Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
tearose21

subway tile backsplash white or add color?

tearose21
14 years ago

I really thought I would have white (well a little creamy white to match cabinets) subway tile backsplash, but everyone is advising me to add some color. I have creamy white cabinets, calacatta marble counters and a walnut island top. PN hardware and pendants. Would either of these colors work. They are crackle and would be in 2x6. Also, I should mention I have a original to the house leaded glass butler's pantry that I would be painting some sort of color, probably in the grey family.Thanks, Trisha

Here is a link that might be useful: http://photobucket.com

Comments (14)

  • rhome410
    14 years ago

    Who is everyone, and is it their kitchen? ;-) If you've always dreamed of the white on white (cream), I see no reason to change if you don't really want to. That's a very classic look.

    Are they both gray? If so, they are gorgeous, but not really much more of a 'color' than the cream you'd planned. So again, if you like them, they'll look wonderful (I happen to love gray and particularly like the lighter one, I think...it seems a little more elegant and subtle with the marble), but still think you should do what you'll like. You can add other colors in accessories, etc.

  • tearose21
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Everyone is the "KD", my DH and my contractor, oh and my Mother! Yikes. The lighter one is called wedgewood blue although it is more of a greenish/grayblue the other is pipesmoke and is grey. Thanks for your response I really appreciate it. Trisha

  • ella_socal
    14 years ago

    I think both could look very nice. It just depends on what you prefer. I like to try to imagine myself in the actual kitchen I'm planning. That's how I decided to re-stain my cabinets rather than paint them white... I just couldn't picture myself as happy in a white kitchen (with overlay doors which is what I was working with).

  • remodelfla
    14 years ago

    I absolutely adore calcutta marble. I think that's the kind I hope to be able to do. I like the lighter one too and think it'll look gorgeous and subtle with your kitchen. My 1st opinion would be to do what you love even though my personal choice would be to not use white.

  • kelleg69
    14 years ago

    The nice thing about white is that it won't go out of style and you can always change the accent colors. It is fun, though, too add a bit of zip with the backsplash. What does your heart tell you? I wonder if you could take some pictures and kind of color in the backsplash area.

    Also, it would be easier to help if we could see more of the kitchen so we could see other opportunities for color--how much wall space, etc. Hard to get much of an idea from your closeups. I think your cabinets look very pretty, though.

  • katieob
    14 years ago

    Firstly, your marble is gorgeous!!!!!!!!
    Is it honed? We're getting honed calacatta on our island and I just got really excited seeing yours!

    I think some subtle color in the subway might be nice. I thought about a cream/beige tone, but we ended up with white crackle. I kind of chickened out.
    img src


    Good luck-please show pics!

  • tearose21
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks everyone for the responses. I am still struggling.

    Kelleg, good idea about coloring in a picture. Also I did take more pics of my cabinets, but I am having issues uploading them. I will keep trying tonight. They are Crown Point and the color is Paper. There is also some walnut cabinetry and the old butler's pantry doors that I have to have painted.

    Katieob, yes the marble is honed and I just love it. You won't be dissapointed with calacatta.

  • pluckymama
    14 years ago

    tearose21, I love the look of white marble kitchens so I'm with you on the lighter creamy tile backsplash. Here is Blakely's finished kitchen with a similar look. HTH.

    http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg031658407596.html

  • bill_vincent
    14 years ago

    Although I don't see anything wrong with plain (so as to bring out other aspects of the kitchen), a little color doesn't hurt, either:

    Doesn't have to be anything major-- just a little accent here and there to tie it into the rest of the room.

  • lascatx
    14 years ago

    I have white-white cabinets, white marble and white subway backsplash. I did put a a blue and pewter liner through the splash though. I like a white or light splash -- and I chose glossy tile to reflect the light even though I was adding under-cabinet lighting.

    If you want to go with either of the two tiles you have in the picture, I like the darker one better. The lighter one looks dingy -- just off on my monitor. The darker one seems more in keeping with the colors in the marble. At least as I am seeing them. I can see it being nice too, especially with good under-counter lighting (I hate baking in a cave, in case you haven't noticed a trend here).

    Which way to go? Hard to say without the layout and seeing the amount of splash, how it all ties in together and with other spaces -- and without knowing what kind of feel you want. I think that last one is especially important.

    Look at your inspiration photos and compare them to the space you have and the feel you want -- the look you love. Look for more photos, especially with a color in the splash (I know I've seen a few with various blues or greens in white kitchens). I did the colored pencils and copies of my drawings for several different choices -- they helped me double check my choices, but they were especially important to DH since he couldn't create mental pictures of how things would look together. That really can be helpful.

  • tearose21
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thank you all so much. I just love hearing everyone's opinions. It really helps me. I am still trying to load more pics of my kitchen but am having a terrible time with photobucket. Thanks, Trisha

  • remodelfla
    14 years ago

    I love that tile in the Brother's and Sister's pic. I hate to spend your $$ but would it be possible to get another of your SPECTACULAR slab and use that as a backsplash? Have you seen erika's slab backsplash. It's amazing...

  • reedrune
    14 years ago

    Hey - we used white subway behind our stove, with beadboard that went up partial height everywhere else. we have white cabs and I was afraid of too much white - but the two things I love is seeing the strip of paint above the beadboard, and that we went with dark grout on the subway. I'm glad I went with it!

    Here's a pic, although our styles are completely different.

  • tearose21
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    remodelfla, yes I had considered doing a marble backsplash, but decided it wasn't for me. Although I've loved the ones I've seen.

    reedrune, thanks for the pic, it looks great.

    I am off to another tile store.