One more take just now:

I just mentioned on another thread last night that I had used crackle tile in my previous home when I redid that kitchen about 15 years ago. Since it was available that long ago and is often recommended and used by GWers at this time, I think it's safe to say it is not a new trendy look. I did not get tired of it for the 5 years I lived in that home after installing it. I think your new color choice is much better than the travertine that looked pinkish.
Sorry you have to go through the hassle and expense of changing out your backsplash but its the right thing to do if the other one bothers you so much.

Hi newbie! It is uderstandable that you are having second thoughts. After making one "mistake" you don't want to make another.
Only you can judge how the color goes with your granite. It comes up differently on all of our monitors. And, as you see, your granite seems to photograph differently too.
Here's how I see it. Looking at the model kitchen with the white tiles, it is not what I would choose, but it looks OK. The Rixi WILL look better than that!
When I was redoing my tiles, I was looking for something basic, nothing that would make a statement because my granite could do all the talking! I wanted people to come into my kitchen, look around, say its nice and MOVE on. No discussion about tile, granite etc. That is what I acheived with the Rixi tile.
The crackle gives a bit more dimension but is very subtle. You have to move in close to see those crackle lines.
Live with it for a few more days. Invite some of your friends who you trust to be honest and let them weigh in on this tile.
You might want to keep looking. I went to every tile store and completed the circle back at the first one for this tile!
The advise I was given by one very wise tile sales woman who realized how upset I was said, "At a certain point you need to make peace with this." Simple, but true.

badgergal - thank you! That makes me feel a lot better. The crackle tile is beautiful and does give it a big more dimension that a glossy tile would offer.

ellendi - You are very practical and wise. :) You worded it so perfectly, I don't want a bunch of ooh's and aahh's, I just want an overall nice look and leave it at that. I don't want to take the spotlight away from my granite. I do want a brighter look than what I have now and I am pretty confident the Rixi offers everything I am envisioning. I do need to make peace with this as I am sure you know, it's on my mind 25 hours a day. I have a tile guy coming today to give me a quote! YAY!!

Design question for you - when using all the brick/subway shape, is it a no-no to incorporate a pencil rail in the exact same color to add dimension or is it not necessary and possibly a bad idea? I am afraid all the worrying and anxiousness has clouded my ability to think objectively. ;-/

Do you have a pic of just granite head on?

a2gemini - I think you picked the best of the bunch! Do you also have a close up of just your granite available?

I would love to see the different granites that the Crema goes with.

Will try but might be this weekend as only iPhone access and most pictures are on our computer. I will check photobucket just in case.

I have Sonoma Tile in cream crackle. You have to get in very close to really see that they are crackled. The up-close camera shots make crackle look kinda stupid, but in reality, its effect is very subtle and lends a simple, je ne sais quoi quality.

Welllllll.... Tile guy with over 35 years of experience just left. I showed him the tile and didn't elaborate. The nagging feeling in the back of my mind about the Rixi Crema in my space was confirmed. He didn't feel it was an 'ideal' match and was afraid that I may end up with another mistake on my hands. He was very sweet and went over all the variables in the logistics of my kitchen that could be effecting the overall look - window placement, the color of the house behind us that is close enough to possibly cast a color cast into the kitchen, lighting placment, etc. He didn't want the outcome to make one look at it and ask, why did they choose that tile?

While I am thankful that I now have an 'in real life' opinion, and the Rixi in Crema is not for certain nixed, I am indeed a bit bummed.

So sorry. This is exactly why this is so hard. You are the only one that can really see the color variations. Your tile guy seemed very knowledgable. I am wondering what he would recommend for your kitchen?
Can you please tell me 9I am sure you did post this) what your granite is?

He agreed that a simple subway would be a great idea in there. He wasn't 100% sure on color but thought possibly an off white vs. cream. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right about the Crema. He agreed to meet at the tile store later this week to review options and then look again in the house once a few more selections are made.

