I agree about using something with color to provide the contrast that I think is needed. Try putting up white paper towels or something under your cabinets to give you an idea of what white would look like. Then compare to the intensity of the blue that is there now and see how the darker color helps balance the area, IMHO. If you squint when you look at the mockups you kind of turn your view into a B&W image. This helps to give you a reading of the shade or satiation of the color without getting caught up in the color itself.

I think you might be able to pull it off if you put a punch of color in the accents. But I would go for a backsplash with a bit more interest to it.

Please tell me though, what is the name and color of that paint?? I like it!

Looking good!
I agree with the above posters about the counters reading too flat with a plain white backsplash. What about white arabesque with colored grout? Throwing it out there although it's one of those things that would be best to look at a la photoshop. Still haven't figured out how to do that yet but there are several talented photoshop GWers - maybe one can help?

I'm not at home, no computer. Hard to see pics on my phone. Do check out all of the colors available: white, ivory, blue, dark & light gray...and some others.

I almost did white w/ gray grout, looked great but was worried about it being busy w/ my counter. You could pull that off w/ your counters. I will get on tomorrow night and look at photos closer.

Did you look at mission stone& tile's website?

Some great ideas coming in - thanks all sooo much!

1) I will check with my DW on what the color of blue is - it is a gorgeous color - a greyish blue - feels older colonial, which is what our house is going towards.

2) We had thought a little bit about the other arabesque colors - we have a sample of ivory coming next week. I googled "beveled arabesque" in the other color names hoping to find a picture of the other colors installed but no luck. I wish we had a few other arabesque color samples coming (however the samples aren't cheap!) - maybe we will order another one or two.

Had not thought at all about colored grout - hmmmm, that is very interesting, but am afraid it woud make our smallish kitchen a little busy (as in spanish elaborate tile "look"). If Mission Stone & Tile had a very light grey tile that might be interesting. Is this the Vento Grey? Does the Vento grey look like it is on the tan side of grey? If that is the case that might work with the tans in our Staron countertop and the mushroom color in our floor tiles.

Has anyone seen the ivory arabesque color?

My gut is telling me "white arabesque with white grout" just because it will not add busy-ness and the tile is clean and has interest and dimension just because of the tile itself. We think that our kitchen already has lots of lines with the soffits and the way the crown molding layers have been installed and the various angles and cuts in a smallish space.

I did see pics of the smoked grey arabesque on GW in a sample arrangement (nothing in a complete install) and it looked gorgeous, but it might not be clean (simple) enough for us. Does it have a little blue tint to it? We tend to like the "white on white" kitchens although we seem to be contradicting this with the blue wall paint going up recently! I guess my DW has wanted blue in her kitchen and now we have a great blue and she is so happy about that.

This remodel has me partially crazy about now (office in the home quite disrupted now for too long) and we haven't really done that much (although the differences will be big for us). We did install new 5" Live Sawn white oak HW floors in the two rooms adjacent to the kitchen too so all of this adds complexity and project complexity.

We had thought about the big $50k+ kitchen remodel with everything gutted but we opted to re-use old oak cabinets and countertops by painting cabinets, adding new Miele appliances and tearing out wall between kitchen and family room and adding HW floors everywhere except the kitchen. Our cost for everything including HW floors will be about $25k so I am happy about that. But, I know DW would have loved new cabinets and drop dead gorgeous countertops.

Sorry for digressing away from BS discussion but I wanted to share a tiny bit of the story other thsan just Backsplash.

I so appreciate everyone's thoughtful comments in advance!

Here is a picture of our home at Christmas time - we do love our southern (Colorado) colonial!

PLEASE don't take offense to this, but I think your kitchen is in danger of being boring if you don't add some pop to your backsplash. Simple and elegant is great, but it would still be simple and elegant with Arabesques in the light grey or doing white with grey grout.

Remember once you tile you lose even the painted color between the cabinets and counters and then it really does start leaning slightly bland (sorry!).

It would be different with a different countertop - but with what you have I'm not really seeing much of a focal point.

