Agree that a wood island top might work.

Don't try to rule anything out now. Go send for samples and get playing.

@Marcolo - I've been reading about Silestone all morning. There are stores nearby, so I'll go check things out in person, of course, taking with me my one precious sample tile.

@ Melissa - that is exactly the idea - yellow and blue accents, some wood and baskets for accessories, and lots of plants. The furniture is very plainstyle Shaker with beautiful wood in the dining room. I'm not taking my old sofa with me, so I have visions of a rolled arm -simple and pretty.

@ everyone - You are all so wonderful! I now have a place to begin reading, researching, and looking. Thank you so much!

Remember, don't just look in the showroom--you need to see how things look in your own light and space.

I had assumed they were 4x4. Here is the arrangement you describe in a stacked pattern.

And here it is in the brick pattern.

Thanks for the reminder - my light and space are about 3000 miles away until the end of the summer when I move. I'll still have plenty of time because the roof comes before the kitchen.

Check to see if you are in or will be moving to a town near a Consentino Center. They have full slabs of Silestone in their warehouse which are so much better than 4'' x 4'' samples. You have to make an appointment and they can usually order a slab if they don't have it on the floor. My only warning is that warehouse lighting is awful but it is nice to see a piece that's as big as a countertop. They also give out free samples:)

Here is a link that might be useful: Consentino Center locator

My immediate thought was blue as well. How FUN!

Great idea about the showrooms. There is one near me in Anaheim, and when actual countertop buying time comes, there is one a coule hours away in SC. I have an appointment next Wednesday - yay!

Well, blue was mine almost immediately, but I discarded it almost as quickly. I'm in the process of shifting my living room to mostly blue right now, and I have it in every room, so it's not that I don't love blue, but I also love the ability to alter the looks and moods in my rooms.

Lovely as all the pictures posted are, I think I'd go white and wood counters, mostly white, matt finish. White isn't a "neutral," it's the color of light, and the colors of that tile are brilliant against it. It would also allow each color individually or all together to be showcased as the mood hit. If this year was yellow, I'd apply it with a paintbrush. :)

I'm in California and the tiles don't strike me as Mexican at all. They remind me a lot more of Armenian tile I saw in the Holy Land. I'm not much of a fan of blue *except* in the kitchen. Blue counters would be like rolling out the red (blue) carpet for the Tile Star.

Having just gotten rid of low-end tile counters, I think the right tile looks great on a counter. It's just that I'm now in love with a perfectly flat, uninterrupted surface.

I'd get the whole array of samples--all the quartzes, Corians, woods etc.--so you can compare them all at once. There's really no other way to judge. And, belive me, it takes forever to get some of these samples, so get choppin'.

Angie, that stacked pattern is exactly perfect! Thank you so much for the visual.

I will definitely start ordering countertop samples. When I ordered floor samples, they came by fedex the next day - and that was for free samples.

Order samples asap- check! Silestone appointment made - check!

Like the blue, and the stacked, and the maple/blue, and the cream (if you do this tile as a focal point with neutral tile around it). I'll throw out another more nuetral option: stainless? Wondering if the tile's reflection would show up on a stainless counter???

Stainless is an interesting option that I had not considered. I know that not all stainless is the same, so I'm not sure about how a stainless counter would work with the stainless appliances. If I'm working to balance elements, would that be too much stainless (with the appliances)?

I'm thinking the third picture down, with the sueded stainless counters... http://www.houzz.com/stainless-counter/p/16

[Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Chicago Interior Designer Nicholas Moriarty Interiors

This kitchen I think looks great, too, with Bianco Romano & stainless and the hand-painted tiles...

[Eclectic Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by Chicago Kitchen And Bath Rebekah Zaveloff

I like the second one a lot. I want my tile to go farther up the wall around the room (no upper cabs) like the space over the range. Looking at the stacked picture that Angie posted, I think one row of cream, border, colored, border, and then cream the rest of the way. And maybe the 4" border tile as the final row. That plan puts the tile at eye level and not hidden by any stuff on the counters and tiles the wall about 40ish inches up.

Tunis!
I was in Algeria in the 70s when they and Tunisia were in an undeclared war over Mauritania.

That said, the pic above that inverts some of the tile to make a fabulous, lace-like pattern is overwhelmingly gorgeous to me. And TTTT, I am not a tile fan. (That's a 1980s -early 1990s acronym for "to tell the truth" for all the newbies.)

I cannot wait to see what you come up with.

That look is exactly what I want. To me, it looks delicate, lacy, floral, colorful, beautiful - all of my favorite decorating words.

I've an appointment at the Silestone warehouse next week. I'm so excited that I have an idea for counters to match my tile because, for me, the whole front room of living, dining rooms and kitchen are all about the tile.

