@musicmom. I like the first choice, glass tile, way better.
Is it possibly to find something similar to your first choice that just has a mix of the glass tile in it? When we were looking for tile that seemed away to get the cost down.
Musicmom, go with the one you really like. Four years later, and my backsplash is still my fav thing in kitchen.
@musicmom1215 , the second looks like it would be at home in a bathroom in a an older home . Not wild about it for a kitchen.
Another option is to use the expensive tile you love as a focal point over/behind the cooktop and choose something less expensive for the majority of the surround (would have to be less busy to work well). Something like this: https://www.houzz.com/magazine/kitchen-design-a-picture-frame-for-your-backsplash-stsetivw-vs~662432
Thanks for your input. I really like the first one. The color of it is āwarmerā than the photo shows. I just had to spend extra money to upgrade the plumbing, sink, and faucet, so I was trying to save a little. The first one, per piece, is not that much more $$ than the $10 sq/ft I was budgeting, but each piece is much smaller than a foot, so it makes it about $22 per square foot. What is it they say? Champagne taste on a beer budget? Thatās my story.
@musicmom1215, I too vote for the one you really like. When youāve lived with it awhile youāre not going to think about how much you paid. But if you go with another choice, you may regret that you didnāt just go for your first choice.
I like the picture frame idea. If you do that you can have a white frame and paint the wall a different gray color or another tone thatās in the tile.
I went to a friendās newly built home yesterday.
Open concept, which I think is fine for only 2 people, plus they have an office kind of room that has a door if you need privacy. All one level, so great for retirement. Nice sized rooms, and I really liked their master bath, with a BIG (72 inches) soaking tub and a very nice sized tile shower with a nice bench all along one side.
They have 10 foot ceilings and 8 foot doors.
I could live without the ceilings and doors.
They have a beautiful kitchen with a very large island.
The one thing they did that Iād never seen before is use the same granite on the counters AND as the backsplash. It just went all the way up to the cabinets. Interesting, but not sure that would be my first choice. Has anyone else seen that? The granite is a light grey with some garnet and other colors, so it was very neutral and looked great, but as a backsplash it was maybe just a little ātoo muchā for me.
They painted the entire house BM Chantilly Lace, and had beautiful white cabinets in the kitchen, with stainless appliances.
I like the white, but I think they could use a little color somewhere.
Regarding painting woodwork - especially in an older homeā¦our home is 1925 and I suspect that some of the woodwork may have been unpainted originally but we have known it no other way. There is so much other wood in our home - all wood floors, mostly unpainted doors, etc. that I donāt need every window or entry molding bare wood.
The thing I would say is only paint woodwork in an older home IF you are quite sure you are going to be there awhile to live with it.
I get the wallpaper dislike. However there are a lot of removable wallpapers out there now which I think is great for having some fun in a room. Iāve thought about doing a wall in a bathroom.
One thing I love about my house is the tall ceiling 9-10 feet. I think I would have a hard time returning to lower ceilings now.
@1214mom my sisterās kitchen has the same material on her countertops and backsplash. I think that itās gorgeous, as is the entire kitchen. I would think that itās a fairly expensive option which is why you donāt see it as often.
She has a very neutral white quartz type material with a very little gray.
I love the design with the creamy subway tiles in @momofsenior1ās link above. I would avoid that ādaisyā tile. It already looks dated to me.
I have seen many, many kitchens with the counter granite run up to the cabinets. My in-lawās kitchen has this, and we did it in our MA house. It is expensive, but I think it can look great, and the smooth surface is easy to keep clean.
Our 1910 has elaborate woodwork painted white. I sort of wish it wasnāt. I like the white and think it would look odd natural, but so many coats of paint make the edges less sharp. But Iām not about to strip it down. Too much work or $$$.
We have 10.5 foot ceilings throughout and I canāt imagine going back. My house feels very open and airy, but yet almost all the rooms could be closed off and separated if desired.
Re: colors. Our old house was all beige. Soon before we moved we repainted a slighter dark beige and painted the beige woodwork white. I like that better than all one color. But I love my houseās colors now. Most of our hallways and foyers are red/terra cotta. The living is green, maybe olive? But prettier. Our dining room is a dark beige/light brown. The kitchen/sunroom/hallways wrapping the kitchen were all yellow/marigold. Weāve since redone the kitchen and thatās a darker red. H wanted a sunny yellow room, so one bedroom upstairs is that color. The three you see from the main staircase are that green-Blue-gray color. And the master bedroom is gray with lavender undertones. I adore everything except our den which is beige. This is the first room Iād like to redo. But the rest, I donāt know. The paint is almost 15 years old now, so itās getting tired. But I like all the colors and donāt know what Iād do differently.
Oh I forgot. When we moved in, most of the walls had 1970s wallpaper. When we took it down, we discovered the previous owners had let their kids draw all over the walls. Or someone had drawn all these John Lennon looking faces with sunglasses everywhere. And the painter wrote in an ad for himself. I took pictures of some of it before we repainted.
But the coolest thing was that we found a 3āx3ā stained glass window in the dining room. My MIL had taught the kids who lived here in the 60s. So H called up the mom and she told him she wished she had never covered up the window in 1970. The next day he chiseled it out. It was in great shape except for a few pieces. My MIL also taught a girl who became a stained glass artist. She removed and restored it. We took an extra doorframe in the cellar to make a frame from the inside. And Hās good friend owns a siding company and he fixed the siding outside and put in a protective clear glass cover. Sometimes living in a small town has benefits.
Thatās very cool @ClassicMom98 !!!
@musicmom1215. Get what you like, but the daisy tile looks very dated and Iām not that trendy. The first is gorgeous and versatile.
I find if I choose based on price, I eventually replace it. So I really didnāt save any money overallā¦
I have small mosaic tiles behind my stove and I wouldnāt recommend it as splatters get on the grout. More grout = harder to keep clean.
I really donāt love the daisy tile, but it was different and colorful. So far, all the samples I had purchased had been white or cream. The first one is perfect in every way except the price. The color is neutral, but sophisticated, and looks great with the rest of the kitchen. Itās actually only about $300 over budget, but I was just out an extra $300 on sink, faucet, new plumbing, etc, so I feel like Iām losing control! LOL
I do love my sink and faucet, though.
I just removed 1978 butcher-block laminate which was used as the backsplash too. Way too much fake butcher-block. The smooth surface was easy to clean, and I considered it with my new quartz, but it was really costly.
Weird perhaps, but I love backsplashes so would need to LOVE the one I choose. I would want to be really comfortable and confident of what I choose. @musicmom1215 can you take a second look at tiles and see if with new eyes if something else catches your eye??
(Iām in the minority and actually prefer the daisy tile over the other one. But Iām not very traditional in my taste and I like something a little more light and fun or else just very simple and classic like subway tile. )
I agree with people who said do an accent behind the stove. I think multicolored patterned tile everywhere looks great when the counters are clear, but looks too busy when appliances, knife blocks, etc. are added. If you are the kind of people who keep the counters completely clear, kudos to you and go for lots of pattern.
We actually have an art piece behind our stove that we bought at a show that acts as part back splash. Itās tile so very easy to clean. The paint is easy to clean down so I donāt worry about it.
Iāve toyed with the idea of acrylic piece as backsplash and putting photos behind it. That would be very fun. Itās one reason Iāve never been gungho on tiling that area in my kitchen in a permanent way.