Having said that it almost always makes sense to go with your gut - it's your home after all and you are the ones who will be living in it, not any of us! : )

As if everyone didn't have enough data already, here are a few more pictures:

This one shows what the kitchen looks like from the work triangle looking into the nook and towards the backyard:

The next two pictures show the family room side and the fluted trim that is original to the house, that we are replicating in the opening between the kitchen and the family room - in this picture you can see what the fluted trim and rosette that will eventually look like from the kitchen side - in the current pictures this detail is quite distracting with the layers of MDF, oak boards and trim pieces that go into making this moulding! This molding is an example of why (IMO) complicated dimensions need to be colored simply - the molding looks like a complicated mess from the kitchen side now but you can see when it is painted all white and shiny it looks rich and much cleaner - this reminds me of how complex arabesque is and why it (might) always look its best when it is ever so white and simple.

I love the white on white look that you talk about, so I think the arabesque would be gorgeous in your kitchen!

Anything Bee has used is going to be gorgeous - but I think you're missing an opportunity here to add some life to your very calm space. If the arabesque makes your heart flutter then use it. Bee used it in combination with a heart-stoppingly beautiful grey stone with white inclusions. Yours is a vanilla colored solid surface paired with white cabs. The effect will not be the same.

You have a beige countertop, white cabinets and floor - you could choose the most intricate, eye popping bs on the planet and have a more vibrant, luxurious looking space. You also have very little wall space to cover, so even the most delicate handmade stained glass, or water jet cut stone tiles will be budget friendly. I would encourage you to look around a bit more, and try to incorporate the blue you love into the bs. Definitely check out the Artistic Tile website (link below).

Artistic Tile Eden

Artistic Tile Danse Azule

Artistic Tile Flapper Floral

Artistic Tile Thre Color Diamond

Here is a link that might be useful: Artistic

Uh Oh EAM44, now you've done it ;)

Danse Azule!!! Danse Azule!!! Do it, do it, do it!!!

EAM44,

Your last post should have been illegal! Alas, DW has seen it and is on the phone (as I write) trying to figure out how some of these large tiles might fit into our diminutive BS!

Our BS is not all that small - it is about 19 SF. At $100 per SF this is only $1,900.00 (aaarggghhhh, gulp)

Yes, EAM44, you may have really done it now!

All of a sudden I am growing a strong attachment to a simple subway tile (grin).

you have a colonial home and you are keeping with that feel...blue color in kitchen, moldings around doorways, wooden cornices....etc....

i think you should find a tile that says "colonial".

arabesque doesn't say that to me. it just doesn't fit the theme/feel with the rest of your lovely home.

i don't have the answer. i am more of a "i know it when i see it" kind of person. i think there is a better tile out there that will fit your style home.

sorry, not to rain on your parade, just offering my opinion/2cents.

best of luck :)

Oh, but if you're like me, you have to go the whole gamut! Then calm and sensibility returns and you settle on THE perfect solution for your parameters.

"But, I know DW would have loved new cabinets and drop dead gorgeous countertops."

Are you now trying to compensate by putting in extra fancy backsplash that just doesn't work with your countertops? You've come this far so go get that woman the countertop she wants! The mother of your child! (If you have any. :)) Then you will have more choices with backsplash.

I LOVE the water jet tile but it's seriously pricey and I don't think the backsplash is tall enough to show it off to its best advantage (no area behind a range for example). I think you might get much the same effect with the Arabesques using gray grout at far less cost. Have you seen the photos bee took of her sample board with gray grout?

Or preferably bring in some color!

Nothing budget friendly about Artistic Tile - that's for sure! My square of water-jet heaven behind my range makes me smile, but I was happy to find a great $3/50/sqft knockoff of handmade-looking soft white glossy subway for the rest of my backsplash. I must say, your house is GORGEOUS...and is screaming for new counter tops (if you can swing it). Cabinets look great. In fact, if I were you I might just paint the back instead of tiling the backsplash...until you change out those counters. The rest of the house is so rich looking - beautiful, stately, charming colonial. Just my two cents!

Oh, and fyi when you buy that water jet from Artistic...it doesn't always come in a square shape. You may have to buy more than 19 square feet and your contractor will have to be good at cutting and matching up. For the square above our 30" range - we needed two odd-shaped pieces from Artistic. Laborious. But I had to have it ;-)

Those gorgeous tiles are $100/sf ???--SHAME ON YOU EAM44. shame shame...

gotta go look at more bead board before I get sidetracked by your decadence

sarends--For $1900 I'd change the counter and live with a painted BS for awhile. I agree with sportfanatic, I do not think the arabesque will look great with your house style--seems off to me also.