Sigh.

ellendi - sorry I forgot last post. My granite is Juparana Persa aka Golden Beach(es).
From Artisan-counters.com
"Description: Juparana Persa a luxurious, new, golden-colored exotic from Brazil. It is a very versatile stone that is full of swirling veins with a sandy and dark grey veining sweeping through its surface."

By off-white did he mean lighter than cream? If anything, from the photos it looks to me that something a little darker than the crema might blend better with your granite. (I agree with you that the white backsplash in your first photo looks stark and wouldn't look good in your kitchen.) Hope you can find a tile you're really happy with!

I did some research and found many variations of your granite. In your photos, the Rixi looks like it could go, but I have to believe your tile guy as he is there in person.
I agree with julet in that it might pay to look into a darker tile. I am even thinking glass tiles.Have you considered glass already?
When you look at your granite overall, what colors do you see? Amber, honey, gold/brown?
You do want to try to get the backsplash to relate to a color in the granite.

I so wish that so could meet up with someone here who is also local to my area!

I have looked at several glass tiles. The issue I found is they would turn green once they are propped vertically on the wall. The green tone inherent in the glass takes over any cream or gold that the tile has in it.

I am going to go back and look I think on Thursday. I found another tile place today that has actual designers on staff to help choose materials. That sounds promising as well. There are so many different shades in the granite and it's so varied it's very difficult to pick an actual color to focus on and high light. There are grey streaks and veins also but I am too color challenged to ponder if that would even be an option. For the most part it's a warm granite.

ellendi - I agree. There are times when I think the Rixi Crema blends very well with my granite. On the other hand there are times when I am unsure. I do know that I don't see a hint of pink in it at all at any time. I am pondering purchasing a couple of square feet (is this possible?) and making a sample board to better determine how it shows in my kitchen.

The color that stands out the most, although difficult to choose, I think is the gold. I'm not at home right now so I may have to re-evaluate in the morning. :)

Bummer.
Take your time. You will know it when it is right.

The tricky part in all of this is how it looks in your kitchen. As you saw with the Rixi, even the salesperson thought it matched in the showroom.
As your tile guy told you, there are many variables that come into place in your kitchen.
Have you seen Horus Art? Anne Sacks? Jeffrey Court?
How about starting a separate thread with your granite in the title. Maybe people with similar granites will come forward.
I googled your granite and it seems to be paired with light beige backsplashes. So another difficult point is the variation between the slabs.
You'll get there.

Newbie, have you seen annie zz"s thread? Her granite is similar and she realized that too about yours. She had an old thread about getting a backsplash and is now also considering tiles.
You might be able to compare notes!

Thank you everyone! I have been reading but due to limited computer access for the past couple days I haven't been able to do much else. I am going to the new tile store today so hopefully I can report back with some good news about options.

Keep good thoughts for me - my fingers and toes will be crossed!

Sending you positive energy to find the right tile. You will know it when you see it!

Hello Friends,

I went to two tile stores yesterday. The first one, which I had high hopes for was a failure. I came home with two tiles, both by Sonoma's Stellar series, Toast and Krazy Krackle. Krazy Krackle showed up almost a neon white/pale yellow and Toast was a tinge too orange. The other tile store was so sweet. They are where I have been getting most of my samples from. I came home with SIXTEEN sample tiles. Yes, 16! I brought home every cream tile that we thought might have the possibility of matching my granite as well as some greys and even two black tiles. Hey, I was desperate!

I was depressed. I was teary eyed. None of the new colors worked. So I put them away for a while and did something else for a while. Then I remembered, one of the sample boards I brought home was from Adex in Sand was still in my car. I had brought it home just to see as the lady in the store said it did veer on the pink side (in real life she is correct - evvvvver so slightly there is hint of a pinky undertone in certain lighting but I had brought it home a month or so ago and it's what first got me on the thought of a crackle subway so I took the chance again) HOWEVER when I put this BIG board up against my granite vs. the just the smaller tiles flanked by existing icky backsplash, it showed me something! Having a light tile makes the light areas in my granite POP like they are popcorn!

ADEX tile:

Can a light cream ceramic subway work for me after all?!?

