Why do anything? It looks beautiful just the way you have it.

Hello. Great kitchen! I live in an older home with a similar look and kitchen layout. I also have cream cabinets and soapstone countertops. My lower cabinets have beadboard centers and there are beadboard touches elsewhere (throughout my entire house). I agonized too but used subway tiles and have been very happy. I tried soapstone, it was too much black. Tiles with designs, or one color with contrasting grout, looked too busy. I put subway tiles and have never been sorry (3 years now). The one color looks clean ( I used off white grout ) but have texture which gives a charming look. -
Don't be afraid of beadboard though. My mom had beadboard splashes everywhere but the stove for 35 years and never a problem. My dad installed a metal? stainless steel sheet behind her cooktop, framed it putting a shelf on the top for a few cute spices, put a dowel between the shelf brackets which she used to hang things behind the stove (a vintage pot holder or ladel). Just a thought. But Good luck! Your kitchen already looks good and I love the floor. If you did nothing more than you have now, it still looks great.

You have a very pretty kitchen. Subway tiles that pick up the green of the floor would be nice and tie in with the great choices you've already made.

As I read your post, I was thinking along the same lines as chris in 15, you do have a really beautiful kitchen and something that sort of mimics the floor colors would look great and break up the white just a tad.

What a wonderful kitchen!

I love the little bit of green between the uppers and lowers. I'd do what lukk and chris suggest: Subways in that color.

i agree with pbrisjar....seriously. i think it looks beautiful, warm, and quite finished. Your paint color looks perfect to me. Do you really think it needs something?

I can see subways or 4x4's done on a diagonal. What would you think of going the opposite of convention and doing a soft sagey green to match the floors and using the creamy white color as an inset? Then you're not worrying about the white (which is usually the main color with "colored" insets) being the perfect "match" color to your cabs. GREAT KITCHEN!!

Your kitchen is beautiful. All you need to do is to put up clear glass sheets against your backsplash wall, from the counter to your cabinet and have that be your backsplash.

If you ever change the color of your kitchen, all you have to do is take them down (they are screwed in) and paint and put them back up. As Francy would say, easy peesy lemon squeezy!

The panels would be screwed into the wall--yes another poster did it here and maybe there might be a link if you do a search. It looked wonderful (like your kitchen) and is easy to clean up.

There's a lot to be said for painted splashes. I've had one for several years and love that I can change the 'stuff' that I hang there. There are so many interesting things--old advertising tins, vintage millwork, cast iron pretties, textured tile, to suggest a few--that I have cycled in & out of my splash area. Right now, it's naked because I decided that I liked that look for a while.

I like the sheet glass suggestion which I'd probably use behind the cooktop only. The greenish cast of most glass might end up being perfect with the green in your paint & tile. (Love that floor, BTW!)

I did a quick search for an example of something fun & the first hit was something that I think I really must have!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cast Iron Architectural Goodie

I love your kitchen! So beautiful, charming, and peaceful feeling. And of course the soapstone is dreamy looking.

As for backsplash, I am not in the keep it painted camp. I think you need just a tiny bit of something there. White subways, carrara subways, carrara subways with insets of ming green marble? Or I saw on FKB somewhere some delicious pale green subways with just a bit of sparkle.

Anita

What a great kitchen you have, especially the floors and the leaded glass. (How could I have missed it before??)

I agree, you have to incorporate that green in your floors somewhere in your upper area to do the floors justice. I like the idea of doing a creamy backsplash (could be ceramic subway tiles) with small accents of green. Beadboard would also be lovely above the soapstone backsplash. I can't tell where your cooktop is. What about doing a different material above the cooktop, and beadboard everywhere else?

I like what mustbnuts suggested - glass. How about clear glass tiles, allowing the paint color to come through (I assume they exist). Personally I would go nuts trying to match a green tile with that great wall color.

I also like what redroze suggested about a cream colored tile, but I am a purist and would only do the cream.

Either way, your kitchen is beautiful. I would live with just the paint for a while and see what moves me. It looks great the way it is and sometimes less is more.

