Pipe Smoke and Portico Pearl are different. Pipe Smoke is darker in color and the crackle line is darker.

Here is a photo of the tiles under the section of counter that has our under cabinet lighting installed. It's not installed on the main wall yet.

@eam44...I have dozens of samples of Fireclay (Tusk, White Wash, French Linen, Gypsum, Oyster Shell, Overcast, Mist, Merino, Halite, etc) but, of course, no Milky Way.

My advice is that you are having trouble choosing because the colors are not quite right. Keep ordering samples and veer more towards the taupe than the gray.

We are not considering the chevron shape (too busy). It is there more so to get a larger sample of that color (Portico Pearl).

Well I would stay more in a cream lane for the backsplash. A taupe of pink or grey (which you have selected ) does not go with your wood floor as well as a neutral off white will.

Some additional samples/photos with tiles pulled forward....

Sonoma Tilemakers Cloud Dancer is close - it’s a little yellower than Fireclay Tile’s Milky Way, but you can see it IRL. How does it look to you?

I liked Cloud Dancer very early on. Almost ordered it once but got cold feet. Sometimes it looked a little pink or fleshy, but honestly (and I don’t know if it has to do with a backyard full of green trees these days), but sometimes the counter does too. I wouldn’t say either are PINK but lighting at certain times of the day can really change how things look.

I totally see that - I guess that’s why they call it rainbow!

I know this sounds ridiculous, but consider making color photocopies of cloud dancer and taping them on the wall. It might help to see more than one tile in place.

I grabbed a creamy tile from Home Depot for color. Not able to make an appt at the tile shops this week. This one is MSI Highland Antique White. For color reference only. Not interested in the arabesque shape. This comes in a 3x6 and 4x12 subway as well.

Maybe this color closer to what I need? I didn't envision using cream. And I dont want it to go too yellow. But this shade might work...

I also ordered some more creamy tile samples from Fireclay yesterday.

LOVE the Cloe white- seems to blend so well with your countertop.

Again, your instincts are right on. That cream is a better color than the other glazes you are looking at. It does not look too yellow from here.

I can see the cream, but it is throwing me a little. I guess I had envisioned a greige wall paint throughout and I'm not sure how all this works now. I know paint comes last but I already have warm grey sofas in the adjoining family room so are in the back of my mind. I suppose greys and creams can work...And the granite is what it is. Need to work with it first and then figure out how to blend the rest.

I really need to find a interior designer to help me pull this all together (enter: comment with the most likes from the hive ;-)

I will be going through the same motions in a bit- and I have to say the antique white and or the cloud white look good to me ( on my monitor).

With sofa pillow....I can pull this all together in the adjoining room with paint, rugs, ottoman, accent chairs (all still to be purchased), right? The grey is kinda another neutral?

A couple people liked the Cloe tile. I happen to love this tile too, but I'm not sure with the cabinets. I like the cream and grey in it but the white is not the same as the cabinets so I wonder if it reads as a miss? Is the multicolor natural of the tile too busy with the granite?

With undercabinet lights on:

I think that all looks good together - and the stone does have gray in it. It’s just that the overall gestalt is the greige-to-cream background, so that might be the way to go for the bs. It will still allow you to use greige paint, just maybe slightly more beige than you were thinking? But nail the bs first, go for paint second.

I like the Portico Pearl, Pipe Smoke, and Fog (to the left of the cooktop in your original pics) better than any of the tiles on the right. I thought it could be the lighting, but I like them better pretty consistently through all the different photos.

Of the Portico Pearl, Pipe Smoke, and Fog, I like the Portico Pearl best in most of the photos (though not all, as it seem to pull more pink than the Pipe Smoke in some of the shots).

I love the Cloé tile, but not in this space in that glaze.

The cream wasn’t a great match in the morning light (lack of light). Cloud Dancer seemed better.

My counters are a chameleon...except they don’t change to match their surrounding tile samples!

Worried about picking something that looks great...half the day.

Well light and color, there is no one without the other. Add in the fact that your tile will be vertical and often in shadow while your counter is horizontal so it will catch the light differently, and the real fun begins. And you thought matching the whites would be difficult! In the end it will probably be Cloud Dancer, or Milky Way if you ordered it. Either will be better than Portico Pearl or Pipe Smoke, so it really is worth the effort. Hang in there!

I did order the Milky Way and some others. Holding off on a decision until I get them.

Didn’t fireclay used to offer a more rustic glass tile than they currently offer? The Dove glass sample I have seems like a good color match but I don’t want the modern glass tile shape.

Still liking the cloud dancer. It's not a perfect match but with the variance in the tiles and the different plane, I think it works nicely. I don't recall if you mentioned what color grout you were planning on? ( I know another decision!!!)

No idea on grout yet but I think something lighter than the tile. Definitely not darker than the tile.

I'm getting the names of the tiles mixed up, but I like the color of the arabesque one that you show with your pillow.

We painted our kitchen and family room SW Anew Grey last fall. It is a great greige that can lean more grey in the evening. We love it!

Fireclay Tile stopped making glass for a while when their machinery broke. They started up again with new machines and I like the glass less. One of my favorite recommendations of the old tile was Fireclay‘s Hydrangea glass tile in a mix of matte and glossy to go with a macaubas quartzite counter in enzaenza’s kitchen. It was something else. I’m not as inspired by their current offerings.

