Hi - our condo kitchen reno is humming along, but Monday is fast approaching when the tile is going in and I still have not chosen a backsplash. :hairpull: I am considering a grey glass mosaic (1/2 inch by 1 inch) or grey glass bricks (3 by 6). But, I am worried it will be too dark with our cabinets. I need something neutral enough that it is appropriate for resale in a couple of years, fairly contemporary, and in stock in Vancouver. We will have undercabinet lights, and stainless KitchenAid architect seires appliances if that makes a differnece!
Here are pictures of the cabinets and the small grey tiles - big tiles are the same colour. Having trouble uploading floor and counter pics, but the floor is a medium toned engineered Doussie and the counter is Caeserstone eggshell - an off white with very tiny grey and beige flecks.
Thanks to you all!
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I am sorry - just saw this! We paid $8000 for the cabs from suncrest cabinets in richmond. Pretty good price for what they are - solid oak. The counters were around $3000 - I would never recommend the company we used. Kingsland Stone in richmond is doing our bathroom counter in silestone as well and they are great - professional and reasonably priced.
ChrissyJames, your kitchen's looking great! I remember from a past post that we're doing the same colour scheme in our kitchens. Actually, it might be identical now that I've seen your photos. Coincidentally, we're stuck on whether to use white elongated subways or "ice" (grey?) glass mosaics for the backsplash too! Would you mind sharing your sources for the cabinets and Caesarstone, and if it's not too much to ask, how much did you pay for them? We haven't ordered yet and are still looking at different sources. Thanks in advance!
Hi,
I just had my kitchen renovated this summer, and used very similar glass tile for the backsplash. Mine is more traditional and I went with 1x2 in a brick layout. The grout lines are a bit busy, but with everything else being pretty simple I think it looks amazing! Mine are quite light, a colour called "glacier", but they came in lots of other colours too. I'll try to post a picture of them installed later.
I can't find the 1x2 in glacier on line but here there are in 1x1.
Great link, Lacombe!!
Some of those switch plates are beautiful!!
Here's a good link on different switch plates [url]http://www.switchhits.com/switchplates_hard_to_find_sizes_light_switch_plates_covers_s.html[/url]
If you're purchasing your plates from Home Depot or some other box or hardware store you're definitely limited to your choice of wall plate colours and styles. Of course you'll find stainless steel plates there (these could work for CJs space if it turned out she required some on her backsplash).
If you look further afield, however, you can find lots of terrific plates... and some crazy ones, too!!
I was exploring a store down at Granville Island this summer and unexpectedly came across these plates - I'm very tempted to get them because we currently have the "clashing" white on our taupe subways
[IMG]http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee62/tangotori/Forum%20Pics/DSC00527.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee62/tangotori/Forum%20Pics/DSC00528.jpg[/IMG]
These plates are ceramic.
My backsplash...
[IMG]http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee62/tangotori/kitchen%20and%20Counter/DSC00236-1.jpg[/IMG]
It's not a nice photo... it's just so you can see the colour of the tile.
The plate colours really work with the colours in my kitchen.
I'm not 100% sure about getting these plates, but I'm considering it!
The REAL problem with switches and plugs isn't the plates, it's the switches and plugs themselves. There are very few colour options. If I change to these ceramic plates I'll have our electrician change the plugs/switches to an almond colour.
With stainless steel plates, black looks best. And again, this would have worked for CJ.
All I'm saying is don't be limited by these kinds of things... if you want a plate to compliment your area track one down... just find the switch or plug that works best with the plate and overall decor.
Wow! A big THANK YOU for all of your help! At least I feel like it might be on the right track - I love those marble tiles, but I don't know where to find them, and I have heard marble is prone to staining (I do a lot of thai cooking so grease spit is an issue...) I am having trouble trying to find a white porcelin match to the counter... so if you made me pick THIS SECOND I am leaning towards the 3 by 6 inch grey glass... it would maybe go better with our fireplace which is in the room the kitchen is open to (mantle with the same cabinet front as the cabinets above) which I think we are refacing in London Fog ledgestone ... but then again I might switch to oyester or antigua tomorrow (colours below) ... oy vey, I am all over the map with this one :rolleyes: I am definately losing what my vision ever was here, but what I was originally going for was a very clean feel when you walk in, neutral for resale, but calm and clean.
Also that point about the electrcal outlets etc is BRILLIANT but luckily, no splash is wrapping around these (I am leaving the window wall clean of splash becasue I think ending the tile will be awkward on that wall).
Smoodgie - I would be so proud of that bathroom! Gorgeous!!!
Lacombe what an excellent point, I will bear that in mind when planning mine out in my new kitchen.
I agree with Pearl girl, go with a cream or a very neutral color, in a subway tile style or the small glass tiles. If you go with a darker color, it might look fantastic, but when you go put
those electrical switch plates on , they're going to stick out like a score thumb , on any dark color, even if you try and paint them the same color as the tile, it still doesn't look good. Stick with the neutral colors, at least they won't stand out soo much. ;)
Just realized that I have a similar colour scheme in my master bath as you have in your kitchen, and I used gray glass tiles on the backsplash :) These are also from HD and inexpensive, but you do have to order them. They come 1ft x 1ft square, but we removed them from the mesh so we could make our own design.
Tangotori is right, the light will reflect off the glass tiles and make them sparkle :)
The element of these tiles that isn't visable in photos is that because they're glass, they really sparkle!! With undercabinet lighting they'll look like jewelry in the kitchen!!
If you go with glass tiles, make sure you use UNSANDED grout -- sanded grout will scratch the glass.
Since you asked...I am not a fan of the gray tiles at all. They might look a bit too dingy. On the other hand, I really like the white tiles in the pics that Pearl posted. Clean looking.......just right for a kitchen ;)
CJ... I say go for those small gray tiles!!
The look is so contemporary and they'll look fantastic as your backsplash!
A couple things I notice about your space that you should consider = you have lots of good light AND there appears to be very little space where this backsplash will be... around and beside the stove, on the wall right of the sink and on the little wall in front of the sink. There's no way this little bit of tile will darken the room too much.
About grout lines...
If you're worried about the affect of too many lines chose a grout that matches your tile. If it were me, I'd go for a lighter gray grout... I like the lines, but the lighter gray would blend them in a little while accenting each of the lovely tiles.
Just my thoughts...
.....................a member has this as her backsplash........
I think you may find all the grout lines too busy. and the color too dark. I would install subway tiles. They are neutral and always look crisp and clean. :)
I really like those gray glass tiles.
If you live near a Home Depot, you might want to check out their stock glass tiles. They come in small squares (1" x 1") and subway (not sure of the size -- maybe 2" x 4"). I think there are 4 colours -- blue, brown, cream, and bottle green. The cream or brown tiles might work well in your kitchen. They're not expensive and should be readily available.