valerija4444, no it's from an article I was reading and those tiles came out favourite in a forum for backsplash with the Taj Mahal countertop

I prefer the crackle tiles. Taj Mahal has a soft translucence that many of these busy shapes and colors are ignoring. It needs an organic feel in a tile, not something artisan and man-made. The mosaic tiles that primarily match in color don't complement the organic mood of the stone. I also know what you mean about some tiles being too upscale for your older cabinets. I'm surprised that you thought that ceramic tiles would make your cabinets look cheap as ceramic is utilitarian. A crackle glaze dresses up a basic ceramic, but not too much.

I have a similar quartzite and I chose to do square tiles and purchased winchester tiles residence collection. I'm sure the subway shape is available. Handmade in England, stocked in Boston for a very reasonable price

winchester tiles

They are also here on Houzz
Houzz link to winchester tiles

Mayflower, do you have taj mahal? Have you worked with it before?

Thassos white marble and mother of pearl.

https://www.completetile.com/products/ceramic/mcintones_ceramics/ceramic_tile

this came up in another thread. Looks interesting but I don't know anything about cost.

I don't think adding another stone is a good idea. IMHO

There is something to be said about adding another stone to a quartzite like taj mahal, i agree. In person, when I put samples up against it, there's something not quite right...

Isabel 98, do you have photos of your kitchen?

Here's a link to my backsplash thread. I am picking up my tile today and installing the next two days. My kitchen is very different and but my quartzite is madre perla. not exactly the same but has similar dimension. I would have chosen taj major but the slabs I saw were not long enough for my peninsula.
my kitchen

I don't know where you live but I'd be willing to send you tons of sample tiles as I have several from fireclay, winchester and others....

I think the one Beth H posted above is worth a shot too....looks really pretty without being too much

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Splashback-Tile-Roman-Selection-Iced-Light-Cream-4-in-x-4-in-x-8-mm-Glass-Mosaic-Tile-RMNICDLTCRM4X4/206203024?cm_mmc=shopping-

two more suggestions: creamy hex

elongated hex in antique white. this tile is a really pretty color. my second choice was this color in the arabesque shape, also comes in subway. it's creamy without being yellow. This is a photo of the sample of the subway shape in my house.

looks like Beth H suggested this earlier as well. they have a grey DOVE color as well that may work better with your white cabs and grey island. there is actually a diamond/dot pattern you may like

dove grey ceramic tile options

isabel, i am in ontario, canada. i am assuming you are in the states?

Yes I am

>>>following >>

Now that's cute and out there, a bit outside the box, love those tiles

Brushed gold vs brushed silver pulls. Not necessarily this shape of gold... I just picked up the best I liked at the hardware store. The new silver pull is on the lazy susan. The brushed gold makes the cupboards look less starchy white, warms them up.

normally I like gold w/TM, but yours has more gray tones. I think I like the silver tone better. Unless, have you tried a champagne gold? it's softer, less 24K gold.

this has more of the silve/gold mix, with a bit of the pink hue that your countertop has.

I'm leaning towards the gold but yes maybe something not as 24k like you said. The gold warms up the cupboards. In person, there are a lot of warm caramel tones in the counter.

one of the wall paint colors I'm considering. Benjamin Moore OC-23 classic gray

Fish scale tile. Cream off white... Not sure how dark to go. With darker grout. I am drawn to this now especially after living with the new counter for a bit. Anyone have any experience with a good fish scale tile in this colour?

Beth, you recommended this one a while back....

I think this marble tile backsplash would go pretty well with your countertop because it has gentle, warm, golden tones.

val, yes. I believe Mercury Mosaics hand makes those. don't faint when you see the price though. Arto tile also has fish scales in a variety of colors/materials. and check again on Encore Ceramics. they have many glazes in your color range. here are some of them on the subways

and fireclay tile has the Ogee Drop. if you need sample colors, call Lindsey and tell her I sent you

https://www.fireclaytile.com/subway-tile/colors/

mercury mosaics and fireclay were only places that had that shape. and yes, the prices, in american dollars! lol any canadian sources?

that I don't know. fireclay won't shape to Can?

I didn't even check. But I see the prices and accounting for the exchange rate and the shipping...for 40sqft.

yeah well,,,you aren't going to find hand made scallops, with custom glazing, for less than that. go into a higher end tile store in your city and see what they have. someone in canada must must make them! What about Walker Zanger or Ann Sacks? do they have Canadian sales ?

And, you will have to pay for shipping regardless. you might as well accept that. I just ordered tile from Tilebar out of NY and had to pay $180 for shipping to my tile store! not even to my home.

