I'd like to DOWNPLAY the rust in the Typhoon Bordeaux granite.

I started a thread BEFORE the granite was installed and now realize I should have waited until after. I like the granite however I didn't realize how much MORE prominant the rust color would become pairing it with the Cherry Pecan cabinets. It brings out the rust in the cabinets rather than the brown.

How can I downplay the rust color in the granite? The stone also has silver grey, Ivory, cream, and small bits of burgundy and bits of deep purple. I dont want anything too trendy or too busy. Appliances are stainless steel. Cabinets should mellow to less "orange".

Suggestions please!
Melanie1121

I posted the photos from left to right beginning on the end with the dishwasher:

sink:

corner:

corner again:

small counter next to stove, unfortunately its where you walk into the kitchen and there is most rust in this counter portion:

Idea of whole kitchen without granite, two photos. Thanks for your help!

Counter I like the most, to the right of the pantry:

Thanks for looking!

So now for the backsplash...almost finished! almost...almost....almost.
Melanie1121

Melanie1121

We chose a backsplash that was very simple, creamy white crackle tiles with different colored insert tiles. I think with a dramatic granite like that, keeping the backsplash simple is best. Our perimeter granite is a darker, different granite than our island, but I think this type of backsplash would look nice even right up against the dramatic backsplash:

susanilz5: Your vote is soft white or cream. I see what you mean about the gray, but who knows it might bring out the gray in the stone as others suggested.

golddust: Bianco Romano marble in 3 x 6 honed, you have a link for that one?

owls4me: I followed the posts 'Feeling sick-not sure about tile-Pic' on page 2 but couldnt find the tile you were referring to. Was it the off white (gray) subway tile the person wasnt happy with?

jeannie: Your kitchen is absolutely gorgeous! Thank you so much for taking the time to post your photos. Are those tiles 6x6? ceramic or tumbled stone? Color is creamy white crackle? Where did you get them? Can you please provide some more details? Thanks.

Will head out to the tile store today to pick up some suggested samples.

Thanks for all of your help. I hate to say this but I noticed a faint crack and chip in the counter this morning. Not sure what is "normal" for this stone however I'm a bit concerned. I'm going to contact the fabricator. I'll check back with you when I have the samples. In the meantime, photos and suggestions are welcome.

Not necessarily. Melanie-- look into a tumbled marble called bottocino. If you go to my backsplashes and countertops page, you'll see several examples of it:

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/3273826

I got a sample of the Bottocino and Antique Beige in a tumbled marble. For some reason I don't think the bottocino works. Could be just the color of the tile I was looking at. Who knows? Hard to tell from one little tile I brought home.

What do you think about the tiles? Bottocino to the left, Antique Beige to the right. I want to DOWNPLAY the rust in the granite yet "marry" the counter with the cabinets.

Also, looking for simple. Was wondering if I should do a 6 x 6 or go with a brick pattern(?). Don't want it to look busy but dont want "boring" either. Not a fan of the diamond pattern. See photos below.

Also, got in touch with paigesmom who also installed typhoon bordeaux with white cabinets. She did a Tagina Siena in Bone with a crackle. So I provided a photo of that tile too. What do you think?
Melanie1121

Sample of the Antique Beige I found online:

Bone Crackle

Thanks!!!

I brought home three types of subway tile:

1. A beige-like brushed and polished marble Botticino (recommended by Bill).
2. A porcelain cream colored tile which faintly resembles marble without all of the inconsistencies and maintenance.
3. A bisquit (off white) crackle subway tile. Photos below:

1.beige-like brushed and polished marble Botticino (bottom four tiles on the black board)

2.porcelain cream colored tile (daytime photo)

Same tile as above (porcelain), nightime photo (tile looks darker at night):

3.bisquit (off white) crackle (sideways because the board wouldn't fit underneath the cabinet). Disregard the darker tile:

I like all three however my concern is that the marbles may be too busy looking once installed (Shades, faint veins, variations), and the crackle tile may look too plain and not "marry" the cabinet with the counter.

What do you think? Yay or Nayyyyy?
Sincerely,
Melanie1121

Here's mine, before grouting. The granite is Delicatus.

Your kitchen looks beautiful. I totally agree with ccoombs recommendation. I am planning on using travertine to offset the glossiness of granite counters in my new kitchen. Good luck with your decision.

ccoombs; can you please tell me the manufacturer and color of your travertine? Thank you.

I like the cream tiles the best....that keeps things nice and updated as well...if you want to marry them more, do an accent tile as shown above...I would also do nice cream walls in that space...so that would really tie in nicely with the tiles.