I love it---------perhaps because it looks very much like mine! I just wanted to say that our very similar kitchen (cream cabinets, contrasting soapstone, wall color, pulls, etc.) looks great with white subway tiles.

Your kitchen looks so good, I would only add a very subtle (not eye-catching) backsplash or none at all.

I agree with pbrisjar and jessie. It looks so wonderful as is. I think if you REALLY think it needs something, maybe just play around with decorative plates/bowls or even some little trivets maybe that you could hang on the painted part ... "chotchkas" as we say in the hood... but I say, really, don't mess with success:)

Thank you everyone! :) Good grief, I just realized I've been debating a backsplash for almost 3 years! Wow.

Redroze--the reason you haven't seen my kitchen before is because I was waiting (3 years now *ahem*) to post a finished kitchen. I decided better now than never!

I live in a 1950s red-brick ranch. I wanted the kitchen to feel like warm cookies and a glass of milk. I'm so thrilled some of you think it looks warm and peaceful. That was the goal. :)

I quit my job towards the end of the remodel, so my cork floors had to be replaced with something $0.25/SF. Along came VCT, and I have to say if I had the budget to do something different, I would do the same thing! Who would have thought?!

The color on the wall is Manatee Grey by Glidden. It is, actually, very similar to the green color you see in glass, so I am very intrigued by the suggestion to screw in glass.

It's funny--I once asked a designer/blogger to give me some ideas, and she also originally suggested to keep it the way it was. She also gave some other suggestions, including subways behind the cook-top and wallpaper that picks up the green of the floor and cream of the cabinets on the rest of the 'splash.

I'm off to search the boards and FKB for all the suggestions you have all were so kind to offer. Thank you! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to the Designer Blog

So we all have great insight- (as confirmed by your last post..) I am clueless though-- what is VCT?

Very beautiful kitchen!!!
What is VCT?? I love that floor.

I agree....skip the backsplash; especially since you've already waited 3 years.
Can you tell I hate making decisions?

Ooo..oooo...I wanna guess!!! Does VCT stand for "Vinyl Click Tile"? That's my final answer!! ;-)

I just realized your ceiling is painted a green (or appears to be that way). I think a cream tile or beadboard painted in cream would look fabulous then, as the curtains and ceiling pick up the green from the floors.

Although I think your kitchen looks really really really nice right now, I have to say that backsplashes just will take it up another notch. So I have to say - please do a backsplash!!

I love your kitchen! Those are the colors I was looking to use in my bathroom. Its great to see how they look together outside of color swatches.

I was just looking at some lovely Villi Highand Green glass tile on our local craigslist (Denver if you want to see a picture of the color). The color looks like it might blend well with your green. They might look nice as an accent with some cream tile.

(and no, they aren't my glass tile for sale...just been looking for glass tile for our basement kitchen/bath to go with my Santa Cecilia :))

Vinyl compositions tile is an under rated material - it comes in a lot of gorgeous colours like the lovely green you used. Chosen carefully less expensive materials can have a terric impact in a room. Case in point your gorgeous kitchen, everything is lovely but that floor makes the space really stand out for me. I wouldn't presume to advise you but you might consider backsplashing the enclosed side walls and leaving the end wall with the window just as it is. With the hard colour break with the countertop I would resist more cream and probably go a similar green or think about\texture or shape with the tile if you go off white - something to contrast the strong linear pattern of the floor. Vitra makes a penny round tile which might be fun if it came in an appropriate colour (it may come in a soft green) - maybe not, just a thought - somebody should use it -it's fantastic and fun.

I think your kitchen is beautiful. What about cream subway tiles with some small black insets to play off your beautiful soap stone.

It's lovely but I wouldn't leave it without a backsplash, I'm leaning toward subways for a classic look that's easy to clean. :)

Ugh, I'm in the same boat. In your case, I think I might leave it without a backsplash, since you did the soapstone up onto the wall a few inches. I didn't do that, so I'm in a predicament (2 years, 4 months later . . .)

