Stunning kitchen!! We are just finishing up building a new house and the *last* thing I have to make a decision on is the backsplash. I picked up a sample of the Encore Crackle Silver and I'm just not sure. It looks more taupe than silver. ?? The sample is just one tile...perhaps I need a few more.

We have Carrara countertops, white upper cabinets (BM Decorator White), lower cabinets are a gray with brown undertones (SW Porpoise) and our island is a furniture style island, walnut with a medium-dark stain. Floors are hickory, stained a medium-dark brown. I'll try to upload a picture but everything is still in progress.

The sample is reading very taupe, but you describe the tile as a watery gray. A warm watery gray is what I want...taupe won't work with the gray veining in the Carrara (although my counters are mostly white with long streaks of gray, not splotchy like some Carrara) and the gray lowers. I'm looking for a warm backsplash to tie in the floors & island which is why tile guy directed me to Encore.

Your thoughts? Also what color is your grout? Thanks! Hope you are enjoying your fabulous kitchen!

brantley - there is a range of tile colors, I'd say about 5 or 6 different tiles shades with each individual tile varying (lighter in the middle of the tile). Some of the tiles are taupe, some are a pale gray, some are a medium gray. I saw a sample board of the silver crackle at my local tile store that was made with predominantly gray tiles. When my tiles came in, I was surprised & disappointed that the tiles were reading more taupe than silver. I even wondered if they sent me the wrong color.
Once all the boxes were open, there were many more gray tiles than taupe.
Installed & grouted, the overall look is gray. The taupe tiles add the warmth. They change color depending on the lighting & there are a couple of hours that they read more taupey.
I was looking for a gray tile & I couldn't be happier. This backsplash is my favorite "thing" in our kitchen. It's impossible to capture the overall look with a photo. There are a couple of pictures on Houzz of the silver crackle, although they, too, don't capture the variation of color, the depth & the little bit of sparkle.
I believe my grout was Antique White. I'll look later today & post back if it's something else.

How did I miss this?! That is one of the most perfect BS's for a kitchen I've seen. You nailed it.

Thanks Romy & Bookworm!

Were either of you able to find sample boards or just loose tiles? Bookworm, are you planning to use the Ice on your backsplash?

This is the tile board of silver that the local tile shop made. It doesn't have any if the taupe tiles that are normally in the mix. I obsessed & worried about the taupe. Once the tiles went up, I was really happy about the color mix as it was a much warmer look.
Marthastoo did her backsplash in Encore mint, beautiful. You should be able to find her backsplash reveal.
Did your source have the tile boards with 2 small tiles of each color? I have pictures of those but the tiles are very small.

This has to be one of the most gorgeous kitchens I've seen, wow!!!!

Xc60 & bicyclegirl, thanks for the kind words. I'll be doing a reveal once the cardboard is removed.

REMOVE THE CARDBOARD, REMOVE THE CARDBOARD...!!!!!

Ok, I'm sold. :) Thanks for making the decision easy for me.

My tile shop had never heard of Encore! I'm in Columbia, SC and there is not a tile store in my entire state that carries it (that I can find). I picked up the sample while in Birmingham, AL last week. They said that there aren't many stores in the south that carry Encore. They said I can order from them and have the tile drop-shipped to my house. They did not have any boards, just a box of loose Encore tiles. I am thinking of having my local tile store see if they can order it for me, they have been so helpful with the tile in the rest of our new house that I hate to take business elsewhere.

Looking forward to seeing your final pictures!

Oh -- I saw Martha's kitchen also -- beautiful!! I think my countertops are closer to yours and the pictures I've seen on houzz (Lake Minnetonka kitchen -- I'm sure you've seen it).

Thanks again for the help!

That cardboard is staying put for another 6 weeks. My Mom has been recuperating with us since mid-Nov & has a walker which we call " the claw."