OK, OK, mea culpa. I've introduced you to tile lust. My intentions were good.

And of course you have countless other options that will be beautiful alternatives to white tile. AT carries more affordable tiles than the ones I pulled for you. Here are a few more reasonably priced, if less spectacular, mosaics to consider from Glass Tile Oasis.

Here is a link that might be useful: GTO

>> Artistic Tile Danse Azule

Completely gorgeous.

I love the arabesques, but along with others, I don't see thm working here. I don't think you have enough real estate on the BS to effectively use them for dramatic effect. Our kitchen is very small, and we still had 26 sq. ft. of BS.

I agree, the arabesques do not seem to go with your overall colonial home.

I love the idea of using something with blues with the light counters if you are keeping them. The ones right above (not the $100/sq ft ones) or something in that style would realy work well.

Great. That website has ruined me. I'm not going to get that kind of thrill at HD.

I am with you Alex but oh does that eye candy get your heart fluttering. Gorgeous stuff! :)

What about penny tile?

Here is a link that might be useful: [penny tile backsplash on houzz[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/rustic-modern-kitchen-midcentury-san-francisco-phvw-vp~461030)

Or milkglass tile...

Here is a link that might be useful: [milk glass tile backsplash on houzz[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-color-milk-glass-are-the-tiles-please-dsvw-vd~163268)

Keep the painted wall and put the major money into soapstone counters. I'm sorry, but beige plastic just doesn't work with the bones of the house or the vibe you're trying to develop in the kitchen. Once the counters are replaced, then your idea of inexpensive white subways could work really well. Just add a band of something fancy and blue to it and it will all pull together.

OK, DW and I are listening. . . . to everyone here, and to ourselves. We are agreeing about the counter tops - it is inevitable isn't it - just can't get to where we want to get to without new counter tops. . . .

I wonder how long we could go with painted walls (without causing water damage behind sink)?

Also, one other thing I have been reluctant to face is,

"when we do the counter tops I want to be certain that we can live with the cabinets at least for ten years (hopefully more). The cabinets are maybe 15 - 20 years old (or more). We had them painted this summer - love the color and the affect it had on the entire kitchen. We have begun looking into replacing the hinges (on existing doors) with soft close (not entirely sure it can be done on our doors). And, just last week we had a company estimate the cost to replace all of the doors (matching color of the existing cabinets and base cabinets) with all new doors and new soft close hinges - $2,700.00 for entire kitchen - I don't think that is too bad.

So maybe we will 1) recover from this round of remodeling 2) Save a couple more dollars 3) Replace counter tops and backsplash and either 3a) replace hinges on existing doors with soft close concealed or 3b) replace cabinet doors entirely.

This has been a very enlightening set of answers and challenges to the original question - thanks to everyone so far - the carefully thought out answers are very much appreciated!

You can go indefinitely with just painted backsplash. My mom did for years before deciding to add tile. And I have had kitchens that had been just painted backsplash for decades.

Having just "painted backsplash" until we do "countertops and backsplash" is very appealing to me - not so much DW - she would like the kitchen to look a little more finished.

We prepared the electrical outlets as if we were going to be adding the backsplash right way - that will add another level of unfinished look to the situation - it would be nice after having suffered through the amount of disruptiveness that we have had (here the whine) to be in a bit more of a finished state!

What about beadboard backsplash? Should be fairly cheap and easy to get back off the wall later. . . . Can paint it any color you want.

crl, you are a genius! DW & I just looked for examples on Houzz and Pinterest - what an awesome idea:

1) Simple
2) Looks nice in the interim and fits pretty well with our colonial theme
3) Economical

We are leaving in an hour to go look at beadboard!

And, we are wondering:

A) - white beadboard to match the cabinets
B) - blue beadboard to match the walls

It can look a little like a Farmhouse (instead of colonial) but I think, all taken together it will look great as an interim!

Wow, we would never have stumbled upon this idea ourselves!