3x6

This is from Sonoma's MoSuprema line: I love the 1x2 broken joint with the arch like this. They also have it regular. It comes in the Pale Ale too. There is also a honey color but it's more yellow I think.

I want to achieve a clean, simple yet elegant look. I also want to downplay the rust in my granite and pick up the ivory color.

I went back and forth and around! I think I like the subway tiles! After all that! I went to a few nice tile stores, one happens to carry the Sonoma tile. Of course, the lady in the "tile boutique" said "everyone does subway tiles". I figured well I've never done a subway tile and I think it can be a nice clean look!

I DO like the look of the crackle tile however am concerned about the glare; the matte tiles is more pleasing to the eye (less glare) yet may be too plain. However, I think I can do either in a subway and it will work.

I went to the tile store and brought home several Sonoma samples (before I read your post about the pale ale color).

I picked up some matte and crackle Sonoma tiles:
Cream city matte: a little too yellow
Krazy Crackle: white and maybe a little too bright but I think it may work.
Moonstone matte: ok
Ecru crackle: Also nice, a little softer than the white but maybe too beigey. What is the "color family" for ecru? Brown, green, grey?

I'm going to go to the tile store and get a sample of the pale ale.

What do you think?
Also, does crackle need to be sealed before AND after installation?

For those folks who wrote about the tumbled marbles...I appreciate your input and I think they are great, it's just not the look I want to achieve.
Thanks!
Melanie1121

I have typhoon bordeaux granite and cherry cabs coming - I want to see your photos!

Golddust - I could see the small pics, but server was too busy or something to display the large pics when I clicked on sidebar. My laminate is similar to your granite, I was also thinking marble b/s with lots of variation. What is your marble? And DH made the corner pieces?

I like the idea of a subway tile. I'm also toying with the idea of a 4x4 offset with a liner in a creamy beigey color. I had big hopes for a colorful diamond patterned backsplash before I picked out my granite. Now, i think less is more. I love the 'rust' tones - I think of them as more caramel. Mine seems to have more beige than gray.

I think the subway would be great. I love the subway in the kitchen in the Brothers & Sisters set.

As you can see from the picture below, we picked a neutral glossy subway (Daltile almond). The travertine/brown glass mosaic was a compromise addition to please my DH who loved the look of natural stone. I was surprised that the accent strip looked as good as it did after installing it. I was worried it would be too much, but it actually brought out the dark brown in the granite, and adds, IMHO, just the right amount of interest to the backsplash.

Please do post a photo of your final choice. I'm sure everyone would like to know what you end up with. Your granite is gorgeous! Perhaps, since your granite has a lot of movement, a plain neutral color of tile without an accent will look the best.

Been thinking of you. I just ordered my tile and it wasn't an easy decision! Wondered if you came up with anything yet.

Thanks for checking in. I decided to live with my kitchen for a little while. I finally placed my tile order last week. I decided to go with a plain matte finish tile. Too many windows adjacent to the kitchen so I was concerned about the glare bouncing off of the granite and the backsplash. So, that being said, I ordered Ann Sacks elements 3 x 8 (a little variation on the standard subway tile) in the "warm candle white" matte finish. The sales person in the store recommended the antique white grout and the tiles need to be sealed before and after grouting with a product called pourous plus. The downside is the tiles take about 6 - 8 weeks to come in (I swore I would never wait that long) and the frieght charges were very high. I figured I waited this long what's a "few" more weeks.

The only concern I do have is cooking without a tile backsplash. I dont fry much but the other night I stir fried and some of the oil splatterd onto the backboard. I scrubbed it down afterwards and hoping when I finally do install the tiles this will not give me a problem later on (i.e. mold, bacteria, who knows?). So my advice to anyone waiting for a backsplash but still cooking is to put a piece of tinfoil behind the stove. I wish I had done this before but didn't think about it until the problem arose. I will start a separate thread on this to give people the heads up.

In the meantime, I purchased curtains and am looking into purchasing a light honey colored or natural oak dining room set. I would like to get something that contrasts the cherry cabinet and easily "melds" with the natural oak floors (so, if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears).

I also found a very nice paint color for the dining area...its called "Mascarpone"...it is part of the Benjamin Moore Pottery Barn collection and it looks very nice.

So, I'm excited, everything is coming together little by little. I will definately post photos when it's all completed. In the meantime, I really thank everyone for their suggestions, support and for posting photographs. It helped me arrive at my decisions.

All of the backsplashes you folks have posted came out great! Thanks for sharing them.

I'll write soon, everyone please do the same.

Sincerely,
Melanie1121

that's a granite i could have in my house. Many of them I don't like much at all.