Please show me your backsplash...

[Tekate]

@chemgirl speechless!! (and for me that is impossible!) on your new kitchen... I especially love the tile and how it complements the kitchen.. great job too!

 

[Tekate]

@ILikeShiny jeez, when people have money they sure like to rip them off big time. So sorry about the latest on "how to get money from ILS and hubster" saga

We’ve put all house discussions on hold until we return from our trip (one more week) but just before we left the got back to us with their offer on the tub we had requested and it was $3000 more instead of the $300 it should have been. Their explanation was a bunch of nonsense so we’ll take the other tub which is only missing one feature I had wanted (whisper quiet motor)

 

[rocks]

@Loves Vintage here are some b4's! Now Lisa the decorator originally tried to bring the HOT colors down in the family area (my house is a ranch with 2400 upstairs square feet downstairs another 600 sq feet).. But I STILL felt it was too damn brown, orange and dark so we livened it with the second redo.

https://www.houzz.com/projects/1480504/austin-to-maine-home

I dunno....I think your instincts are better than decorator Lisa. I couldn't live with all the brown and orange....but the new palate? Gorgeous. It's soothing without being too white. Great job.

 

[junebug17]

not sure hahaha. but here are some!

Tekate, your home is absolutely gorgeous, I love all of your choices. Your kitchen is beautiful. What a truly lovely home, enjoy!

 

[Tekate]

Aw thank you Junebug!!!

Tekate, your home is absolutely gorgeous, I love all of your choices. Your kitchen is beautiful. What a truly lovely home, enjoy!

 

[missy]

not sure hahaha. but here are some!

Fresh, sharp, sophisticated and inviting.Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

 

[BlingDreams]

not sure hahaha. but here are some!

Accent pieces are EVERYTHING, and you nailed it!! It looks so warm and cozy and inviting. Great job!!!

 

[BlingDreams]

@ILikeShiny jeez, when people have money they sure like to rip them off big time. So sorry about the latest on "how to get money from ILS and hubster" saga

We’ve put all house discussions on hold until we return from our trip (one more week) but just before we left the got back to us with their offer on the tub we had requested and it was $3000 more instead of the $300 it should have been. Their explanation was a bunch of nonsense so we’ll take the other tub which is only missing one feature I had wanted (whisper quiet motor)

Yep, it’s disgusting. We even called them on it and you can bet it will be a part of our review of their company!

 

[BlingDreams]

You are taking all this so much better than I would.....

I feel I have little choice. We called them on just being money grubbing and they threw a bunch of architectural stuff at us. We know it’s not true, but we’d spend more money proving them wrong than we would for the tub we wanted so we’re just sucking it up and taking the other tub. It’s not that different, but it’s still wrong of them to be that way

 

[BlingDreams]

Buongiorno!

We’re in Italy for four more days but I had to share the latest souvenir I picked up. We’re currently in Venice, which is famous for their lace and Murano glass; I’m not much of a lace person but I love decorative glass and have picked up lots of small stuff (barrettes, purse holders, wine stoppers, and a few jewelry pieces) as well as 3-4 larger decorative pieces over the past few days. But yesterday we picked up this beauty! It’s about 14”h x 18”w and the moment I saw it I knew my search for my final piece was over! I looooooooove it!!! It’s so unlike anything else we saw and it’s crazy shape plus tons of colors is just so “me”



Once the new house is finished I think I’ll put it in the formal dining room as it gets a lot of light and should really show off the colors

One other thing I (kind of) picked up was a Murano glass decanter. It will look very similar to this, but the larger size. They didn’t have exactly what we wanted so they offered to have their glassmakers make it as a custom order (sweet!). It’ll be 4-8 weeks before we have it in hand.

 

[Tekate]

@ILikeShiny oooohhhh I love these vases. colors are gorgeous.. jealous I will just have to go back to Italy (I love Italy). Are you gettin' hitched soon? there? nosey kate!