Here is a link that might be useful:

Love your kitchen. Maybe my backsplash will spark some ideas for your space. Please look at this link and click on the previous shot for the coordinating mural tile over the cook top. A little diagonal accent tile would repeat your floor pattern beautifully. (I wanted cream cabinets and bin pulls as you have, but DH insisted on wood grain. Now that I look at these photos my kitchen resembles a lumber yard. But still an improvement over what we had before!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Cream ceramic tile with SS mural and accent tiles

Nomorebluekitchen just posted some beautiful ming green subways as her inspiration this past Sat. They would look really great with the soapstone and the floor. The longer 2x 12 or 3 x 8 size m,akes them look modern yet classic at the same time. Here's the link.

The subways were $5/sq foot closeout and are absolutely beautiful. I am going to order them for my bathroom I think.

Here is a link that might be useful: nomorebluekitchen please choose the tile for me

I think the ming green subways would be wonderful...and what a deal!

Everybody gets to vote, right?? Kitchen designers, dog catchers, backsplash goof-u-ses, prison inmates and the like? Okay, given I am one of the above, here is my two cents. Looking at the picture, I think it looks perfect and needs nothing else. Visualize an 18" band of "something" going across that beautiful soapstone. I think it would take away from your counter. You also have alot of knobs going on there and for some reason, I think another element would detract and not add to it overall. Also, I like the way the paint from the backsplash area goes around the window. If you did a tile or such, I would not like it unless you outlined the window as well. But, that would not work with subways or beadboard.

How is the paint finish holding up? If you've had no problems, I would leave as is. Your kitchen is gorgeous. Look at it overall. Some kitchens SCREAM for a backsplash...your kitchen does not.

Sorry I haven't responded. I didn't get any updates! :(

Yes, the tiles are Vinyl Composite Tiles and I LOVE them. They are the same flooring you find in the supermarket, Target, etc. except mine are not polished. I left them in their natural matte finish. We had budget issues mid-way through the remodel (I quit my job to become a SAHM) and let me tell you--if I had a million dollars and could put in any floor I wanted I would STILL use VCT. I have been very, very happy with the floor.

Thanks so much for all the links. That ming green tile is gorgeous! I think I have it narrowed down to that and subway tiles.

mjsmama,
Love your kitchen. When you get a chance, post some more pics and give us the details. Would love to know the name of your soapstone. Also, my 2 cents would be to go with either the ming tile or subway tile, but finish the space with a tile backsplash. Really like the way you painted the ceiling as well. Boy, October seems to be the month for people to post some very special kitchens!

I think it must be the retro feel from the VCT but I still think penny round would work. The white isn't bright and I wouldn't describe them as glossy. I think the ming would be too busy you need something simple. I had a friend who did a mofiied subway around his tub - tiles were 2x5 I think and matte. Just enough to be a little different but not compete with other things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vitra penny round

mjsmama - Love your floor - what brand of VCTs did you use - Marmoleum?

My DH isn't too keen on them, but they seem like a great flooring for a kitchen (especially with kids). I will have to show him the photo :)

mjsmama -- Your floor is beautiful! We just had VCT installed in our basement family room. I love the matte finish it currently has, but EVERYONE (including the manufacturer) insists the floor has to be polished. I'm told the tiles will stain easily if they're not protected with polish. How do you keep your floor looking so good without constant polishing?

I LOVE your kitchen!

Before reading all of the responses, my first thought was glass subways; I see a lot of other folks were leaning in the same direction (I don't know if that's a good thing or not! ;-D)

I think it's beautiful the way it is, but I would like to see a little more 'pop' in the backsplash, & I think glass subways - green tinted or mixed colors w/ some of the green - would look fabulous! Regular sized or the smaller ones.

That's my vote!

What are the upper cabinet door on each side of the sink, am I seeing textured glass? It's beautiful what I can see in the picture.

Hi, mjsmama, I love your kitchen, especially the VCT floor. I recently used your pics to illustrate the kind of floor I want in my vintage-style kitchen.

Can you tell me anything about maintenance? You can send me a PM, or if you click on my username, you can find links to my threads, and answer on one of them. Thank you!