With the onslaught of crisp white subway tile, many well-appointed homes have renovated kitchens and baths, and used the clean lines to ascribe those traditionally clean places. However, there are many other options that will allow homeowners and designers to buck trends and continue to seek the cutting edge. Subway tile has its uses. It can be installed without grout. This means that the pieces can be laid easily and cleanly. This was important when installing large tracts of tile, but in backsplashes, some very forward designs in tile can be utilized to make the kitchen a very unique experience.
Honed Calacatta Marble is not burnished to a high gloss like the common marble countertops and tile available. This changes the aesthetic by offering an almost textural feel to the finish. The honing process exposes more of the detail and provides for a very dramatic, tactile finish. To keep in style with many traditional kitchen finishes, the base color for Calacatta marble is white. The combination of a traditional color with the dramatic touches in highlights and finishing techniques makes this style of tile very applicable in backsplash design. Calacatta marble has become available in many high end finish stores.
Recently, stainless steel has made an ascension to the trendy kitchen backsplash. Like the honed look in Calacatta marble, stainless steel comes in a finish that is not a high gloss finish. This tactile look draws the viewer into the space. Stainless steel is combined with many other finishes to produce one of a kind kitchens. Stainless steel is commonly used in restaurant kitchens and other sterile environments. This association adds to the dramatics because stainless steel is considered utilitarian. It is considered haute design to combine mundane and dramatic elements in this manner.
Burnished glass is available in many different tile forms. This tile makes an exciting backsplash. The glass has a finish that is a very high gloss. It is almost a mirror in finish, but in an almost aluminum fashion. Burnished glass tile is very reminiscent of 1950’s diners and has a very eclectic feel. If mid-century design is utilized in other parts of the home, burnished glass as a backsplash will marry that theme to the kitchen area. The tiles often come in rectangular subway tile style that allow the tile to be installed in a groutless manner. This style of tile is conducive to do it yourselfers with tight budgets.