 

[Tekate]

@missy AWWWW! thanks.. it pays to have a decorate lady when one has zero and I mean zero taste.. Missy I should show you a pix of my A-town house, it had a Tex-Mex tile floor and a Rustic French wall tile and it was horrible! xoxo

Fresh, sharp, sophisticated and inviting.Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

 

[BlingDreams]

@ILikeShiny oooohhhh I love these vases. colors are gorgeous.. jealous I will just have to go back to Italy (I love Italy). Are you gettin' hitched soon? there? nosey kate!

Been hitched for four days! We’re old-timers now

 

[rocks]

I feel I have little choice. We called them on just being money grubbing and they threw a bunch of architectural stuff at us. We know it’s not true, but we’d spend more money proving them wrong than we would for the tub we wanted so we’re just sucking it up and taking the other tub. It’s not that different, but it’s still wrong of them to be that way

Payback will be a b-tch. Can't wait to read your review of them. Really, if they don't want to accommodate the needs of high end clients, then stay out of that market. It's wrong that they represent themselves as luxury builders when they clearly are not.

 

[Loves Vintage]

I finally went shopping yesterday. I think we are going with this honed black granite. The second photo is taj mahal quartzite. Both so different, and maybe I like the taj mahal a little more today. They say it's supposed to be more durable than other quartzites, but apparently lots of complaints out there. I'm worried we'd ruin it.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Tekate - Thanks for posting the photos!! You have a beautiful and comfy-looking home. I love all of the teals. Very nice!!

 

[missy]

I finally went shopping yesterday. I think we are going with this honed black granite. The second photo is taj mahal quartzite. Both so different, and maybe I like the taj mahal a little more today. They say it's supposed to be more durable than other quartzites, but apparently lots of complaints out there. I'm worried we'd ruin it.

That quartzite is very pretty but I also love the honed black granite. When we renovated our Brooklyn home in 2003 we put in black honed granite and all these years later we still love it. And it has worn so well. Looks brand new still. A classic gorgeous elegant and very durable and easy to care for stone for the kitchen IMO.

 

[BlingDreams]

I finally went shopping yesterday. I think we are going with this honed black granite. The second photo is taj mahal quartzite. Both so different, and maybe I like the taj mahal a little more today. They say it's supposed to be more durable than other quartzites, but apparently lots of complaints out there. I'm worried we'd ruin it.

What color are you painting your cabinets? That would be a big factor for me in deciding which one to choose. Also, every inspiration photo you've shared has a light countertop, so it seems your preference gravitates that way.

If you’re not 100% sold on what you’ve found, keep looking. It’s too expensive of a choice to rush a decision or regret it.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Thanks, Missy! The feedback on your honed granite is very helpful. People sometimes complain about water stains?

ILikeShiny - The cabinets will be painted white, as they are now. We are doing brushed gold or bronze, whatever you want to call it, pulls and knobs and faucet. You are absolutely right that I love the look of light counters. If they were easy to maintain, I would just get marble and call it a day . . . but we are fairly messy people, with kids and busy lives, so being really honest with myself, those beautiful counters would suffer. So, that means quartz, but I just love the idea of a natural material, so that means granite. Basically, anything we do will be a major upgrade to our current kitchen. And, that honed nero mist really appealed to me in person. ETA: Do white cabinets influence your thoughts on either counter? Thanks so much for the feedback!!

We are looking at a marble elongated hex tile like this for backsplash. Not sure which direction we'll go up/down vs side to side. I'll post some photos next!!

 

[Loves Vintage]

In the photos below, the subway tile is beveled and would be herringbone pattern with light gray grout. The elongated hex marble would be white grout, and I love both directions. The marble looking stone counter is quartz (man made material) and actually looks kind of nice in these photos, haha. The black is not a sample of my counter, they didn't have one, but it's a honed granite so representative. The beige-y is the taj mahal quartzite.

 

[BlingDreams]

In the photos below, the subway tile is beveled and would be herringbone pattern with light gray grout. The elongated hex marble would be white grout, and I love both directions. The marble looking stone counter is quartz (man made material) and actually looks kind of nice in these photos, haha. The black is not a sample of my counter, they didn't have one, but it's a honed granite so representative. The beige-y is the taj mahal quartzite.