So I dug out the samples of Rixi Crema and propped them against the Adex in Sand. Definite difference, the Rixi is creamier and warmer. Both in the daytime and at night. So I am just not 100% convinced that the tile guy was correct. Am I crazy? Probably...but I can't shake the feeling that this tile just might be a contender.

I spent some time today retaking pictures of the Crema in various areas of my kitchen, different shading. lights, etc. I blocked out the backsplash with an extra cabinet door so it didn't interfere. I also took a picture of it with SW Kilim Beige which is supposed to be a warm beige. The Crema Rixi is similar in shade value (??) and to me, up against the paint, the tile looks even warmer.

What do you guys think? Ignore the accent tile in the pic - I was just playing. More pics at the link, please, please check them out!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Updated Grazia Rixi in Gardenwebnewbie's kitchen

I think a good glass of wine will help you tonight. You hit it on the nail - warm fuzzies!
I realized that was the reason we went with the crema.
But just to throw in a wrench- did you look at any Jeffrey Court series?
Their crema is darker but there were some close contenders.

I can say for sure - no pink in Rixi crema!

When I read your post saying that the tile guy didn't like the Grazia Crema I wanted to reply, " What does he know. Just because he can lay tile doesn't mean he is a color expert". Most men aren't, IMHO but I kept my thoughts to my self. Now that you have added to the post here I felt like I could say what I thought.
When you first showed the Grazia Crema tiles I liked how they looked with your granite and seeing more pictures in your link confirms that the color is good. It doesn't seem off to me and definitely doesn't skew pink.
Have you had any friends or neighbors come look at them in your house to see what they think.
I can see why you are being cautious so if you could do a sample board with the tiles grouted that might help. Good luck in your decision.

I just found these on google. I think the colors that used in the pics that are similar to the Crema look nice with granite (same as mine - Juparana Persa) and gives a similar look to how the subway tile in Crema may mingle with my granite.

Thoughts?

a2gemini - A glass of wine may just be in order this evening! ;)

I did look at some Jeffrey Court tiles but they had names like Tipperary, etc., I didn't see a crema...? What series was it in? Do you know how JC compares cost wise to Grazia? Lower cost, of course, would be ideal! The Jeffrey Court tiles I did look at, while they were darker than any Crema would be, did vary quite a bit from tile to tile even in the same color. That worried me. I do need some bullnose pieces (not separate end pieces, preferably a particular whole tile but with a bullnose edge) so I am wondering which line would be better for that purpose.

badgergal - SO TRUE! My husband asks me on a regular basis, does this shirt match these pants? He isn't colorblind by any means, and sometimes it seems so obvious that it does or doesn't match...but I bite my tongue and help him out. I think part of the reason that I took the tile guys opinion to heart was because we were looking at the tile in one particular area of my kitchen - and this area was in the direct sun coming through a tinted window. It's a high quality tint but one on the darker scale due to the direct sunlight/heat I get in my house. That alone could have been skewing that area where we were looking. I don't think there is going to be any tile that is going to 100% spot on color wise in every single area no matter what the tile or material or location. I think an overall great color will be the answer to the equation. With an overall good look, no one, hopefully not even me, will point at one particular area that may have a negligible shade change and goes "OH MY GOODNESS!! Your tile doesn't match. LOL

A good friend of mine is very good with decorating and her mom has her own interior design business. She has been bugging me to come by and see what I have so far - hopefully we can set a time up by the end of next week.
I have been hesitating because she swears that the existing travertine tile can be remedied with paint color and I just don't want to go there. Now that I have something concrete in mind, I feel more comfortable.

YAY!

oops - what did you end up doing - I forget which chapter of JC had their crema- but in reality much darker than the Rixi.

Hi, thanks for checking back! :-)

After months of searching to find a tile to match my very golden toned granite, we decided to swap the granite out for a beautiful Santa Cecelia Classic granite and a matching six inch backsplash.

It was a looong and stressful road - with a lot of tears. While I don't necessarily advocate what we did, in our case no stone was left unturned. We haven't looked back once since!

Link with pics below.

Here is a link that might be useful: gardenwebnewbie's dilemma solved!