While I like the *idea* of the blue countertop, I think that the reality of it would be a bit much for me. I would get very tired of it rather quickly. You would have to absolutely ADORE blue to have that counter. And, I think it would be harder to work with accessories.

BTW, I've never been in a kitchen that has had a tile countertop other than one model home, but I can't even imagine trying to work with that if you actually cook, but it seems like you tossed the tile countertop idea out for the most part.

I definitely see your tile in a more European light than a Mexican light as well.

All of my adult life I've had tile countertops - dirty, messy, hard to clean, grout discolors, stains, disenigrates - cutting boards of the large variety become de riguer. Some space is always crumby and cruddy - tile countertops are pretty horrible - which is of course why I consider solid surface a must-have unless there is some extreme, extraordinary circumstance.

A friend recently redid his kitchen in a Tuscan theme with French blues and yellows, and his blue Silestone is to die for. It would work great with your tile. Even so, my first thought was concrete, in one of its natural gray shades, or stained unevenly in yellow or red. The Silestone has a very modern vibe to it, and I think something rustic would go well with the tile.

Oh - would your friend allow you to take a picture and post it? Maybe? Hopefully?

Concrete always seems so cold and industrial looking to me, but I will definitely expand my research to take a look at the options. Thanks for the suggestion.

I love Angie's pattern! And if you've a mind for marble, you might take a stroll through a marble yard if you can; there were some amazing blue countertop materials there. Though as I recall they may also have been fabulously expensive.

My friend has concrete counters (and fireplace surround + hearth in her adjacent open living room). Her house is lovely, a very open and casual farmhouse vibe. Her concrete was done about 5 years ago and looks like new. Her island is colored a soft rusty orange, which sounds weird but is quite lovely. It doesn't look industrial to me, but has a contemporary look that works well with the overall rustic feel. They have a big family and entertain a lot, so it's held up well to lots of use. And the colors are limitless.

I love your tile!
I hope you use that middle tile in a regular arrangement, at least 3 tiles high :-) That would be so, so, nice.
I can't help with counters.

Thanks so much. Because there will be no uppers, I'm planning the stacked pattern as pictured in the middle arrangement (thanks again Angie), with cream on both the bottom and top. That will take the tile 40 inches up the wall with a beautiful, colorful,lacy stripe of tile perfection. I think it will be lovely.

Looking at the stacked picture that Angie posted, I think one row of cream, border, colored, border, and then cream the rest of the way. And maybe the 4" border tile as the final row.

Do you want me to generate these, too? It would be no problem, but I won't bother if you don't need me to.

Angie - if you would, I'd be very appreciative. The visual is so helpful making me even more certain that this is the direction I'm going.

I have been fascinated with your tile since you first posted. Love them. And there is a box of similar sitting in my garage for 4 years. Green instead of blue, with yellow and a bit of red. So, I've been searching for too long.

The photos in the link are an example of using your tile and wood counters. Found this today. The tiles are usually put put in a grouping of four. I couldn't see it at first. But they do need to be true to their pattern and connect using the pattern, as with wall paper.

Perhaps some of these pics will help creative wise. I don't like the island, it seems too much.

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen tile

Okay, here is one with just the cream tiles

I must say that I like the direction this is going. I like this one and the next one, coming up shortly.

And here is one with the top border:

Oh Angie - I am swooning it's incrediably, overwhelmingly beautiful! Thank you so much for creating that visual. So perfect!

@emagineer - thanks for the link. That kitchen is a bit too much for me, too busy.

I agree it is pretty dang swoon-worthy. I think I prefer it with the border. How 'bout you?

The hardest part will be finding a cream- or ivory-colored 8x8 tile that matches the half-border tile closely enough.

Best of luck! It is a stunner!

My main reason for the link was use of butcher block counters and how the 4 tile design is treated. I couldn't live with all they did with the kitchen either.

emagineer - got it. There are a number of great elements in that kitchen, but there are so many of them. Makes the too many clowns lesson very visual.

@ Angie - Luxetile sells matching tiles too. Both are so beautiful, it's hard to choose between with or without the border, probably with. There is a 7 foot window over the sink (3' with two 2' casements on either side)on a 15' wall, so maybe lining the window sill with the thinner border tile? Your visuals are so helpful making it look even more incredible than I imagined.

Oh, I love your tile! That will be absolutely beautiful!
When I was looking at granite recently I fell in love with this blue glass slab. The picture doesn't come close to show the depth of it. I was captivated by it! There were several different colors but the ocean blue was what memorized me. I have no idea on the cost but I think it would be perfect with your tiles. It's called glass2 (written like glass squared).

That's really pretty - thanks. How sturdy is a glass countertop? I'd be the one to drop something on it and break the the thing if that is even a remote possibility, and maybe even if it's not.

