How about a color rather than a gray neutral, to balance out some of the cold and rainy days?

How about a soft Aqua? It goes beautifully with gray, yet is warmer than a straight blue.

Since we moved here a few months ago the blues of the ocean and sky have appealed to me. These tiles have some of the hues I like. So perhaps your suggestions of Aqua and smoke are within the realm of possibility!!! Yay thank you for the advise! I'm not feeling so overwhelmed !

I liked the idea of aqua too. Also you can vary the shades on each wall. lighter and in some places darker shades of green.

Cambria has a wonderful feature on their website that has many suggestions for paint colors using Ben Moore. I have used this many times in helping find the perfect paint color for my clients kitchens while using Cambria. It really is worth a look; they usually suggest a handful :)

http://www.cambriausa.com/en/Designs/Paint-Match-Tool/

That smoky blue above is very pretty

in the website suggested by Elizabeth there is a nice color named gentle cream. You could use it for the wall, after you can use a colors chandeliers

http://www.trendir.com/archives/colorful-vintage-style-aluminum-pendants-w131-by-wastberg.html

and white or color chairs http://www.archiproducts.com/it/prodotti/75485/catifa-46-sedia-a-slitta-catifa-46-sedia-a-slitta-arper.html (green or azul could be no bad). And of course I can raccomand you a ceramic coating with the color of the see (this means from blu to the sand).

http://www.ideaceramica.net/dettaglio.php?id=37&lang=EN

I hope to be a help

We just finished our remod w Berwyn and black tile floors. We went with Subtle Touch by Behr.

The aqua is a good choice but please don't go with tiny, busy tiles for your backsplash. One of these might be something to consider.

I see a hint of blue in the tile, and I'd paint a soft but rich shade of Teal like "Cloudless" by Sherwin Williams SW6786. You might even be able to ask them to go a shade lighter.

Enjoy your new space!

I too recently moved to Vancouver Island (Parksville) and have also been drawn to the ocean. Our kitchen is Mount St Anne by Benjamin Moore with Cool Breeze in the rest of the open floor plan. I love it. We had glass subway tiles in white but luckily the installation was poor and they had to redo them and couldn't get the same tile. We went in a totally different direction and used marble hexagon. It has character without looking busy.

My favorite is a cheerful Laura Ashley Cowslip #4. It is a yellow, not butter, not screaming yellow, not gold yellow but a yellow that compliments wood tones as well as greens, deep reds, and rusts. It brightens with sunlight and warms up in the evening. My new home has gray tile back splash and I'm going with Cowslip #4 for adjacent family room and kitchen dining, like I had in my previous home. I had cherry cabinets in both homes. Enjoy the adventure.

I live in Vancouver and painted a north facing kitchen BM "cloud white". I haven't painted a room with white in all of my adult life yet love this room now. I have off-white upper cabinets with black bottom cabinets, fir floors, and a grey laminate counter top. I'm in love with my new kitchen (which was maple cabinets, fir floor, and neutral counter top) with medium green walls. The white has created so much light when I once thought it was a room that would just be darker because of its north facing windows. I'd avoid as much grey as possible in our climate. There's enough outside!! Good luck!

I agree with those who suggest a brighter white or cream - like the sand element of the seaside.

If your space is north facing - even a golden neutral like a honey colour would work, especially with the cool colours outside! I know VIctoria is brighter than Vancouver most days but the grey blue green colour palate outside may be a bit one dimensional for the kitchen palate you've selected thus far. If you don't have much wall space a nice warm golden colour pop would be a fun contrast, if you are looking for energy - otherwise go monochromatic with a sand - sea side look.

I like the idea of a very pale blue. It would tone down the dark colors in the tile, making it a brighter room. I would seriously think of adding warm touches of color too, or during the Victoria winters, it will feel dreary.

Put some color in there. I suggest a green. If you like contemporary style think spring green or more of a gray green if you are more conservative. Green is the easiest color to live with for a long time. It is the color of nature and is not too cold or too warm.

If you use white paint, make sure the undertones work together. Go to Maria Killam.com. She is a color expert and has suggestions for color for kitchens. She is the best and also is a designer. You get all kinds of ideas from her blog!

Good luck!

I think this counter tile has a definite formal feel. You don't say what style the cabinets are. If "country", you could use a nice pale-to-medium blue-gray, check Martha Stewart colors. If more modern, I'd pick a pale grey and throw in a unique lighting solution along with pops of color with appliances and accessories.