Romy718, thank you for the information that the gorgeous crackle backsplash is made by Encore Ceramics, Silver crackle in 3 1/8" x 6 7/16" and that they come in a variety of sizes. Your kitchen is gorgeous and I can't wait to see the final reveal!

brantley, I used the Cameo Encore, same size as Romy used. I needed something from the 'green' board (Ice and silver are on blue board). My dilemna was between lighter Cameo or the mint. Here is an old picture, without undercab lights.

Here is tonight's picture, with just undercab lights on. Because my cabinets maple, I wanted something with beige tint. Romy had white cabs, so she needed tiles with different tone.

Honestly, your choice will be between lighter Ice and slightly darker Silver. I obsessed over my choice, and followed the advice of the tile saleswoman and KD. I would have been equally satisfied with cameo or mint.

Bookworm, I hadn't seen that picture. I love the Cameo. Such a soft, pretty color with depth.

Romy, after a month of searching, I honestly did not find any crackle tile that compared to Encore. Thank goodness for GW, I HAD NO HESITATION TO ORDER TILEs in my colors. Had I been on GW before hiring KD, choosing cabs, figuring out lay-out, what a difference it would have made. This is such a great forum. Now I am ready to do my next kitchen. How prepared I am now!

You and I know that Brantley will be thrilled with the Encore, whichever color she chooses. I feel like we could could become cheerleaders (how embarrassing).

romy, did I read correctly that you ordered the silver, but had them make you 20 more tiles w/ more blue in it? That's awesome! You must have a great eye for color. I'm horrible about seeing tones. When it's time for me to pick out my tiles, I'll have you help me pick out the color!!!

I'm looking forward to the reveal!

Bookworm - beautiful.

romy718 - I keep forgetting how beatiful your space is. I am just crazy about your backsplash. (Going back for another look....)

I am just waiting on the measurements and I will order the silver in the morning! I'm relieved to have made the decision (with your help) and now am ready for it to be done! Although sounds like there will be a wait for it to come in (sigh).

Thanks for all the advice & help.

Bookworm: The cameo is beautiful as is your kitchen! I picked up a sample of the cameo but it was reading yellow in my kitchen. Lighting and surrounding materials make such a difference!

I also picked up the Ice -- my only hesitation is that it won't have enough "oomph" for me. We did white subway tile in our last kitchen remodel and as much as I loved it I want something with a little more depth for this kitchen.

We actually moved in to our unfinished house in mid-December. The whole building process was (mostly) fun until our cabinet maker decided to have a mid-life crisis! Seriously. We ended up having to fire him and hire someone to come in and fix the mess he made. It is close to being done at this point. Not just kitchen cabinets -- there were cabinet problems throughout the house.

Thanks again for the feedback, what a great forum!

Not a great picture -- I am out of town again this week so my hubs snapped this with his phone and sent to me. As you can see the cabinets are still in progress. Built in fridge is on far right, to right of pantry.

Your kitchen is lovely. It's hard to see your lower cabinet color or your countertop. Love your crown molding.
I have a couple of boxes of tiles & would be happy to send you a few if you want a better representation of the color range of silver.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for those wonderful pictures! Encore tiles are beautiful. I am heading to their website to see is they have any without shone. Gorgeous!

Brantley, I agree that the silver will add more contrast against your white cabinets. My tiles arrived within 4 weeks.I hope you post a lot of pictures.

Peke, they do have a little shine, but only when you get up close. Same with the color variation; the darker the color you chose, the more pooling.

I agree, no crackle tile compares to the beauty of the Encore...the sparkle, the variation of color. I REALLY wanted it for my kitchen but none of the colors were a good match :(

Peke, they do have a glossy finish versus a matte finish but the variation in color makes them appear less shiny. Encore does make a matte tile but I bet the crackle would look beautiful with your Sea Pearl.
There are some blue greens (celery or cashmere) ) or you could go more neutral. This is the green board. I'll post the color names & them I'll post the blue board.

Green board colors

Blue board

Blue board colors
These pics taken by marthastoo

Here is a photo of my crackle subways.

