get caught up in the design process, wanting everything to "pop", when really we need to step back & let some of the design be plainer & highlight other aspects. I am still having to convince my husband we need a plainer backsplash to offset the very busy granite we both like! However, neither of us likes completely plain, solid-color subway tile backsplash....

  • 15 years ago

    Thank you so much for the feedback! I am going to look into these recommendations and write back with updates!

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