Glossy counter w/ glossy backsplash?

15 years ago

Hi,

We are pretty sure we're going with a granite slab called "Brown Suede", which is almost black, and have opted for natural cherry shaker cabinets in our 1854 house. We're trying to maintain the rustic pioneer charm of the house, but incorporating some modern touches. We need to choose our backsplash fairly soon because the new windows are coming next week and need to be painted prior to installation --- obviously, we want the paint colour to work well beside the backsplash.

So... since we're going with a glossy finish on the granite, is it okay to go with glossy tiles? The woman at the tile store didn't think we should. We found some mini-subway tiles (1x2, I think) in a polished marble (Golden Panther) that we liked, but now we don't know about the shine combo. With such small tiles, wouldn't there be a fair amount of grout to break up the shine/shine factor? Or, the same marble comes in a tumbled version. We could use that and treat it with an enhancer to bring out the colour (any stories about doing that?).

Any suggestions and/or pictures? We're anxious to nail this decision down since we've been in a state of mental paralysis for a long time now... I KNOW some of you will understand that! :~)

Thanks!

sb

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Comments (13)

Laurie
15 years ago
Our granite is glossy, our 3" x 6" subway tiles are also glossy.
In hindsight, I think the matte subway tiles would have been a little better.

{{!gwi}}
sam_b
Original Author
15 years ago
bump
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jb1176
15 years ago
Laurie 2008 - Question Please,

I would like to know the brand and name of the faucet in your post. Your kitchen is beautiful. What granite did you use? Thanks for the information.

JB
igloochic
15 years ago
I actually really don't like the look of matte backsplashes with shiny granite. My subway tiles are a crackle finish, and they're glossy just like the polished granite.

The tumbled (dull) marble, shiny granite thing is on the way out, but the tile stores have a great deal of it to sell...perhaps she needs to clear out some inventory :oP I'd look at the FKB BS slideshow...you'll see quite a few with shiny/shiny that are quite gorgeous.

Your combo sounds lovely :)
debo_2006
15 years ago
I think more people tend to go with glossy tile splashes than not. I didn't want 2 shiny surfaces (we have granite) next to each other, so we went with a matte subway. We did put a glass liner along the bottom, one row up, for a tad of shimmer. I'm VREY happy we didn't go with glossy, and no worries about seeing smudges.

Besides, with the stainless appliances and granite, there is already enough "shine" going on.
User
15 years ago
honestly, I like both looks. I think they both work, and it's generally just a matter of preference. I think I spent more time considering the very matte, but ended up with something in between. Not outright glossy, but not matte either. I guess it's perfect for the terminally undecided like myself. it does have a sheen to it.(supposedly I will have it "no later than July 15" ... I 'll keep ya posted:)
Laurie
15 years ago
JB - Thanks : ) The faucet is made by Elkay and it's called "Victoria" (LK2546NK)in satin nickel. It's a single lever, no pull out or pull down. It's supposed to have an 11" reach, but it's acually 9" when mounted with the handle on the side. I bought it on Homecenter.com for $360. I contacted the Elkay Co. regarding the reach issue, and they were great and seemed concerned. They offered to pay for the restocking fee, but I loved the faucet so much, that I didn't want to send it back. The granite is called Luna Pearl. I've been told that it's sometimes called Bianco Sardo. It's 3 cm (also available in 2cm) and we got it through Anaheim Stone Works in Anaheim, CA. It's available at a lot of other granite yards, as well.
I was checking the order form from Home Depot where we got our subway tiles. They are made by Dal Tile and called Rittenhouse, color is "white" and it says Semi Gloss. Even though it says semi gloss, they are really glossy imo.
sam_b
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks so much everyone for sharing your opinions and Laurie for posting your beautiful photo! We'll be finalizing our decision within the next 3 days (I like your term, Sheila,... terminally undecided!).

Just as an aside, I find it ironic that granite sellers in the US seem to sell by centimetre thickness, while here in Canada (at least the few places we've checked into) they sell by inches of thickness. I would have expected that to be the other way around :~).

sb
ljsandler
15 years ago
I have both glossy granite and a glossy backsplash. IMO, glossy is easier to clean and visually expands the space.
cat_mom
15 years ago
Our glass mosaic tile splash incorporates both glossy and matte/frosted tiles--the best of both worlds I suppose! (Our granite counters are shiny, BTW).
chinchette
15 years ago
Isandler- I love that combo and the feature piece! It looks suberb with that granite. Did you have it all planned in advance, or did you pick the BS after the granite?
ljsandler
15 years ago
Thank you, chinchette for your kind words. They are much appreciated!

I had it planned in advance--I had the backsplash tiles picked out but could be flexible on the colors if needed-- although I knew I wanted the colors I did end up getting. I had gone granite shopping about the same time but had it narrowed down to about 3 granite choices.

I knew because my Gold and Silver granite had alot of movement, I wanted it to be the focal point, not the backsplash. So I knew I had to choose a calming but elegant backsplash.
rebeccainchicago
15 years ago
lsandler...ditto what chinchette said about your B/S & granite combo. I think it's one of the loveliest I've seen, and I might like to copy it when I get to that stage! Can you tell me the tile specs? Size, maker, finish, etc. I would much appreciate it. BTW, what I especially like is that the background tiles appear creamy, not stark white. (I tried to look this up in the FKB, but I'm not well versed in finding things that way.)