This one is surprisingly easy for me! Given your inspiration photos and what you described earlier about the cabinets and lifestyle, if it was me I’d choose the hexagonal tiles set E-W with the marble-ish quartz. I think that would lead to an inviting and bright kitchen that was also very streamlined in appearance. I’ve seen some beautiful quartz and it sounds like, at this time in your life, that something easy to maintain would be the best way to go.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Interesting, IlikeShiny, and I completely agree with you on the East/West orientation. My husband and I were just downstairs and he said he didn't like the hex tile at all, lol, but then relented. He's also a big fan of the black counter idea. One complication with your solution (and I do think that quartz is very pretty as I was looking at it a few mins ago) -- anyway, the complication, my designer was against pairing the natural marble tile with the quartz countertop . . . so maybe I start looking for an elongated hex porcelain to truly consider this direction???

 

[House Cat]

not sure hahaha. but here are some!

I’m coming to this thread very, very late. Your home is beautiful! I want to marry your sofa! Can you please tell me about it? I looks so comfortable!

 

[BlingDreams]

Interesting, IlikeShiny, and I completely agree with you on the East/West orientation. My husband and I were just downstairs and he said he didn't like the hex tile at all, lol, but then relented. He's also a big fan of the black counter idea. One complication with your solution (and I do think that quartz is very pretty as I was looking at it a few mins ago) -- anyway, the complication, my designer was against pairing the natural marble tile with the quartz countertop . . . so maybe I start looking for an elongated hex porcelain to truly consider this direction???

I’d first find out why he feels that way (I don’t get it, unless it has to do with color variation but it looks like a white tile to me?), but if there’s a good reason then yes, I’d look for a porcelain tile.

 

[Loves Vintage]

I think he said they'd be competing, but I don't recall. It does look white, but it has very faint veining, and actually, all of the marble hex tile I've seen on line looks much darker, so maybe this is just a light sample? I'm going back to the tile store today to return the sample, so we will see what they have. Maybe a colored tile?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Back to the tile store today. No other elongated hex there. Two more options. Herringbone is already a no but maybe in a more opaque white or a color. And then the lovely arabesque.

 

[BlingDreams]

Back to the tile store today. No other elongated hex there. Two more options. Herringbone is already a no but maybe in a more opaque white or a color. And then the lovely arabesque.

I don't like the herringbone with the quartz as the two patterns compete with each other, especially with both being white; I do like it with the black countertop. However, if the elongated hex is out, my new choice would be the blue glass arabesque tile with the quartz. I like the touch of color it brings plus I'm a sucker for arabesque . I might as well put my latest update here too and share that we just got approval/pricing for our arabesque tile in the kitchen .

@Loves Vintage - maybe you should check out the tile we're using? It would look good for you too. It's a glazed white crackled arabesque. I'm going to do it with light gray grout and hope it looks like this when it's done:

 

[Loves Vintage]

Oh wow! We could be arabesque tile twins! I do like your arabesque too. Looks like it’s sold by the sheet? So should be easier to install too! I do like it. Are you doing marble counters?

I had started looking on-line and saw there’s a narrow subway tile in same shade of blue but it was listed as sold out. I do think the blue looks really nice with the quartz. The arabesque is in this photo I posted a few pages back.

 

[BlingDreams]

@Loves Vintage - The arabesque tile is going in the catering/auxiliary kitchen where it will be paired with vintage black cabinets and this granite:


Our “real” kitchen will have off-white cabinets along the perimeter with the same granite, used as both the countertop and the backsplash; the kitchen island will have the vintage black cabinets and the same granite countertop.

Thin blue subway tiles would be nice for you too. I agree... the color is a nice touch.

 

[missy]

Thanks, Missy! The feedback on your honed granite is very helpful. People sometimes complain about water stains?

Hi @Loves Vintage we don't have any water stains on our granite and our sealant has worn off many years ago and we just left it as is and no water stains at all. Very easy and low maintenance but maybe where you get it makes a difference? We got ours at Mondial Tile in Brooklyn NY. They are a class act and have quality products and in fact went all the way back to use them for our new marble backsplash at the beach house in NJ. Good luck.