it's a very busy pattern. What are you using for your counters?

wow ! love it .

HI -- Oh no ,you have the eye ! I like it but might be to busy . Some times you just have to bite the bullet and get what you love and cut back on something else. Maybe you could get it at a discount tile supplier or make something similar with less costly tiles.

It looks much busier in the picture than in reality. It is much more subdued. We are using Cambria Parys counters. Our cabinets will be painted white with full inset beadboard doors

Hope this shows up for you http://www.jeffreycourt.com/concepts/chpt16-park/images/ch16-08.jpg

Just took a look at the Cambria Parys counters! No wonder you fell for this backsplash look! BEAUTIFUL! Hopefully there is something out there that could substitute and come close. Good luck.

That is gorgeous!

What colour are your cabinets?

Here is the counter with a cheaper tile in the same Jeffrey court theme. We can also get it with the blue inlays. This one is a little cheaper. The blue is the manhattan sky

This is beautiful wall tile, and it looks great with the countertop you have chosen. Are you remodeling your kitchen of bathroom? It would look great in a bathroom, but I wouldn't use in a kitchen... A very sophisticated look indeed.

Another shot with the counter

Mary - we are putting in white painted cabinets - we have not picked out the exact "shade" of white

Look for a small glass mosaic that mimics the color you're looking for. 12x12 sheets can be cut to single or double lines. Can be combined horizontally and/or vertically with off white ceramics in a less busy pattern for a similar look. Estimating the amount of tile needed and installation is much more difficult, but it's also fun knowing that you created your own special design.

I did this in a powder room (back wall and floors) in carrera marble 8x16's in a vertical subway pattern with three lines of micro mosaic separating every two rows. Gorgeous, custom look that you can't find any place else.

Hi Danielle - this is a small kitchen.
Tell me more about why you wouldn't use it in a kitchen?

Great timing then Teeooh! Choosing your most loved finishes first and then the cabinet colour is best in this situation. I like d's idea of creating your own as long as you can find trays to lay the pattern out in first then you can attach a paper backing so you're adding the tile on in a sq ft and not tiny tile by tiny tile. As you can see even in the attached picture of the tile you like the sample they made isn't lined up exactly and throws it off a wee bit. You can imagine how crazy it could get applying these individually.

I'm going to assume that Danielle is thinking clean up with the small tiles and grout. A good professional sealer should take care of those issues.

Cheers
Mary

To consider...you love the tile. Yes, you can duplicate it by cutting tiles and copying the pattern, but you may pay more to have that put in then if you just went with what you love. The money you save in labor could pay for the tile.

Love this tile, too. I priced it, and don't remember exactly how much, but it DEFINITELY wasn't $82/sf . I'm near San Francisco, and trade pricing at Sienna Tile in San Ramon was closer to $38...(?)

How about using their matching plain white tile for most of the backsplash and this fancy pattern behind the range or cooktop? It's quite striking.

bnbindustires - thanks for that info - I have not asked the contractor to get trade pricing. He doesn't mark stuff up beyond his fixed percentage.

ApplePie (love that name by the way - do you know pi day was last week?) We are tiling a fairly small space. - see the plans I am attaching. BTW - the window position is not totally fixed yet - but is 50" wide without casing- not sure how high off the counter it will end up

The woman at the tile store discouraged us from using a separate design behind the range since it is such a small space.

Mary -

Our contractor suggested with go with a satin finish - but I am lost about white tones. We decided to go with white because we are ripping up linoleum and restoring the old wood floors that run throughout the house. I couldn't think of a good wood to not clash with the floor - it is your basic yellowish-blond-basketball court- wood floor.. Do have any suggestions for a white spectrum to work in.

We are tearing everything out - including the ceiling. (next decision lights)

This is a small 1920's farmhouse, and I find that with every decision I am actually recreating G'ma's house :)

design

What do you all think of this

Not a big fan of it...too busy

I see from the elevation drawings and your comments that the area is small and there is not much room between the stove top and the over-range microwave. I'd suggest going for plain white subway tile with a single inset band of the tiny blue stones (or an inset 1" wide line of the countertop Cambria) because the basketweave original is going to compete with the pretty countertops. But if your heart is set on it, perhaps you could reduce your budget elsewhere to make it fit.

