Nebbobear, in an earlier post i mentioned working with an interior designer at a design center to complete my backsplash. I was prepared with photos of my kitchen in progress and styles that I liked. I also asked her to specify the grout color, as I wanted a seamless, uniform look. I was pleased with the outcome and the pricing was in line with your quotes.

Hi lmutty.....I went to two places but they were pushing me toward contemporary styles and glass....now I see my trend is to agonize over choices and then when I see the right fit, I go for it....that is how it went with cabinets. sink,...i am making an appointment with a girl at the place that carries encore and walker zanger. ...I enjoyed talking with her and she seems to get what i want.....a creamy one but with the right cream that goes with my cabinets.....I'm SO happy I didn't go with the stone w pink undertones....so happy with that advice...the first design place didn't seem to know about undertones....i dont mind paying for someone to come to my house if i feel they can help me....but i wasn't impressed w the two local designers I met

Encore is in my kitchen and we have Walker Zanger planned for the bath. I hope their rep. is helpful. If not, have someone come to the house, as you said. Ask to see their portfolio of completed projects, if you go that route, but it sounds like you have a rapport with the WZ and Encore rep. I hope it works for you as it did for me!

Lmutty....it was you who told me about encore!!! Their sample called quail Iis very pretty...

I have not had a chance to read all the comments, so forgive me if I am duplicating here, but my first reaction when looking at your pics, was to go with a large subway tile in a Color similar to your sink, then go lighter on the walls. I would keep the grout similar as well to minimize the pattern. So far your choices are beautiful.

Nebbobear, Yes, I love the Encore! If you can bring samples with you, it helps with the appointment. My contractor loaned a sample cabinet door to me and I had a small piece of granite and hardwood floor along with photos.

Some dishwashers have panels that slide out in the front you might check to see if yours does...if it does, and the other side is not stainless steel replacements are available. Can probably lookup your brand and model on the internet to see if it does and how to access it. Saw that on a home renovation show.

Hi nebbobear... my granite is in and it's lovely but...it has a definite green undertone. It has a ton of green occlusions, which I expected, but since DH has green backerboard on the wall, I'm wondering if that's making it look even more green. Plus, just thought of this, it looks great with our cabinets but they're chestnut stained quartersawn oak, so that reddish tone is going to make the green pop too.

Do you think of St. Patrick's day when you see your counter?

Haha....no my greenish is not as evident.....I love it....my painted wall is not by counter so maybe it is your green board thing...do you mean beadboard? Isn't it a relief to have it in?? And do you have the tawny brown splotches...I love those......they are not as reddish purple as the spots on other granites.....

Hi, barnkatz - show us - green backboard on the wall, light coming in from different directions at different times a day, any number of things can affect how something looks. Cameras take the weirdest pix of your perfect room if they're not set right and we all know how "mind of their own" computer monitors are. So don't judge yet. You could tape up some white paper around the counter to cover the backerboard and see if that makes a difference. And if that helps but the cabinets are still too reddish, try the paper on some of them too and, if they turn out to be the biggest offender, know that there are probably solutions that wouldn't involve painting them white of some other "color". Don't panic. Remember, there's a lot of wonderful greens between St. Patrick's Day and Christmas. Pour yourself a glass of wine, google "favorite green kitchens", have some fun and maybe be inspired. And, again, show us.

Instead of focusing on color, start looking at the patterns...I have Michael Jackson with a statue of the Madonna with her arms out blessing him (that's my famous one), as well as dogs, cats, foxes, babies...you name it in my granite :)

Please take a photo barncatz if you have a chance

Even if it is not accurate I'd love to see it! !!!

I don't want to hijack. It looks less green now but it has tons of these seafoam glass color deposits right under the surface. Quartz? I don't have what I call brown but I have purply amethyst deposits too. Here is one half of our in progress galley. I recalled, when I read your question, that ages ago I'd gotten some white ceramic beadboard tile samples, so I dug those out to block the backerboard. The upper cabinets aren't dreamsicle color. And yes, that's a potfiller. I can't be trusted with a spray hose and needed to reach the sink corners, lol.

You totally can hijack !!!!! I've had plenty of attention....your granite is beautiful.....the green deposits are the same as mine....I love them ....I can envision the upper cabinets true color because I liked that same type of cabinet when I was shopping around.....is your sink black....I like that you chose the faucet that works for you....your kitchen will be uniquely yours...thanks for posting. !! Congratulations ...this kitchen remodel is a grueling process....

Barncatz, Nebbobear is such a great sport - I didn't even think about you hijacking her post. Your granite is very pretty as is nebbobear's and that's a big compliment coming from me because I really don't like granite. I can see the green and even the amethyst in the granite but the countertop itself doesn't come over as green - in your photo even the backerboard looks grey. So again, I say pour yourself a glass of wine, google some kitchen pix, maybe some with cabinets similar to yours in color and see what they've done with countertops, look from different angles at different times of day and let things settle and then see where you are. Your granite is perfect for your kitchen as nebbobear's is perfect for hers and you both are going to come out winners in the end.

Yytcm......okay...nebbobear is having a glass as well!!! :-)

I can see your green deposits in your second photo, nebbobear. I love our cabinets with the counters and the counters look great. We built this little house ourselves starting 11 years ago over five years of weekends and I was going for a loft, industrial vibe in the kitchen, lol. Tile that looked like rusty corten steel, blackened steel and stainless shelves, no uppers, black lab sink, industrial faucet. But we moved in fulltime (with our horses) five years ago and, lo and behold, it's a little farm, and so I added the cream uppers last year and when our white stove died this spring, (ha!), my little loft kitchen is becoming a little farm kitchen. ☺

Oh, thank you Yytcm and nebbobear! DH is out of town so I'm here alone and the dogs have been very noncommital about the counters. I really appreciate the support. I think we have pretty counters, too.

