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Your materials are very pretty. My choice would be to continue the wood flooring into the kitchen. Wood floors are warmer and more comfortable than tile - easier on the joints and feet.

Lots of ways you can go with backsplash with that pretty granite; first that came to mind for me were a creamy tumbled trav or creamy subway with a crackle finish. The finished kitchens blog has several kitchens with Venetian Gold counters that might give you some ideas. (Click Categories > Countertops > Venetian Gold.) I've linked to just one example below.

Also check out the finished backsplashes slideshow for more inspirations.

Congrats on your new build!

Here is a link that might be useful: Caroleoh's kitchen on FKB

Wow! Thank you so much for the links! I really like Caroleoh's backsplash.

I would love to continue the hard-wood floors into the kitchen, but DH won't budge on that one. His parents had hardwood in their kitchen and it was ruined in just over a year.

This is probably my biggest challenge... getting all of those choices to work together with some kind of dark tile... So I'll keep my fingers crossed someone has a suggestion for or even experience with dark flooring and complementary backsplash...

Thanks again! :)

Where are you terminating the kitchen floor, at the edge of the cupboards or dining room?

I'm a huge hardwood in the kitchen fan (I've had it in 2 kitchens over 10 years)however I'm more nervous putting a STAINED dark hardwood in the kitchen as it is a bit less forgiving than natural. If you ever have a pipe leak with a natural colored hardwood, you can spot-fix. Much trickier with stained hardwood. How is that riding the fence between your husband and yourself? LOL!

If you go with tile, I really would go quite a bit lighter than the hardwood. If you have your heart set on a darker floor in the kitchen, you may want to consider a mid-tone slate (depending how it would look with your granite)

Just remember, dark tile will show pet hair, crumbs and wiped up spills more than mid or light tones.

Good Luck!

I think a tile with a deep brownish golden hue would work great. Probably lighter then he initially wants, but I do think it would brighten up the space, tie into the granite, and highlight your rich cabs. Very nice space!!

You guys are amazing! I didn't know that darker tiles would show off spills/stains! We both love the current hardwood, so I don't think switching to a more kitchen friendly wood would work at this point. And the tile will stop in the kitchen. We want to keep the dining and living areas both hardwood so placement of furniture can be more flexible. I have an appointment at the design center tomorrow afternoon and will see if I can find a medium slate color and/or brownish golden tile that might work. I really appreciate those suggestions. :)

Does anyone have any experience or photos of Cerdomus Kairos Saturnia tile? At the design center, it seemed to be a good compliment to the New Venetian Gold, but it's so hard to make decisions from sample tiles. It's still not as dark as DH would like, but I didn't find a dark tile I liked with the Venetian Gold.

Also, I forgot my camera, so I just have a crummy cellphone shot...

I am not sure if these help but maybe they can generate some
ideas for you.
~boxerpups

Beau Monde Glass
{{!gwi}}

Plan Forward pot filler

Brown Edge
{{!gwi}}

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Peacoock Erin Adams Ann Sacs tile

{{!gwi}}

Clacutta Marble

Tan Brown

Thanks boxerpups. Those backsplashes are beautiful! We're leaning toward the Cerdomus Kairos Saturnia 8" for the backsplash and the 16" for the floor... both on a diagonal set. It is really hard to find something that works well with the Venetian Gold as it is such a busy granite with a very yellow cast to it. But we love it!!!