The previous kitchen had been remodeled within the last 10 years, but it was separated from the rest of the home and lacked sufficient counter space for a family of four. We decided to tear down the wall that separated the kitchen and laundry room and expand into the dining room to give us more counter space. The windows in the corner were too low to run counters and that proved to be a design challenge. Instead of raising the windows which would have altered the architecture of the exterior of the home, we decided to make the area a banquette. We also moved the old doorway off the foyer and created two larger arches which open up the kitchen to the living and dining room.

The space was too small for an island, so we had our counter top fabricator make us a work table that is movable -- it has wheels and we can roll it out of the way if we want to open up the kitchen.

Details:
Cabinets - custom by Los Angeles cabinetmaker - maple shaker style (bar area is espresso finish)
Countertops - Madre Perla quartzite
Backsplash - White onyx staggered tile
Faucet - KWC Eve
Sink - Franke
All KitchenAid appliances, except for GE profile microwave Vent-a-hood
Lighting - onxy pendants purchased at Lighting Emporium
Pulls - Great Indoors
Floors - White Oak hardwoods to match the rest of the home
Paint- Martha Stewart "Fossil"

Before:

During:

After:

and, of course, a photo of Pip himself, enjoying his new kitchen...

I should have specified these are Benjamin Moore

It's Kashmir Gold granite

The tile is Crema Ivory Bamboo: http://www.msistone.com/mosaic-hatches/crema-ivy-bamboo-stone/

It is ming green small sunflower mosaic from Caledonia Tile in Indianapolis. Not sure of the grout brand, but it is bright white.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lowe's Quartzite

Jodi-

The color is more accurate in the second picture.

Field tile and mosaic from Tile-Shop.com in California
Grazia Rixi Crema
Beach Mosaic

Accent pieces from Malsnee tile near Reading PA
Accent tiles - Impulse deco
Grout Tek Antique white

The medallions are copper colored - but in this light - it doesn't look quite copper

The beach mosaic just fits under the garden window!

Close up of the medallion, field tile and mosaic - with some of the grout choices

And where are the outlets hiding?

Basic plugmold - not industrial - I was chicken and do have 3 outlets on the wall as some GW didn't like them - wish I didn't do any wall mount outlets - but this way, I do have a choice.

To get the ball rolling, though, first I will post the money-no-object solution. (It's not that bad, at $35/sq. ft. Still too rich for my blood.) If I didn't care about the money, I think I would put this in. The curves would go nicely with my arches and curved stain glass window and range hood, I think.

I adore this! It is completely custom, so for $35/sq. ft. you get to choose the glaze, the height, and the focus point of the vortex!

Here is a link that might be useful: North Prairie Tileworks

Found on Country Living website.

from pinterest (similar:)

dragonfly08's photo (possibly the same tile?):

Blue Louise granite as to-ceiling slab on range wall
White Zeus Extreme Silestone counters
Cabinets color-matched to Metallic Blue Viking range
Omnia crystal and chrome hardware
Forbo linoleum in Cyanic Blue
Wimborne white walls
Schonbeck DaVinci crystal pendant
Mary Beth Thielheimer painting, 1st Dibs
Wishbone chairs, DWR
Live Edge table by Nakashima

I grounded the blue Louise in one of its colors and went white or crystal with the rest, with the exception of the live edge table.I don't think this is a cheat, using mostly white, I think it is an appropriate way to display the granite, simply grounded by one of its colors.

I was surprised at how many things I could find in this Teal-ish color, right off the rack. (I could even find a chandelier.) Teal is one of those colors decried as "so 80s" in the Decorating forum.

Plain and Fancy cabinets
backsplash - June in Amazonite and peacock topaz - Ann Sacks
Bluestar range
Rangecraft Broadway hood
soapstone counters
Blacno silgranit sink
Grohe Ladylux3 faucet
Marchella Dining table and chair from Pier One Imports
Jamie Young St. Croix pendant in seeded clean glass - laylagrace.com
rustic cherry floors
gray-blue paint

I've always been intrigued by M.C. Escher's work. So I decided to try one . . . not sure how successful I was, but I like it.

First - the color. Every image I found of this work had slightly different color, some muted, others more saturated. So I chose the one I liked best and tried to be true to the spirit of the colors. The brown fish come out in the cabinets. At first I chose a slightly darker cabinet, which I liked better, but I really needed the glass arched cabinets on top, which I could not find in the darker wood. The blues, of course, come out in the backsplash and wall paint. The green in the backsplash, range, table and pendant. The hardest color to work with, for me, was the mustardy-yellow. I decided to have that color come out mostly in the floor, and would use dinnerware and accessories for more color. I only added the teacup and sugar and creamer; frankly, I got tired of searching for images that would work.

For me, the most important part of the art is the tessellation. I found these wonderful (and expensive!) Ann Sacks tiles that I adore. I decided to put the tessellation on the backsplash because, as tiles, it makes sense, but more importantly, I wanted it to be featured in the room.

Then there is the shape - I tried to echo the shapes in the art in the upper cabinet doors, the back of the chair, the arch of the cup pulls, the curve of the range hood, the legs in the table and the curves of the pendant.

Choosing counters, for me, always seems to be the hardest thing when I am not starting with them. Because of the business of the backsplash, I decided that I would go a uniform, gray soapstone to "soften" and ground the tiles. An undermount gray sink would fade away; again, so as not to take away anything from the backsplash.