Your tile is spectacular, but I'm not feeling it with the blue counter. I like the yellowy ones (either silestone or woods) better and then use blue accents.

For your consideration, here's a kinda inverse of AngieDIY's design, and would be more stunning in your non-upper cab kitchen than in this one (mural behind cooktop optional!):

cheers

Thanks so much for that picture. I have been looking at and dreaming of this for a couple of years now. I thought that maybe I might find something else I like more, something less expensive that I love, maybe even get on the neural bandwagon - none of those have happened. I still love this tile in the pattern Angie posted.

I think the medallions are Sally pretty too, but not above the kitchen sink.

I do think that more wood surfaces would trend you towards a Mexican interpretation. But the tile needn't read as Mexican, nor even as Moroccan -- there are other flavors of blue handpainted tiles. A few ideas from the German interwebs (where Tunesia is all the design rage at the moment):

All blue Tunesian kitchens:

German blue tile floor with all GRAY cabs, wood & solid white counters:

A more mod take:

As a "please don't!", a Dutch kitchen whose gorgeous Delft blue bordered tiles drown miserably in a sea of white:

And here's a shot of the oh so rococo Chinoiserie tile in the Amalienburg castle, Munich, just because it resonates well and Marcolo likes it.

Use Caesar stone for counters. It's easy, don't have to seal it or worry about wine or lemon juice spill like quartz or granite. It comes in lots of colors. Don't know your age but dark counters as so many suggested make the room darker and provide poor contrast so it's harder to see Watson the counter. You might think about using a fieldstone around the tile you love so it isn't so busy. I say find a local decorator. I did and it made the remodel soooo much easier. She helped with colors and materials and I ended up happy withall our choices and there is no way I could have done it alone they know what works and have seen all the pitfalls. Food luck.

@ Circuspenut - "Tusinian is all the rage" - that's a serious bummer. I don't want "all the rage" making my expensive tile even more expensive and difficult to find. Maybe that trend will stay in Germany for a time longer. Really my intention is not for a certain look or style or fashion, just beauty that makes me happy.

The pictures you posted are great - I do agree that so much white with the Delft tile makes it disappear into the backgroud totally losing the beauty potential. The last picture is spectacular and were my house significantly larger... I can envision a hamman complete with attendants to scrub my back and feed me grapes.

@DavisBurns - Thanks for the heads up on the Ceasarstone - I'll look into it. Their Deep Ocean looks too dark, but colors are always different in real life. Their Desert Limestone looks similar to Capri Limestone should I decide to go with a more neutral color for the counters. If I go with wood, and probably will on the island, it would be a lighter maple to blend with the other wood in the dining and living rooms, nothing dark to make my old lady eyes have to fight even harder to see, and I like light and bright for all things.

I fear I would be a dificult customer if I were to work with a designer; she/he would have to be extraordinarily patient and long-suffering because after working multiple jobs to be able to buy the house and all of the stuff I want in, as well as having to wait well over a year to move until I could find a job in GA, and just my general personality - I want what I want. I am open to advice and direction, but I have in my head the idea of what I want, what I like. Being fashionable is not a concern of mine.

Of course, watching designer shows where someone else chooses then homeowners come home to say oh and ah - that's so not me. I am both particular and hands-on. I did read on Houzz about a couple of designers who offer a helping service with what a customer already has and then makes suggestions for pulling it all together; I could do that.

Lots of options for wood and adding on to cawaps picture. This is osage orange or hedge, black locust and mulberry are also similar and easier to find.

I vote for the blue counters too. Really sets off the tiles and doesn't run a risk of clashing undertones.

Colorful tiles start in India and run all the way around the Med ... then went overseas with the Spanish and Portuguese. You can't look at a tile and say "too Mexican" without looking at the rest of the decor.

Loving the blue counters with this tile!

My preference was for a slate blue/gray counter. Ideally, having the same hue (Is that the right word?) as the blue in your tile, but softened up with gray. The closest I could come was the Qortstone "Cool Slate" countertops that I showed in my above renderings. This has, to my eye, the same hue, but I would have preferred a lighter, more gray tone. (I really am not sure I am using color terminology correctly, but I hope you understand despite that!)

I do understand, and it's your renderings that have me even more excited about the tile. I think the blue counter (when I go to the showroom later today, I'll check for a greyer hue)with the tile and a maple island top will be excellent - maple because the dining room and coffee tables are Shaker style maple tables (drop leaf and tray top). The blend of colors and materials are looking pretty wonderful to me.

I really appreciate the pictures and the suggestions. I didn't think I could have a blue countertop and still have the tile, so I'm thrilled to know I can the colors I want without going over the top.