It seems like at this point your primary goal was to open up the space to the family room and to update the look by painting the cabinets. You are currently happy with the look and function of your countertops (to quote your first post: "... these are 'nice enough' and have been very easy to care for and we think the color is going to be fine with our remodeled colors.").
Because it sounds like there's some ambiguity about the future of your cabinet doors, I would absolutely not replace a countertop that you are currently satisfied with right now. It seems like what you're experiencing is often called "Scope Creep" -- that is, you start out with a goal of addressing x, and find yourself with x, y, and z on your list. You've made some lovely changes, and have accomplished the goal you went after of opening up the space and updating the look with paint. Evaluating whether you want new countertops is better addressed down the road when you decide what exactly you want to do with your cabinets. Before spending 3K replacing doors, you may well decide that it would be better to replace some or all of the cabinets and allow you to address layout issues, etc. at that time as well. What you don't want is to end up feeling trapped into keeping the same cabinets because you put a pricey countertop on them a few years earlier. I'd advise you to accept that this project, while nice, is possibly a pre-renovation, and within x number of years (we went 7 with ours) you will revisit the cabinet/countertop/layout issues and decide what/if anything you want to do at that point based on the needs of the cooks/family/budget at that time.
Also, IMO, I would not hesitate to put a backsplash in as part of this phase, especially if it's a priority for DW. Lots of nice subway tiles out there that could be a DIY project and with your limited backsplash space would likely come in under a couple of hundred bucks. You'll get your use out of it even if you decide to change things in a few years.

Oh, btw, here is a recent picture with the trim painted (1st coat of oil paint) in between the kitchen and the family room.

In this picture the blue on the walls looks too gray. And, the blue in the area of the backsplash looks too light and washed out (believe it or not - they are the same color). The blue is more accurate towards the corner cupboards in the second picture.

The wall blue looks more accurate in this picture.

If we do the beadboard (which we are leaning to STRONGLY) as an interim, we don't want the look to be distinctly "Farmhouse" but more traditional/classy. Our thinking is that blue beadboard might lean "Farmhouse" and high gloss or semi gloss white beadboard might be more in keeping with "colonial".

I guess we shouldn't get too overly wrapped up in this decision - a) it is meant to be interim b) if we hate the color, er, we could just repaint it! Wow, I think we might be able to just hit the EASY button on this one!

I agree with kris_ma except...you already paid to have the cabinets professionally repainted and you hope they will last at least ten years. So you've got some investment into the kitchen. If you got granite now, you'd have ten years of enjoying it. I just wouldn't get something that screams high-end and contemporary in granite or backsplash. Find something that works with the repainted, older cabinet style. Yes, it might be a little quieter (ie. boring) than what you'd really like, but at least your materials will suit the kitchen you have now.

Now, if the ten year plan becomes a five year plan, that's a different story.

Beadboard is perfect. The elaborate tiles above are totally wrong for the sacle of the kitchen, the feel of the home, and the adjoining materials.

I would chose a sophisticated color for the beadboard ... probably in the gray family, but fairly dark and or glossy. And use a good quality beadboard. perhaps on the wider side. You could also do shiplap.

Genius? Wow, I'm flattered. :). I like the grey suggestion for color, but white or blue would work nicely too. I am sure whatever you end up with as backsplash will look great.

Beadboard installed yesterday.

Today (and the next couple days):

1) Sand smooth
2) Coat with OIL BASED PRIMER
3) Sand again
4) Apply 1st Coat Diamond Vogel High Gloss (OIL BASED) Enamel Paint
5) Apply 2nd Coat

Then, enjoy until backsplash & countertop (soapstone?) piggy bank is full!

It's a little late to tell you now, but you're supposed to sand and paint before you mount the beadboard, and if you'd chosen PVC beadboard, you wouldn't need to use oil based paint. Anyway, it's going to look great and it will protect your walls. Paint it your pretty blue!

We sanded, primed and sanded again today. Looks VERY white (but then - it is the whitey white primer. Looks very sanitary and a little boring primed.

We are leaning towards blue - I believe we will have a first coat of blue on tomorrow.

EAM44 - We bought both the pine beadboard and the pvc and compared side by side - the pvc didn't have the crisp definition so we went with the pine. We are planning to oil paint (plus caulk) the snot out of it (esp) behind the faucet!