So that's my story! I'm having trouble commenting on other's designs because I feel that the interpretation of art is so personal and what I see and feel from a piece of art may be very different than the designer. (Example - in my first kitchen, I only see the tan of the sand, the blue of the water and the blue and purple of the sky. I don't even notice the white in the clouds, so would never choose white as an element.)

This is a fun DAT, and in many ways, I'm finding it more challenging than steampunk!!!

The Walker Zanger company that makes the pretty subways tiles gbsim posted makes 3x3s in the antique linen color, too. It has a lovely crackle finish with some slight variation. Gorgeous.

I like these 2x2 burnt umber field tiles, too (ignore the bizarre hercules tile), but I think a little glossier tile might be better - too rustic for your modern kitchen?

These have some pretty variation (too much?), but it's hard to tell what the colors really look like:

4x4 vanilla frappe glossy glass

4x4 cappuccino glossy glass

have fun with it, but I agree with everyone to make it belong to the rest of the house.

mudroom

laundry room

BTW, those are padded, fabric walls in the powder room. It was neat to see, but not very practical.

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Tile Range Mantle: Tile By Country Floors, Work By Jose Diaz Contractors

Here you go. I hesitate to post the picture, because the kitchen isn't done yet and it's not the best pic. But I decided to brave it. Ignore the rugs--they are just temporary.

Also, there are a number of items that I simply would have never known about if it weren't for obsessively reading this forum:
The Franke Orca sink ... to die for.
Inexpensive but quality Ticor sinks for laundry and prep.
Plugmold giving me a crisp, clean and outlet-free backsplash.
The personal, real life stories shared here gave me the confidence to push back at the stoneyard and insist on marble for my island. It pairs beautifully with the soapstone perimeter. Now that I think about it, I probably never would have known about soapstone without this forum and I absolutely love it.
I know I would have never found my Bertazzoni range without reading the appliance forum. I had to order it from Boston because they had not yet reached Oklahoma at the time I was ordering appliances. For the money, I have a gorgeous, high-powered cooking machine.
I wouldn't have put in blum soft/self close glides, but I'm not all that impressed with them. Cool, yes, but they don't change my life. Full extension glides, though, are life changing.

This project has had a lot of ups and downs. First, it took about three weeks for the material to arrive. When it came, I was thrilled; it was exactly what I hoped for.

Then came the really fun part: installation. I was talked into the idea that we could do this ourselves. Hmmmm, not sure how to characterize that decision since this post could potentially be read by the other party to the decision ;-). Anyway, let's suffice it to say that stone tile, especially a split face is not for the novice installer.

But we got it installed with just a few snafus. Then it was time for grout. We started using the pastry bag method, but abandoned it when my hand began to cramp. Switched to a float. BIG mistake. Grout EVERYWHERE in ALL of the nooks and crannies. Three weeks later and we're still chipping out grout. But we're getting close. Close enough where I'm loving it again.

So anyway, it's been an adventure. My advice to anyone who wants to do stone; hire a professional.

Again, I PROMISE some pictures very soon. I'm too embarassed to post my kitchen right now with chisels and nano scrub and sponges everywhere.

Karen

Your head must be spinning right now. Although it appears that you’ve nearly made up your mind, let me share some of my overall views on backsplash design. In my opinion good designs have these features:

1. A horizontal element. It can be a short (e.g., 5") backsplash, often of the same material as the counter top or a separator that is frequently between two variations of the same material (e.g., diamonds vs. squares, squares vs. rectangles, or small squares vs. large squares.) Furthermore the dividing horizontal element(s) is low on the wall. The element below it is not repeated vertically. Repeating is done in the top portion.

2. At least some element of the backsplash harmonizes with the counter top.

3. The backsplash rarely is the place to make a major statement. That can be done with other elements such as countertop, accessories, or lighting. The wall behind the cook top can be a place to embellish the backsplash pattern. Small contrasting inserts can be attractive.

The two links from this forum below (which you will have to cut and paste) are examples of what I consider to be attractive splashes that incorporate the features above:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/gal1120432823701.html?6
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c73/mbwillett/remodel/Remodel042.jpg

I realize your situation is a little different because you have a stove and overhead microwave/vent., not a cook top and vent hood.

The link below is the backsplash my wife designed. It is similar to short backsplashes in that there is a painted wall component above it, although that portion is less than half of the wall in her case. Besides the obvious of allowing a color link to another or an adjacent wall, it solves two other problems: One is the issue of where to stop the backsplash at the end of a run of cabinets where the countertop and top cabinets end at different places, and also how to finish the top of the splash when you have under cabinet lighting.

Her backsplash shown includes both travertine and slate. The pencil lines of slate were cut from the bigger slate pieces used in the splash behind the cook top. Only the slate behind the cook top was grouted. The travertine was put up with only a very small gap to allow for small variations in the stone. I think grouting travertine completely changes its appearance, especially since it is so hard to keep grout out of the pores and voids of the stones.

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: My wife's backsplash design

Here is a link that might be useful: My photos

Anyone loving my backsplash might be interested in the following website, which is where I found my artist, Cindy Fisher. (I also had her come to NJ to install it b/c I'd been having trouble w/our tilers and wanted her to do it.)

She is excellent and easy to work with - highly recommended!

Here is a link that might be useful: Big Bang Mosaics