Love the sun lit English tan, looks very elegant and a touch vintage which will come out more with the bronze hardware. But keep in mind, that will transform the look of your space. I did the oil rubbed bronze in a powder room with green glass tiles about seven years ago and to this day, I love the touch of it. But there is not a contemporary aesthetic in the room... Just something to keep in mind. Will look great wherever you land.... And I just redid the floors throughout the house in espresso....love the look of the wood, the dust....not so much :)

I have white marble for my backsplash...but I am loving the English tan shown above!!!!

Smart to paint a little white onto the tan subway to reproduce your white cab color-never thought of doing that.

I love the crackled tan subway with the ORB also. It's nice as the color is slightly concentrated on the edges. How does that color flow with your adjacent rooms?

Do you mind sharing the manufacturer of the subways? I'm still looking.

Sounds like a pretty kitchen.

I would choose the white marble subway. I like the contrast of a white tile against a dark soapstone. While both tiles are nice, if the soapstone is in the gray/black family, I can't visualize the tan.

I was thinking the same thing. Is your soapstone more gray, green or black?

The tan and ORB are very pretty! If the soapstone is not quite right...a black granite with a fleck of tan might look really nice! :)

I agree with considering your soapstone's undertone - a green soapstone would be beautiful with the tan; a gray/blue soapstone perhaps more beautiful with the white.

Hey all, thanks for your responses! Sorry for my slow reply, hope everyone had a good long weekend.

SparklingWater - the manufacturer of the English Tan is Alkusari Stone. I found it at the Austin location, fyi. And it's surprisingly affordable!

Our soapstone is more gray with some white veining (although I plan to oil it and keep it black). So no green undertones. Kitch, lavender, & mayberry - thanks for the tip, hadn't thought about undertones on the soapstone.

I was strongly leaning toward the marble/nickel, then got an email from my KD who thinks I should go fwd with the crackle tan/ORB. Sigh...

If possible, I am thinking maybe I should hold off on this decision until the cabs and countertops go up. Then I can color match better. I just don't want to make the wrong choice (which will affect lighting, mood), and they may turn out to be very different looks!

Speaking as someone who stopped the tile setters as they were putting up backsplash tile, I recommend waiting! My KD had recommended a blue-black slate with my brown-grey cabinets and the clash in undertones looked even worse in a large area. Fortunately they were very understanding...

I really like your crackle tile - will check out Alkusari Stone when I'm ready to pick cream vs tan for my splash. Meanwhile I'm kind of loving the way it looks without a backsplash. Very clean.

Good luck!

My soapstone is also gray with black veins. No green at all. Can you post a pic of your kitchen in daylight.. I think the light will help with the right color palette. Marble subway with gray soapstone and nickel Aubrey would be lovely but the tan crackle backsplash with orb pulls and soapstone can be unique and special too.

I do not see how you could go wrong either way. I would wait until the cabs and counters are in and then do a small mock up. That should help make your decision clear. Cannot wait to see the pics!!!

I like the idea of tan or biscuit for backsplash tile.....maybe not so much the crackle effect tho. However a soapstone in the gray family might not play as well off tan as a really dark soapstone.....good to wait....I like the nickel hardware for it's warmth and a bit of sheen....don't like the ORB in that shape-it seems a little dreary-too plain or something.The nickel piece seems very classic, and a little classier.

I have to say, I am loving the nickel Aubrey. Herbflavor, I agree that it's got a nicer, classy sheen. But if I end up going with the ORB, I don't think I have energy to find another hardware style (sigh!)

GWlolo, I would post pics, but there's nothing up yet! fyi, the adjacent family room (to which our kitchen opens up to) has an ORB ceiling fan and some minimal ORB hardware too.

We were going to use the RH Benson mini pendants too in the dark bronze, so of course, when I hold off one decision, it puts other things on hold, too!

I think I'm loving the clean, bright look of the nickel/marble, but am trying really hard to forget it and embrace the tan/ORB. Mainly because I would have to find different pendants, and a more affordable marble. (the Calacatta subways I've priced is 3X as much as the ceramic. Cararra seems to be just as expensive as well.) So maybe cost will help me make my decision.

I did a search on gardenweb for some affordable marble subways, and it brought up all kinds of questionable nonsense that I would rather not deal with...!