If you are in the Midwest, it might be worth it to travel to Chicago and visit the Discount Tile Warehouse on Fullerton. They have extraordinary natural stone tiles at amazing discounts. They get their lots of tile as end runs, so there aren't enough for huge commercial projects, but there's plenty for a small kitchen. Check out their website to see the kind of stuff they have, although there's MUCH more in the store. http://www.tileoutletchicago.com/

Hi Teeooh,

The pattern reminds me of ancient Rome spas. I found an example on this site: http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/history-on-roman-bathsaquaducts-and-the-goddess-sulis-minerva/question-1659781/?link=ibaf&q=&esrc=s. I am referring to the image of men at a spa in Ancient Rome; the pool surround tile reminds me of the tile pattern you have chosen...

This remind me of the optical illusion. How many square are there?

Mission - roughly 30-35sq ft

Apple - lol - I wish I could reduce the budget elsewhere. We bought this house last summer - knowing the kitchen and bathroom needed to be redone ASAP.


I started with a "let's see what things cost" perspective - and then choose what we like until it hurts. We used up most of the "it hurts" on the window. We are actually pulling out two double hung windows (one so low no counter could fit under it - the stove is going about there), putting in the new window (Marvin french casement with divided lights it is going to look like two of these side by side - 50' wide http://www.marvin.com/images/Products/Grille/grille_cottagea336.gif) . In order to do this we need to move the electric service mast and meter outside so the window can go there). They also need to fill in the old holes and replace with the wood siding outside Anyway that is where MOST of the splurge went. It will be well worth it since the view that way is beyond wonderful

Another splurge is the painted cabinets - more money if you can believe it - they are going to be painted on site so that they look like one built in unit. We also splurged on the appliances.

We are also going to pull out the radiator and put in toe kick heat!! The ceiling is being yanked out - it will be about 6 inches higher when done.

We are using the over the range microwave for space.
I had figured - backsplash - just something simple - pick up some simple subway tile and cut back there. We are also going for a simple sink and faucet

We still need to do lighting- at this point I am thinking just go for cans to save some bucks. We can always add something later.

BTW - anything would be better than what we have now - ignore the mess please - we are emptying out everything since destruction stars tomorrow. I drew all over the walls and poked a hole in the ceiling too! I almost think I could enter this in a worst kitchen contest. How do like that mirror and cabinet right over the sink!!

We remodeled our kitchen last summer with the same "Let's see what it costs" to get it exactly to our taste. Once we got a good estimate of the cost of the reno, we determined how much money we needed to save, compared to the finishes we chose.
We were saved 1200$ on the backsplash and 2000$ on the floor tile, by selecting suitable alternatives. In the end, we got the feel that we wanted, within our range. The approach worked for us. Do select quality plumbing and electrical fixtures; the diffferent in price between good quality and average products won't set you back enough to risk hazards from leaks, shocks, fire, etc.

Sounds like you have already weighed a lot of tradeoffs. Moving electrical panels costs big bucks, but it has to be done. Same deal with making the radiators work in the new design.

How would it work out if you wait until the work is almost finished to order backsplash tile? Go ahead and get estimates for several backsplash tiles, including the good quality plain tile and the fancy tile. Sometimes when you see a nearly complete kitchen, the last finishing touches become a lot more obvious choices.

I am not sure that the space can handle a pendant light - two if we did it.

But found these yesterday too - I forget the price but let's just say $350 each - made by a local glass blower

Can you do a white tile everywhere and then just do the tile you love as an insert behind the range?

Thanks for everybody's help. I have decided to go with the tile but to mix it with a subway tile - to lower cost and make it more subtle.

We will be doing one horizontal row of subway along the bottom, then the fancy stuff along the window wall. The range wall will have the same but will have two rows of subway above it, with more rows above that over the range

I love this tile! I am looking for it for my bathroom. My quote was $30 sq ft. so I hope you got it for less. You have good taste. I like your light choice as well. Can you post a pic of the final?

Sorry. 48 sq. ft.

This thread is from 3/2013 in case anyone is interested.