This is why I'm looking for canadian sources. If purchasing from the states, anything you are paying, i will be paying 30-40% more, depending on the exchange rate. I am aware that hand made tile is pricey.

thats why I added to go to a tile store and see if any of those companies have canadian markets for their tile so you won't have to pay the rate.

still looking...yes :)

https://www.equipeceramicas.com/en/portfolio-item/scale/

equipe makes high gloss fan tile. They are ceramic, not hand made. Hoping to get some samples so I can pick narrow down a colour. I like that they are high gloss.

Have you tried Ciot? It’s Canadian based and has beautiful tiles.
http://ciot.com

the first four are fan/scallop/fish scale shape (ceramic 4x5 inches from equipe). The last three are white thassos or dolomite.

the first two come in fish scale shape (I should have clarified) but they only had it in this shape. I took them for their colours.

i like the larger hex or scallop, and those left 3 colors will all work. 2,3,1 in order.

i was leaning towards the fourth one in hopes of achieving this (this is the white equipe high gloss tile) . Against my cupboards, it's not white white.

that pic is nice because the counters are dark and the dark wood provides contrast. you don't have that. i'm afraid the white is too white for your stone, and it will look a little washed out. if you had darker gray cabs, you could prob get away with it. you're in that middle zone where you can't really do all white (because your countertop is not) , and if you do the white, there just isn't enough contrast. thats my opinion. but if you really want the white, then get what you like. if it matches your cabinet color perfectly, then it might work. if it clashes w/them, then I wouldn't.

I like 3 & 2 the most...

I like that the two whites aren't perfectly matching. The tile is a warmer white and I would do a warm grey grout. The thing with the first three is I don't know if I like those colours..... gotta think about it. thanks for the input

I just happened upon this thread and skimmed through. Have you searched houzz for other discussions about TM and backsplashes? I've participated in a few. My TM is cream and gray with white lines and gold threads running through. I went with a largish, grayish-white, arabesque, glass tile for most of the backsplash, and a TM slab behind the stove top. I would have loved TM for the entire backsplash, but it was just too expensive. While I find most granite to be beautiful, it is too visually busy for a work space for me. TM's flowing lines are much calmer than the speckles of granite. I used that same reasoning for the backsplash. I chose a larger tile size to keep the grout lines at a minimum - less visual chaos. That's just me, other people don't seem to mind that. I craved the curved lines of the arabesque shape. A kitchen is so full of straight lines, hard surfaces, and right angles that the backsplash was a good opportunity to showcase some curves. I am really digging some of those fish scales shaped tiles that are shown in some of the above samples. I also wonder if you might consider incorporating some color, like painting some of the cabinets or some of the walls. I know that all white kitchens have been popular for years and portray the image of cleanliness, which is important in a kitchen. But for me, along with all those straight lines, an all white kitchen is kind of clinical. The curves and the color represent life.

That doesn't look so bad. The lightrail hasn't been installed yet, so you can see the outlet boxes. I had them installed on the bottom of the cabinets instead of into the wall. I planned this kitchen for me. What is important to you? Do you need an energizing space, or a calming space like I do? How do you use your kitchen? Do you bake a lot? Are you messy? Do you crave organization? How do you decorate the other areas of your home? I think I saw a mini discussion above about lighting. Boy, is it ever important! I chose poorly when it came to my vent hood. The lighting is dismal. The TM on my backsplash underneath the hood looks more gray and less creamy than my countertops. No lives were lost, but there is a difference.

I have a young family of 5. My kitchen is in a big bright great room with skylights and large windows. I want to continue that airy look with my kitchen selections. While I'm not a fan of that white hue on my cabinets, I'm so nervous to paint. I've seen painted cabinets and some don't turn out so good. I'm Willing to work with them. I want to stay away from muddy or beige colours for the backsplash... They need to be bright but warm. Hence the fish scale high gloss white I am liking. The white is not the same white as cabinets... Not sure if that would be a problem?! I agree with the soft lines. Your kitchen looks beautiful.

If you are going white, it needs to be the same white as your cabinets IMO. I actually really like the hex you posted upthread (#2) -- it appears to be a glass tile so it has more depth and from the picture it looks great with both your counter and cabinets.

I just went back and looked at the 1st few photos you posted. I wish I had that huge window! And so much cabinetry! With all of that white, plus the windows and skylights that you mentioned, you do not need to worry about maintaining brightness. I think that you could put up a black backsplash and you'd still have brightness in spades, LOL! I see that your island is gray. You mentioned that the kitchen is part of a great room. Predominant colors in there? I assume the gray island and the backsplash will be visible from the furniture in the living room area?

This white backsplash is not same white as cupboards. Why do they need to be? Pls elaborate

valerija, that backsplash is marble and is not a solid white, it has variations from white to gray, so it picks up some of the cabinet color.

I would also have to see the rest of that kitchen ... that wall has no upper cabinets which makes big difference. Does it have upper cabinets and that same backsplash in the rest of the kitchen?

Valerija4444,

Did you decide which backsplash to install?

did you decide which backsplash to install? Can you post a picture?