Then:

Now:

Yes! Beautiful glass tile (then). Nice now, but not my style.

I love the portico pearl! we are in the process of building a new home-walls will be agreeable gray and anew gray--from your photos-i think the portico pearl looks best with your floor! The lighter tiles in the latest photos lead me to believe you were looking to match white cabinets and failed-lol also-the 4x12 subways are a beautiful look and will make your kitchen look bigger! if you do the backsplash in the cloe white-there are SEVERAL variations of color which may appear very busy with your beautiful granite.

I received some Fireclay samples and unfortunately the Milky Way is too peach. Feldspar is somewhat close but a little yellow IRL. Ivory might work, but...eh. Not super excited by it.

More samples coming from Tile Bar. Maybe something will work there.

I also found this kitchen which used a blend of Fireclay Halite (matte, light grey) and Tusk (gloss ivory/cream). I have thought Halite to be a good match to the undertone in the counter, so maybe something like this?

https://www.fireclaytile.com/blog/full/project-spotlight-jaydes-market

(Sorry, I can't get the photos to upload, hence the link)

Can't take a pic of my Halite and Tusk tile samples right now bc DH took them to work to try to get some color photocopies.

Feldspar and Ivory (ivory is the right color, though) are matte tiles, and while they are pretty, they clearly aren’t making your pulse race. From here Sand Dune looks amazing. It has high variability and lots of crazing, so it could be a great look, but you might want to order five of those before committing.

You don’t sound enthused. How would you feel about a tile like Ivory, but with a gloss finish?

Yeah, Ivory is not exciting me. Not sure why.

Sand Dune is pretty. In some pictures it looks a little pink?

https://www.fireclaytile.com/gallery/detail/the-commune-3x3-sand-dune-backsplash

https://www.fireclaytile.com/gallery/detail/the-fresh-exchange-basement-bathroom

But in others, it does not.

https://www.fireclaytile.com/tile/colors/detail/sand-dune/tile-field-2-x-6

https://www.fireclaytile.com/gallery/detail/katie-hodges-design-patterned-bathroom-floor-tiles

I'd definitely have to get more samples.

Not looking pink here...

https://www.bungalow56.com/blogs/blog/100303879-fireclay-tile-feature

Forgive me if this ends up being a duplicate post. I thought I posted this, but it disappeared.

I think I like this new sample. Jeffery Court Riverwash.

More pictures to follow.

I like that it coordinates with the counters but it is not trying to match the lightest overall color. I think that has been the part where I feel I keep coming up short. Sometimes the background color is light grey, sometimes it is cream. Riverwash seems to pick up on some of the darker colors without being too dark. It has a lighter cream color on the edges that goes with the counters as well. Level 4 variation in color, which I like. Hopefully wouldn't be too busy.

It might lean a little green, but when i put it next to green tiles, it is more of a greige or taupe.

I like it too - better in natural light though. What temperature are your ucl? It might be a winner, but you also might want to change the bulbs.

Yes! We were just messing with our lights. We only have under cabinets lights installed in that one section of the kitchen bc we were trying them out. That section is 3000. My husband read that's what you should use for under cabinet lights? I find them a bit yellow so we are considering going brighter. We recently changed our adjustable recessed lights from 3500 to 4000 and we are living with that for a bit before we commit on the under cabinet lights. I have to imagine we want at least 3500? 4000 seems to be the max I like on the recessed. Any brighter is too white for my taste.

With 4000 recessed lights on:

(Tile color is close to BM Revere Pewter...Maybe a hint more blue/green)

Looks much better. 4K - 4.5K is what is often recommended for kitchen lighting.

So, how do you feel? Is this your tile?

I feel like I am saying Yes to the Dress, but Yes, this is my tile! lol Thank you for all your help in getting me here! Hopefully you aren't like my husband and just telling me you like it so that we can be done lol.

The next question is how do I handle the two ends? I have one to the right of the rangetop and one on the little counter that currently has the under cabinet lights. I think my options are a 3x12 long bullnose, a schluter edge, or the Territory Dome trim.

I was hoping for a 3x9 tile, but they only have 3x6, 3x12, 4x4, and an elongated hex. Of all of those, I would choose the 3x6. They don't carry a 3x3 or 3x6 short end single bullnose so that I could end the tile in the same direction. I could turn a 3x12 bullnose and run it vertical but that looks a little "bathroom shower" to me. I could do a schluter edge in white or cream. In other tile lines, they have a small linear piece to use on the end, but the Territory Dome and the Continent Dome seem to be intend more for accent areas not ends? The Territory Dome is about twice the thickness of the tile (20 mm vs 10 mm). Perhaps it could work? The Continent Dome is slightly thicker, wider, and a little more detailed/ornate so I don't think that would work.

Any suggestions or opinions? Thanks!

After this is grout...I'm thinking white or a cream.

Re: the lighting...We are going to try some 4000k ucls and see what we think.

Who doesn’t carry a short edge bullnose? That’s irritating.

I do sincerely like the tile, and I appreciate people who are willing to search for the right tile. I think you’ve got it.

I would Schluter those edges. You have such crisp, clean lines in your cabinetry, I think it makes sense to have crisp clean tile edges.

I can’t wait to see it completed. I hope you will be happy with it.

I think you found your tile! Beautiful countertop too!

Hi there! I realize your post is from last year, but I am in literally the exact boat now with cabinets and granite almost identical to yours, and would just love to see how your bs turned out!