I have white cabinets with white counter tops and a dove gray subway tile backsplash. I painted the kitchen walls coral and it brightens the whole space. I have had many compliments on using this color in a kitchen.

Your beautiful counters have a lot of movement. If you install a heavily patterned backsplash it will fight with the design in the quartz. It will not look right if you have two pronounced designs right next to each other. One should be the star and the other to compliment.

i'd go for a yellow - looks great with grey and will contrast all the grey in the kitchen and outdoors. you will need some brightness over the winter.

How amazing as we're starting a kitchen with white cabs, counters and are picking tiles and paint. I'm thinking monochromatic but then suggestions of yellow and aqua came up so now my brain continues to spin! So fun!

I'd suggest pale butter yellow. I live on Orcas Is. and have white cabs with soapstone counters -- the yellow looks great (with cobalt accents). Even the dreariest gray February mornings look cheery!

@chippyr What kind of counter top is that? I really like it.

Great ideas but mpossible to be sure as color will look different on every monitor.You need to sample in your own light and view it by night and day. What will be fab in one person's home will be drab in another! Lots to work with in that tile.

I have remodeled my kitchen last year and painted the walls bright aqua (blue hue). Best decision I've made and it stays bright during rainy days!

Several colours will work with your neutral cabinets and tiles. Walk through your house ... is there a colour that repeats? That you're drawn to? Considering the grey of winter where you are, I would go for a light bright shade to give you a lift ... aqua, turquoise, peach, soft lemon, ... depending on the style of the cabinets and the feel you want.

Good advice to consider the flow of the house!

It's Quartz - Silestone Stellar Snow.

We painted our tiny galley kitchen a Behr blue - the color of the sky at twilight. It seems to push the walls out visually. However, if you have gray skies often, you may want to go with the suggestions for something warm and inviting. If I lived in the NW (US) I would be painting things a warm sunflower yellow or coral or maybe even a bright pink. Because you spend so much time in the kitchen, it should be your favorite color - mine is periwinkle, and this was the closest compromise with the other cook in the family. <grin>

how about BM Grasshopper (I have it in my kitchen/dining and rest of main floor BM Hawthorne Yellow).

Raspberry Blush by BM

I actually have that tile and put it with white Ikea kitchen cupboards and a gray toned flooring

we also have soft white cabs ; medium/dark slate grey floor tiles with just a touch of copper in the swirl of the stone and granite tops in a black/brown/grey /soft white speck and black appliances so we're going bold with Behr New Penny, an intense, saturated copper color to echo that sight copper swirl of the floor tile to pump up all the neutrality of the other parts. excited to get painting! :) have fun and don't be afraid of COLOR!

here's a pic :) tonal isn't bad, but we love color! that New Penny color will make everything pop! Plus I'm a feng shui nut so it adds fire to the water, metal and stone elements. need a little wood element with some lucky bamboo on the service side of the counter and we're set!

My idea of a perfect kitchen color is yellow. Mine is now called "like butter" what could be better in the kitchen! I have neutral colors of flooring and backsplash, and black granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances and cabinet handles.

an intense rich peacock blue would also look great with yours

I vote for a bold color, maybe a tropical one? Something that will accentuate the grays without making it all seem very dull.

BM beach glass.....beautiful and soft

We just finished remodeling our kitchen etc. I used BM Barren Plain (beautiful soft gray). I'm also adding aqua to give my kitchen a splash of color. My candles are orange because it's my favorite scent ginger peach from Pier 1. Good luck

My Quartz is stellar black on counter and stellar black on island

Thanks but no my condo is finished I did white. I had a decorator help me with the white..

So many comments for blue I vote too for a shade of a sunny sky or ocean blue- like teal. Red & yellow or gold are great for accents. Don't use the 1st or 3rd tile type as your tile setter will not like it. I know they were just for color samples but one might get the idea they are pretty. They are really pretty, but difficult to lay. Like I've ever laid a tile in my life. I certainly can hang a great wallpaper, though.

My first thought on seeing your base colours was peach. Benjamin Moore considers peach to be an upcoming colour and it would certainly add some warmth to what could easily become a "cold" room.

We bought a house in Bellingham, WA, and the previous owner had every room painted in a golden yellow. It's not a color I would have ever picked, (especially being from NJ) but we kept it because it worked so well to combat the 9 months of overcast weather. We got a lot of compliments on it. Something in the golden yellow family will go a long way to warm up your kitchen. Besides, gray and yellow look fantastic together!

Consider Scandavian colors. They use a lot of icy blues etc, works there.