Only thing that scares us about the blue - It may look a little whimsical next to the fancy fluted column opening to the family room.

counterpoint: But, our blue is grayish blue

counter counterppint: but under the LED lights it looks brightish blue (as more in cottage style)

counterpoint: relax - you can also re-paint

Pictures tomorrow

I would choose a darker blue than your walls, and grayer. Under the direct light, it will pale a bit and blue up. I've experienced that phenomenon many times myself. Sherwin Williams Rainwashed is such a pretty grayed blue, that under the direct light of high intensity lighting in an office turned from peaceful and serene to bright nursery room baby blue. And I understand about paint, and color, and lighting, and I still had to eat 5 gallons of paint for that project.

I agree with a shade darker in tone than your walls would look great. Are their other colors on the paint chip that you would consider using?

Everything is coming along beautifully, your house is quite lovely. I love the molding.

Ugh, holly - Color and light - bummer right? sarends, you can see that phenomenon in the first image in your Jan 21@ 10:41 post, where the soffit looks grey and the wall under the ucl looks blue, and you are clearly concerned about it still. The problem with using a slightly greyer/bluer paint for the beadboard is that you only have ucl in that one corner. The rest of the "bs" is illuminated from the ceiling like the rest of the wall, so if you choose a slightly different blue, it's going to look like it's a little off. But there's no need to resort to white.

If you're worried about bluing why not choose a completely different color? A light grey or a deep blue would look great in your space. These are Farrow and Ball paints but you can look for similar colors or get them color matched in whatever paint you use.

Blue Gray

Oval Room Blue

Let us know how it goes, and keep the images coming!

hollysprings

You are right about using the existing blue - look how "nursery room blue" it looks below in the 1st picture (below the cabinet on the left - below the new LED under cabinet lights).

Then, look at the look after it was primed - seems that the defined opening to the family room , with the elaborate fluted trim, loses its affect and definition due to the white beadboard below it.

Here is a dillema - the primer is oil
If we get 3 or 4 gray samples it needs to be oil based because if we paint samples in latex then oil topcoat cannot be applied. hmmmm - I guess we will need to get 2 or 3 oil based samples to try.

DW and I see the attractive points about going to something grayer and darker - could be a struggle finding the color though. . . .

See below pictures - I wish the white would have worked - wd have been easier!

Sorry for the blurry image in this one:

One last question - how much better will the beadboard look once it is painted with the same color as the cabinets?

I think I know the answer . . .

Also, I just noticed - the dishwasher is looking like the new sore thumb sitting there all old and black - need to get a new Miele with a wood panel and paint it the same cabinet color!

We bought this LT Moses Sconce for our stairway - what does everyone think about this color? Too bold? Or, could it "work"??

I would consider painting it a softer white but definitely NOT the same color as the cabinets as again you will lose all contrast and end up with 'blah'.

Blues are tough - I love them and we have blues in our house. Wedgewood Grey is one of my favorites. Hope you can find one that works! If not a softer white would work too.

If your DW is still working, you can purchase a "stainless" peel and stick sheet and cover the majority of the DW other than the controls. That way you do not need to get a new DW until it breaks.

I really like the beadboard. It's perfect for your space.

OK, no pictures yet, but here is where we are at:

1) Installed beadboard (the wood stuff that comes in 6" (or so) tongue and groove strips.
2) It was a pain for our contractor to get it all laid in tight with no seams etc. Cost us more than I had hoped, but still worth it.
3) Painted with oil base primer
4) One coat of oil based topcoat in the same color as our cabinets.

It looks very good - we think the verticals in the beadboard go nicely with the vertically fluted columns (which I didn't think would work so well at all).

We had bought some Utilitech LED under cabinet lights from Lowes and we returned these as they were 1) not dimmable and 2) Kinda ugly. We are looking to purchase a different set of "softer light" dimmable LED lights so we will only have "landing strip" illumined countertops when DW really wants everything "lit up". Our hope is that with dimmable "soft white" under cabinet LEDs the white beadboard will give us what we want (not too bright, and predictable) until we have time to replace the Staron countertops with some sexy granite or soapstone and a different backsplash.

I promise to post pics after the final coat of oil piant and after UC LEDs are in place!

At this point we really think the beadboard looks nicer than we had hoped esp. for an interim solution.