I love the subtle variation in the photo you've shown. You've thought enough about it, you've found something you love, you're going to be very happy! And good for you for continuing to allow your design to evolve based on what you already have installed and how each element looks in your space-- there's be a lot less kitchen-suffering if everyone did that...

I like it a lot.

The subtle shading is very pretty...can't wait to see it all put together.

Love those!

I'm so glad you posted. I saw the Houzz photo too and noted it as I am also looking for gray tiles.

It's lovely and will go so well with your Danby. Thank you for posting your choice.

romy, good for you! They're gorgeous with the subtle variations of color. And can I just say CRACKLE? Crackle is an awesome way to add something without it looking like a thing.

Gorgeous! Huge fan of subtle variation!

That is absolutely perfect! I can't wait to see it installed!

I agree. I could live with those forever (really.)

Pat yourself on the back for finding something! There is WAY TOO MUCH to choose from out there. Make ya crazy! And the tile looks beautiful, too. Love to see a pic with all your elements together.

love it and love crackle!

They are absolutely Beautiful!!!....love the subtle difference in shading....Looking forward to seeing your Reveal..
Know it will be Stunning!!

Love it!

Oh my, I'm in LOVE with that tile!! Have to look up the houzz pick now....
Congrats on a big decision made!

I love this Kitchen! Lovely choice of backsplash.

Here is a link that might be useful: [Encore Silver[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/lake-minnetonka-tailored-white-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-minneapolis-phvw-vp~4875232)

That is beautiful! And although I've had a very difficult time finding anything online about the tile, I've found a distributor in a town 3 hours from here, and I'm thinking of making a trip.
I think I've struggled more with the backsplash decision than with any other for my kitchen.
What you've landed on is a perfect balance between too busy and boring. Love it!

Firsthouse - that is the tile. It has so much more depth in person. I haven't been able to find any photos, even on their website, that portray what their tiles really look like. The color is "silver" but it is a light grey with blue/?green undertones.
Many more beautiful colors, beautiful mosaics, matte tile, textured tile, etc.
I was really anxious about the cost. I bought it through my KD and had to wait 24 hours for pricing. I know I paid retail (no discounts) and it was somewhere about $30 per square foot . That price includes our 10% local sales tax{{gwi:807}} & freight. Expensive, but not the most expensive & it seems I always like the most expensive. They also have a line called Bravo that is supposed to be more affordable.
I don't have any decent pics of it with my countertops/cabinets.. It was late evening & I took that picture next to a sliding glass door to get maximum light.
I hope Breezy (?ABB president) sees this post as this company may have her tile. With the variety of tile sizes available, one tile product can be traditional, contemporary or transitional.
Today, I found another Encore website that had more pics. Sorry, I don't know how to post a link.
myencoretile.com
Edit: I had mistakenly posted $35-$43 per square foot. It was actually $30/sf including tax & freight.

This post was edited by romy718 on Mon, Oct 21, 13 at 14:12

Romy, I love that tile! It's clean, modern yet versatile, and the color pooling/variation adds the 'ahhh this is pretty' without being either too plain, or too distracting.

I too was looking for something similar, and found another crackle by Alkusari. Unfortunately, it only comes in one color- English Tan (pictured below), but it's at an amazing price point. It is also crackle, glazed, ceramic... but you can't immediately see the crackle until you go up close. I wasn't interested in crackle either, but the color pooling is what first drew me to this tile.

I'm glad you posted the Encore - now I have yet another option to consider, haha. I'm also considering the Calacatta gold subways. Anyway, here's a picture of the Alkusari tile if it helps anyone looking into this color palate.

here it is in direct sunlight (sorry about the junk under the tile):

That's an interesting tile because it subtly matches the varied colors of the grey veining in the marble.

When you look at the Houzz pics, it's also very mutable, going from almost white to a light grey depending on hot the light hits it.

Oh my, I'm in LOVE with that tile!! Have to look up the houzz pick now....
Congrats on a big decision made!

ETA - oops sorry not sure why this just reposted! still love that tile though :)

This post was edited by homebuyer23 on Wed, Sep 11, 13 at 0:01

It's funny you posted this because I just found this thread on a google search on my BS tile choice. We just placed an order for Encore crackle subway tile in truffle and of course, I can't find a single picture of it installed online. DH and I are now wavering on it because truffle looks very brown on the online catalogue and it looked light taupey beigey with blues and green in it in the showroom. We had eliminated smoke (which there was entire sample board done in smoke) as too dark, but that shows up lighter than truffle!

Of course, reading this post and the link makes us want to reconsider silver, although we had eliminated as too cool. We also white cabinets (Chantilly Lace), a Calacutta top on our grey stained island, and had very stupidly picked a super-light blue on the walls (BM Genesis White) and everything reads very cool and bluish white in the room - exactly the look we didn't want.

We thought we could warm up the room with the BS, but now I am second guessing our choice. I can cancel or change the order tomorrow since the order will be placed on Monday. And as you have already pointed out, Encore tiles are not cheap.

Sorry for the hijack.

Here is a link that might be useful: Encore catalogue

This post was edited by marthastoo on Sat, Oct 19, 13 at 20:10

Very pretty tile!