Close up

Kalapointera - what a gorgeous color & love the color variation. Who makes it.
Lcskaisgir - I love your backsplash. I was really going more for the look of your tile but my kitchen is so white, I needed warmth & variation to add some color. There are lots of beautiful crackles out there (Heath, Sonoma , many more).
I had a preconceived idea of what crackle tiles looked like & never even considered them when I was looking for my backsplash. Encore isn't the only one that makes a beautiful crackle. I'm more of a "Crackle" cheerleader than an "Encore" cheerleader.

Kala, Ooooohhhhh! Love that color! I see gray and light blue and green in the backsplash, but gray and green in the tile. Am I right? What color green is it IRL? Is that a reflection of the tiles on your upper cabinet?

Wish I could do faux painting that looks like that. I love those colors. What company and color did you choose for the tile?

Can you mix different colors like some from the green board with some of the blue board? Or are they too different?

Peke

My tiles are from Pratt & Larson in Portland Oregon. They are in the Water Color line. Remember if you use crackle tiles they must be sealed before the grout goes in. You don't grout in the cracks. I did the tile work myself and found it very easy to do, just takes time.

Peke, the close up is pretty close to the IRL color. No blues or grays that might be coming from our monitors. Yes, that is a reflection of the tiles on the cabinet. The glaze is glossy.

Wow, just amazing how a small element (compared to everything else in a kitchen) like a backsplash *really* finishes off a room. Stunning!

Kala-even prettier in this picture. Great color! Love your kitchen. I'm going to add your picture to Peke's "Sea Pearl needs a back splash" thread.

This post was edited by romy718 on Tue, Feb 25, 14 at 14:23

Lcskaisgir -- is your backsplash posted on here? Sorry I am new to this. :-)

Brantley_r, I just posted my reveal he other day. I also did a gray crackle tile. It doesn't have the beautiful sparkle of the Encore but I'm happy with it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lcskaisgir's kitchen

Here's a link to lcskaisgir's thread where she has pictures of her tile next to the Encore Silver. You can see that hers are more of a true gray, none of the taupey tiles that are part of the Encore Silver. There are true gray tiles in the range but also the taupe ones.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lcskaisgir's Backsplash Tile Post

Romy, I missed your kitchen reveal. It is so gorgeous, I am so glad that I saw this. I'll bet you love every minute you spend there. That Encore tile is to die for!

LOVE. IT.

I still owe you all a reveal. I'm hopeless with a real camera & DH has promised to take pics. Coming soon, I promise.

I'm so glad this thread has been revived! We're not ready to choose our backsplash yet but I am OBSESSED with finding one...that Encore crackle tile is fantastic.
I hope i can find some samples locally...

beautiful choices everyone!

That is really beautiful.

So glad I came across this thread and forum! Found the Encore while perusing Houzz and fell in LOVE! It's very nice to see more images and hear feed back. Now, I just have to get these for my remodel! unfortunately the closest vendor is 3 hours away. Is there any other way to get samples?

Curious, how much does Encore Silver Crackle tile cost?

Romy -- what grout did you use with the Encore Silver Crackle?

ggjk - my tiler used Polyblend non-sanded grout in antique white. Another GW teaching moment, unfortunately learned after my tile was installed. With hand glazed tiles, sanded grout is recommended with a 3/16" grout line. The larger grout line prevents lippage. Non-sanded grout is for up to 1/8". I can see a little lippage when I have the range hood lights on.

Redalley- Encore silver crackle is available in the Bravo line, somewhere in the mid $20 range. The Bravo line is Encore's "in stock, quicker ship" line. The color choices & sizes are limited but Silver is one of them. If you choose a size or color that is not in the Bravo line, it's in the low to mid $30 range.

Thanks my tile should be in n by the early next week! This is the second tile I ordered and your photos made it easier. Unfortunately my first choice of beautiful tile was a poor choice..it went up above the stove and I stopped the installation... Spent one night with it and it came down... Hopefully 5 months later this one will be "the charm"

backsplash works well with stone counters. I've sourced the tiles but hope to know name of stone please!

Bbkb - Imperial White Danby Marble.