Here it is with a 2 inch strip of the mosaic my husband loves.

I don't like the mosaic at all, sorry. You have so much movement in the granite, the mosaic looks busy and fiddle-y with it. Also, the big swirls of the granite movement conflict with the smaller, regular geometric pattern of the mosaic.

The glass subways on their own are a nice color bridge between the countertops and the upper cabinets.

JMO.

I like the glass tiles without the mosaic they look great with your counters

Nice! Isn't it funny when they have a strong preference for 1 thing? I really like the granite, antique brown?

I love the tile, it looks so nice with your lovely counters. I don't care for the mosaic.

Yup! Just the tile, it looks very nice. You have a lot going on in your kitchen, the mosaic is too much.

Love what you have so far with the beautiful granite and your cabinets.

What brand is your tan glass tile and where did you get it? I LOVE it!

I also like the tile but not the mosaic. I think the tile color is a great pairing with your counter, and I like the darker (relative to the more popular whites and lights) color. The mosaic is pretty, but the counter is busy and I don't think competition will do it any favors.

Agree, like tile but not mosaic. The granite is busy enough. Let it be the star!

Count me in with the others...The tile looks good, but the mosaic is too much with the granite.

I too like the tile very much and think it will look wonderful in your kitchen. Great find! I do not like the mosaic though. It will look too busy in my opinion. Just using the tile by itself will look sleek and I think perfect!

Cannot wait to see your final product installed!

I agree that the mosaic would be too busy. i love the color of your glass tile and the transition from cream to tan to brown will look great.
But, IMHO i would rather see a tan ceramic tile in your traditional style kitchen. Glass to me has a contemporary or modern vibe.

Thanks for the replies. Unanimous vote to ditch the mosaic, which unfortunately is not an option. My husband loves the mosaic! He rarely has a strong opinion about such things, but when he does, there is not much to do but work with it. He really wants to use the mosaic for the entire backsplash, our compromise was to use just the accent strip of mosaic and an 18x18 of mosaic behind the range with the tan glass subway tiles. I chose to put the strip 2/3rds of the way up to move it away from the counter. Please tell me it is not going to look hideous!!!

This is one of those instances where I could push hard to be right, and eventually win. But this is my husband's home also and I want him to be just as happy with the new kitchen as I am.

Bookworm, the granite is Magma Gold(Sedna), not what we had planned on getting, but I fell in love with it!

Is there a darker version of the mosaic? It might coordinate a little better with the counter. There is an extremely strong bias against mosaics on this board so don't feel discouraged by the feedback. I would strongly suggest making color photo copies of the glass tile and the mosaic and taping up a broader area and then making your decision. It's hard to get the full effect with such a small sample.

Ellendi, I looked for a ceramic tile, but none of the colors I have found worked as well as this tan. The wall cabinets are Kraftmaid Mushroom, a very light taupe-y color, they take on a greenish look next to a lot of tans.

Maybe someone can help you in photoshopping some options. I wish I could do it!

I think when all is said and done, the mosaic will be fine. Everyone (including me!) becomes obsessed with every detail when doing these kitchens, but many of them really are trivial. In no way will this mosaic be a mistake obvious to anyone.

Yes, I also prefer it without the mosaic, but if you get a tan grout that blends in with the color (rather than a color that defines each tile) it will be fine. I finished my kitchen about 4 years ago (It was either finish finish already or check in to the nut house) and I love it. the small things that made me crazy have disappeared. My husband really let me run the show, and I did whatever I wanted, so the one or two small things he really, really liked were a small price to pay.

This looks like a tough one to do right. Maybe try to bring out the greys rather than the tans?

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Watkinsville Cabinets & Cabinetry Webber Coleman Woodworks

This post was edited by nightowlrn on Mon, Feb 10, 14 at 9:04

You know, a person could pull just the tans out of the mosaic and use them. You'd have a textural/mosaic thing but with the continuity of the color.

I have one of those DH's, too. Sometimes you gotta choose your battles. I figure if I'm going to forever look at something and think bad thoughts about him for making me do this... then I'd better say something. If not, then eh...

Cheify and Helou, thank you for the encouraging words, much appreciated this morning! I am not a huge fan of mosaics either, but for some reason, this tile speaks to my husband. He wants to use it, so that is what we are going to do. Given that, do you think I should stack or stagger the tiles? Will one or the other draw less attention to the mosaic? I plan to use a tan grout, I think it was called Dune.

I would have another discussion about using the very modern mosaic under your very traditional hood. Photoshopping it is very good advice.

If I had an obstinate DH ;), I'd put the mosaic on top of the first row of tiles to tone down (hide) the busyness. I'd try it with two rows of mosaic. I'd stagger the subways since your cabinets are traditional.

Here's an example of two rows of accent tile with similar tile. I like longer accent pieces with the larger subway tile.

This post was edited by may_flowers on Mon, Feb 10, 14 at 9:56

I would show your hubby this thread and opinions. Might make him rethink the more modern mosaic. Many of the things my hubby really seemed to want at first later turned out to be no big deal to him. I would explain or show him better options and he would be fine with it and refocus on something else. But if I messed with his man cave or garage, I knew I better let him have his way, lol.

OK, if you have to use the mosiac, then I would suggest changing the granite.

In general, I like really mosaic - when used with a solid color.

I think you should stagger the tiles. Stacked looks too contemporary given the rest of the kitchen. Can you also remove a row to do just two lines like may_flowers posted? Personally, I would cave on the mosaic since he feels so strongly about it (I have one of those hubbies too. Most things are "I don't care" followed by "Absolutely not" and very rarely do I get a "Yes!" I know I have to respect those). I'd try to push back on the feature area behind the stove.

If you put the mosaic strip down closer to the counter, it will be mostly hidden by the things you keep on the counter. Don't tell him that ahead of time, though.

Take a look at A2gemini's kitchen. She used a mosaic but also placed her tiles differently.

I love the large glass tile, but skip the mosaic! You might like it at first, but would grow to dislike it. I think those strips dates a kitchen far faster than a solid field backsplash.

I love the counters, the cabinet combination and the glass tiles. I think the mosaic may look nice and imagine he sees it harmonizing the other colors you have in the other elements. Hanging a bunch of color photo copies is a terrific idea, and if after he sees them he changes his mind, then that is fine, too. Either way you have a gorgeous kitchen!

fishymom, I have a busy granite and chose a mosaic backsplash to go with it ... big mistake!! The colors were a good match (like yours are), but the two busy materials just didn't go well together. They looked fine in my head, but awful in reality! We covered the countertops with brown paper before installing the splash, so imagine my surprise when we removed the paper and I was confronted with that disastrous reality. I got up early the next morning and ripped out the entire splash myself.

Unfortunately, I didn't start frequenting GW until my remodel was nearly completed, or I might have been able to benefit from all of the people here who will be brutally honest in their opinions. If you do choose to go ahead with the mosaics, make sure you are there when it is being installed so that you can veto it if you realize that it's too much. What looks fine when you are just looking at a sample will often look much different when it is all around the kitchen.

This post was edited by jellytoast on Mon, Feb 10, 14 at 17:34

Can you find a textured glass subway tile for a compromise? There are some great options from Bellavita.