I wouldn't pay any attention to the online catalog. It doesn't look anything like the tiles in real life. I took home a tile board in silver & a light taupey color. I think it might have been truffle but I am not sure. It was beautiful. To be honest, I loved both of them . The silver had an occassional tile that is very light greyish blue & worked for our colors.
The tile store is 5 min from my house. I can run by there on Monday & take pictures of both if that would help you. Even the online Houzz pictures of the Encore silver look nothing like it does in person.
Let me know if you want me to see if it was truffle & want a picture. No problem for me to do that.

Romy718 - thank you so much for your offer - you're very sweet. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd love to see a pic of an entire sample board done in truffle. I am going back to the showroom tomorrow to get a pic of the sample board, but it only has two tiles of the truffle.

Thanks for talking me down. DH and I loved the tile in the showroom. Can you believe the salesperson said Encore subway tiles are about $17 sf? Yeah, when we went to ring up the sale, we found out it was really $29 and that's with a 15% off sale they are running. :/

Marthastoo, post some pics of your kitchen. There are lots of people on GW that will weigh in. Chantilly Lace cabinets, Calacatta, grey island... it sounds beautiful.
Edit

This post was edited by romy718 on Sun, Oct 20, 13 at 10:00

Romy718 - I am assuming you are talking to me. Here's a pic of what we have installed thus far. Clearly, we still have a way to go. The countertops will be installed on Wednesday (honed calacutta on the island and leathered steel gray on the perimeter). The pics doesn't seem that blue, but trust me, the rooms glows blue. We're even considering switching the paint color to a beigey-taupey-neutral.

Marthastoo, we are using Chantilly Lace as our trim throughout the house--love it! Your kitchen is beautiful.

Romy718, love the tile you chose. It will look spectacular!

Marthastoo, I'll get those pics on Monday.
$29/sq. ft.? I paid somewhere between $35 and $43/sf, ordered thru my KD. I'm not sure how many square feet were ordered & price included 10% tax & freight.
Your kitchen looks beautiful. I love your glass cabinets. You're right, I don't see any blue.
I was able to check out both sample boards overnight & my walls are painted BM 1551, La Paloma Grey, so the silver worked better. Either color would have worked with my countertops. At night, with the little bit of lighting that we had available, the silver looked taupey. Our kitchen is very "white". White cabinets, white countertops. The silver, even though it is grey with the occasional bluish tile, is very soft looking & doesn't look cool.
Either one will be a beautiful choice. I'll post those pics tomorrow.
Edit: went back & looked at my order. I paid $30 per square foot.

This post was edited by romy718 on Mon, Oct 21, 13 at 14:14

Romy - thanks for your kind words. Your kitchen is stunning and I cannot wait for your final reveal. We actually have similar elements, so I have been following your posts with interest.

DH and I have thought about it some more and have decided to switch the color from truffle to mint. We decided to go with a little more color in the BS as opposed to the safer neutral like truffle. We're partially influenced by this BS on Houzz:

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by San Francisco Interior Designers & Decorators Fiorella Design

and the fact that our island is a grayish green (to be balanced by the blueish tint in the wall.)

Here's the mint (it's the pair on the right, 2nd row down). DH and I shook on it before we switched the color that that's it. No more vacillating.

So don't feel obligated to make a special trip to the tile place for a photo of the truffle. If, however, there is a sample board of mint, click away! :)

Martha, that's great. Your inspiration picture is my all time favorite backsplash. I read in another thread on GW that it was the most "saved" kitchen picture on houzz. Gotta be the backsplash.
The Encore mint will be beautiful. Congratulations! Very cute that you & DH "shook" on it.
Do you know the other colors on the sample board? I didn't see a sample board with all the colors, just the two boards I brought home.

Here's the names for the green tile board. Sorry so blurry! I'll post the blues board in the next post.

Here's the Encore crackle blue tile board.

Tile names for the blue board

It's probably a good thing I didn't see all those colors...a decision would have been difficult. What size tiles did you order? I had planned on a 4"x8" but decided to do the 3"x6" to take advantage of the color variation in each tile.

I went back & looked at my change order for the tile purchase. My math was wrong. My allowance was $20 per square foot. I paid $30 per square foot for Encore 3"x 6" Silver Crackle Subways. Wanted to clarify that it was not $43 sq. ft.

Hi I was wondering what company you purchased the encore tile from for $30 a square foot! Thanks

I think Encore has raised it's prices since 2013 - I cannot find it near me for under 45.00 a square foot. :(

@Miranda Carson & arbo, I'm so sorry I didn't respond. Some how I missed your post. Three posts up I corrected what I paid for 3"x6" Encore Silver to $43 per square foot, which I purchased through my kitchen reno company. If I had purchased the 2"x6" or 2"x8" from the Bravo line, I would have paid closer to the $22- $30 sf, that a few other GWer's paid. The Bravo line is Encore's quick ship tile that has a limited color choice & limited sizes, but is less expensive than their other lines.

Arbo, what tile & color are you considering?

Ahh, that make sense- thanks for the clarification. I'm really interested in the 3x6 silver crackle. So beautiful! Are you still happy with your choice?

If I had to pick my best kitchen decision, it would be the backsplash. It pulled my whole space together. I still love it.

I just checked the Encore website. They've changed the Bravo line to the "Quick Ship" line. The Silver crackle is included in 2 subway tile sizes, 2 1/8 x 6 3/8 or 3 1/8 x 8 5/8.. I would have done one of those to save $$$ if I had been aware of that option.