Ideal Tile

Anthony met us at Ideal Tile today to help us with our backsplash decision and fireplace surround decision once and for all. (How awesome is a GC that goes with you to help with design decisions?!)

Great news!!! We've settled on a backsplash! It's a pretty, classic porcelain tile with a crackle finish. There's a mix of colors- all gentle neutrals: bluey greys, greens, and browns. The backsplash will be the subways shown here. Behind the range will have a tile molding around framing a the square tiles placed on the diagnal.

Here are just some photos of me playing with the sample Vinny let us take home.

Here's a close up of the tile. ooooo it's so creamy and pretty!

Next up was the fireplace surround. Anthony built this to-die-for mantle which you can see close up here. He is truly a master carpenter-- the detail on the mantle is not lost on us. We looked to him to take the lead on what to do for the surround (within the mantle).

We settled in on these slate tiles. We already have a soapstone hearthstone.... The idea for this will be to use the harlequin (diamond) tiles for the top right below the mantle and above the fireplace. This will be finished off with the black marble pencil molding you can see here too. Then going down either side will be the simple square slate tiles (two across on each side). I am SO excited about the harlequin pattern... what is it with me and things on the diagnal?

Vinny spent so much time assisting us with our selections. He also drew up a mock up of the fireplace design. Here he is! We are so lucky to be working with such masters in their trade.

evening update

Dear husband is so good to me. I had to work a little late tonight but he agreed to meet me at the train station with camera and flashlight in hand so I could go see the progress. We're home now at 9pm and he's cooking dinner while I upload my photos. They redid the masterbath floor and I must say it looks SO much better now that everything is symmetrical.

And they started tiling around the bath tub in the hall bath. It was so long ago, I almost forgot what we had decided, but this diamond pattern will be on the bottom with subways on top. This was a compromise-- I love the diamonds and hubby liked the subways:

The built in's are framed out. Here's in the music room. The idea is these will be bookshelves on either side with a bench seat in the middle (where kids can sit while they are waiting for their lessons or I can sit with my glass of wine in the evenings while dear husband plays me love songs ;)

Here was one of our inspiration photos:


...and here are the built ins being framed out in the dining room. This will be a kind of built in hutch.

Similar to this:

Last but not least... our toilets have arrived!!! They are sitting in the garage in big boxes currently... I can't wait to see them when they are in!

backsplash- long and photo heavy!

When we first went to the tile store last summer to work on our bathrooms, I was drawn to these gorgeous accent tiles. I just thought the glaze on them was gorgeous, I love the kind of botanical themes they had and the colors were so pretty. They've been in my mind ever since so you can imagine my delight when Vinnie, tile extraordinaire, who was helping me with our backsplash, pulled the creamy subway tile from this collection down as an option.

This photo does it no justice, but the subways on the left are a creamy white which nearly perfectly matches our cabinets (the one on the right is too grey, but did have a pretty crackle pattern in it). That's a sample of our countertop we were also using to see how they would all work together.

White subway tiles are a popular choice for white kitchens with black countertops.

Our builder is gently nudging us towards other options, with the worry that a plain white subway in our kitchen may look a little "boring".

My argument would be that there's a fine line between boring and classic. Going with something more unique might seem fun right now, but we could be fed up with it in five years and the backsplash is not something we're going to change. That said, I can see from these inspiration photos how the backsplash doesn't really add any pop to these kitchens.

This one looks especially bland, but if you put some cheery window treatments and barstools with cushions and even put some more everyday clutter ;) on the countertops, it would look so sterile. This kitchen, for example, is gorgeous. It has the same dark floors that we're planning and it looks like someone actually Lives there. So while the backplash isn't adding a huge design element to the room, it's certainly not taking anything away either.

We could also try a porcelain subway in a different color. Something neutral but that would give a little more pop to the space:

If we did go with a plan subway, it might be fun to do something like this- a herringbone pattern- above the range. I like the subtly of it but it adds a little interest.

GLASS TILE:

Anthony, our builder, was throwing the idea out there of a glass tile. Glass tile has a beautiful shine to it that would really pop and the color options are endless. Glass tile does, however, add a distinctly contemporary feel... while our tastes lean more traditional. That said, here's a photo of a beautiful, classic white kitchen with exactly this sort of backsplash. pretty!

All the glass tile options I saw yesterday, though, seemed way more contemporary. This was the closest contendor, but I just think it looks too modern for us...


Another options we're considering is a natural stone backsplash.

MARBLE TILE:

This looks pretty in a white kitchen similar to ours:

This tile is gorgeous. I loved the greens and blues and greys in it and the movement is stunning. In a way the marble is somewhere between the total classic/traditional porcelain tile and the more modern glass tile. It would definitely add some interest to the kitchen and a part of me feels like you can't go wrong with natural stone.

That said, I think I'm still leaning towards the creamy porcelain. If you told me that was going in tomorrow, I would be fine with it-- any of these others I'd need to think on. I would be thrilled if we could incorporate some of those pretty accents.

I think I'll drag dear husband back to the tile store today and see if we can't come a little closer to a decision on this one. Any thoughts would be welcome!