Tips for Updating Your Space: Selecting Your Kitchen Backsplash

We’re excited to have guest blogger and interior designer, Renee Anthony, from Haute Design today. As a part of our “Tips for Updating Your Existing Space” blog series, Renee shares her best tips for selecting your kitchen backsplash. Here’s Renee:

Your kitchen backsplash is the focal point of the room and adds the “jewelry” aspect to finish out the room. Don’t skimp here! Remember that kitchens and bathrooms sell your home. Leaving the backsplash to only be the 4″ lip the countertop company sells you with your granite or marble countertops is selling yourself short. A major disappointment.
 
Discover designs made from tile… get creative! If you are scared to come up with a design, steal ideas from your favorite home magazine or hire a professional interior designer. There are thousands of choices from ceramic and porcelain, glass, mosaics, stone, metals, wood, to slab material taken all the way up to the cabinet. Here are some tips to help guide you to make the right decision.
 
First, ask yourself, is this your forever home or will you move within the next five years? Tile can be kind of a semi-permanent item and it may be best to select a classic and timeless look rather than a whimsical design that shows your funky personality. Here are five classic backplash materials to consider:

Stone

Stone Slab – Taking your countertops all the way up as a backplash to the underside of the cabinet. This can be an expensive backplash depending on the cost of the countertop material you chose, but it is a very high end and luxurious look.

Stone Tile – A tile version of your countertop or a coordinate type to add interest to the space. If using polished absolute black granite, adding honed carrera 6 x 12 tile in a running bond pattern is a classic touch.

Glass

Glass comes in many different colors and shapes and while people may have thought glass was a tend… it is safe to say it is here to stay. Pick a color that will enhance your stone countertops and add a bit of interest. This glass was made from recycled glass handmade in California.

Subway Tile

This has always been a great classic. You can install with a total field tile approach (meaning you have only one type of tile 3 x 6 or 4 x 8 classic white), or you can interject a row of glass, or a pencil liner around the kitchen to add a custom look. This is where hiring an interior designer may help. He or she can help you select your materials and draw up a sketch or Auto CAD drawing for your tile installer to give you a high end custom design.

Ceramic Tile

Most people think 4 x 4 white glossy tile from the 90′s when you metnion ceramic tile, but ceramic tile has come a long way. They now come in subway size, as well as fun shapes and colors which can add a 1920′s or exotic feel to an otherwise plain kitchen…. it is also usually an affordable option.

Metal

Again people often visualize metal as a trendy item, but metal finishes are modern and clean and can give a sleek edge to a minimal kitchen finishes.

The sky is the limit and the options are endless. Be creative, but with a classic and timeless, especially if you are planning to sell within the next five years. Create the rich feeling your kitchen deserves. Remember that kitchens and baths sell a home, so don’t skimp. If you need help making selections, hire a professional interior designer to help mix and match patterns and materials to give you the look you desire.
 

References:
Best Kitchen Places 
Subway Tile Outlet
Lascaux Tile Company
Home & Design Magazine
Charleston Style & Design Magazine Fall 2011p. 127.  Photos by Matt Bolt and Patrick Brickman