Last post. My daughter shot down the ceramic beadboard idea with one texted "Really? Not a fan."

Haha...I had never seen ceramic beadboard....when i saw yours I gave it a thought but I dont think I'm a fan either....but if i had seen it I'm sure I would have brought a sample back!

Oh yes rhondave....that must be so all consuming

If you use white subway tile, it will help tie in the bright white appliances. I would not use white grout, however, a darker gray will make the tiles more noticeable as well as tie into the darker specs in the granite and your dark sink. I would definitely go for a mixed white scheme. White Dove on the bead board and more of a darker ivory for the wall color. Use your accents (upholstered dining chairs, window treatments, rugs) to introduce a bit of color/texture. Take a deep breath...it's gorgeous so far : )

You can check your local paint store for a sample of antique white...most brands it is a creamy ivory, occasionally a bit darker...it may be the right paint color that will tie all the shades of white together for you. Never know until you have the samples...I had been in love with a pale gray based moss green until I brought home a sample and found that it brought out the worst tones in the other colors and just looked horrid.

Please, please, please hire an interior design professional. Many designers can help you online for just an hour or two. You must be overwhelmed with all the info from non professionals. You've got a great thing going, but it could go sideways so easily!

Didn't appreciate the pithy comment of "non-professionals", Jill. There is no reason to be rude. Everyone on here loves design and there are a lot of talented people in the design world without official design credentials.

I believe where Jill is coming from - is from the heart. It is painful to read all of the suggestions ONLY because there are so many of them. Some of the suggestions are conflicting and thus a homeowner can get overwhelmed easily. Houzz is a great forum to ask questions, get advice, etc. I just feel that if someone is having a really tough time choosing and it's delaying a project or causing them to loose sleep, then it's time to bring in the professional. The same holds true for a lot of things in life. If we're sick and we've tried everything to get better and we don't get better - it's time to seek out professional advice. My guess is nebbobear is at the point where they just might sleep more soundly if someone (just one person) guided them in the decision. I hope that makes sense.

That's exactly what I meant Get it Together, Thanks so much. I imagine this must take hours to sort through the advice and as it's conflicting, that must be so confusing. I think nebbobear needs some direct, clear direction, otherwise she could suffer from what we call 'renovation fatigue'. :)

Thanks all! I do appreciate every bit of advice. I agonized over every decision of my kitchen and was happy with my choices......I did have a professional for my cabinets and I regret not pushing for a 36" sink base because a large double low divide sink was what I really wanted...the extra 3" toward my window wouldn't have been design perfect but I would have been happier...so even working with a pro has to be give and take.....the advice of sticking to plain cream subway tile is a safe bet and I would love it....but I have found another tile I love and so.....I am making an appointment with the designer at the tile place so i don't make a mistake. Now from looking at the advice here I have explored and ruled out certain looks....I am so appreciative for every person who responded!!!!

So happy to hear that! Yay!

I just did my kitchen in the same cabinets. Granite is very similar. Beautiful. However I am just choosing a subway tile that matches my cabinets. I do not want the backsplash to "compete" with the beauty of the granite. Keep it simple. The wrong backsplash can ruin a kitchen.

HI debralee.....I have someone coming from a place called architectural ceramics next week with the samples i like...i am definitely doing the keep it simple look...I am glad i took a long time with this as i came back to your mindset that simple will be best......i love the granite....where did you look for your tile and did you find one that you were happy with the match? thanks for your comment!!!

http://m.frontgate.com/products/832873?path=~carved-rooster-swivel-bar-height-bar-stool-30-22h-seat-~indoor-furniture~bar-stools~bar-height~

In case anyone is looking, I want to order the above Barstool in counter height in antique white to match my kitchen. This seat comes in camel colored leather as pictured above or linen fabric. Linen matches so much better, I think, but the camel color leather would be so much easier to keep clean. Would that leather work in my kitchen that is pictured at the beginning of this thread no way?

Nebbobear's

Beautiful! I'd move in

Thanks! Happy 4th AllAmericanAmy!!

Thank you!! To you too - What an amazing country we live in, that we even have problems like those we post on Houzz! We are truly blessed!

Such a greatt point....yes we are truly blessed...

looks amazing!!!

Thank you Jennifer I'm so glad to be done

Looks absolutely stunning, you will enjoy it for many years to come. By the way, the leather bar stool seats were a good choice, you may want to spray some leather protectant on them if they didn't come that way.

gypsyrose17 I wish they were leather! They are linen fabric./..worse than leather! But yes glad you mentioned that ..i really need to do something spray or iron that stuff on...i figure when they get messed up i will have them recovered .....thanks so much..i am happy to finally be done...i have toe outlets covered now too which is so nice...now i have gnats in my kitchen...never ever can i seem to have an issue free home!!! =-) But feeling blessed anyway!! Ha ha..."the" outlets not "toe"....but i left it there because "toe outlets " just sounds ...funny!!

Darn, had me thinking "toe outlets" were something new where you could control things with your toes while using your hands for something else :) Also, you can buy a can of spray on Scotch Guard for your bar seats...just spray in a well ventilated place.

Ha ha ha....!!!!!!!!! Oh okie dokie..I will buy some today......before i regret it..!!!

Don't Fret everything you choose looks really good. Sometimes it takes awhile to adjust to a new look in the room. I think when it is done, you will be thrilled. Buy some of the paint sample pots with colors you like. Buy small pieces of Wall Board at Home Depot or Lowe's and paint them with your colors. Put them up in the backsplash area and look at them day and night. Put the ceramic choices on top of the countertops by the paint colors and you will find something you love. Again look at them during the day and again during the night.