Recently I asked my friend Kristin what I could blog about that would interest her most.
“Backsplashes!” was her enthusiastic response.
Kristin appreciates design and decorating but doesn’t obsess about it like some people (ahem me). She doesn’t spend her time poring over images of to-die-for houses and so I thought I’d do the poring for her. She wants to know what’s hot in the world of tile and what I might recommend for someone like her. Here goes…
What’s hot? Well I love glazed ceramic tile. It’s kind of Mediterranean in feel and kind of Dutch Delft. Well I guess that’s exactly what it is! But it’s got a loose earthy feel and I like the ones that only use one or two colours. Paired with simple and straightforward cabinets and counters, this is a look I LOVE right now.
Subway tiles are here to stay, and white is always a classic option. I’d recommend this for Kristin and lots of other people because it will blend well with her newer suburban house and not look like she’s trying too hard. And she’d probably get sick of the crazy ceramics too (even if I talked her into it in the first place!). White subway tile looks fresh and reminds me of bistros and farm houses.
The latest look is to go all over the wall, up to the ceiling, and to experiment with contrast. Try coloured tile with white grout, or white tile with dark grout. This really wakes up subway tile and makes it fashion forward.
I also like some of the watery, glass looking tiles I see at Home Depot etc. But I’d stick with ones that aren’t too shiny, and only do white cabinets with this.
And when it comes to stone, I like marble and grey, simple stones. I’m not the biggest fan of granite, unless the pattern is pretty subtle. It just feels kinda flashy to me, so I stick to more old-world stones like marble.
Oh and I love these too! Pennyrounds (perfect for me!) and global looking ceramics…
Hope that helps you Kristin! And everyone else!
Oh you know me too well.
Thanks for the digging, it helped a TON.
It’s way easier to say “Hey Ryan let’s go get some subway tiles from Home Depot” than it is to get him to look at oodles of pictures, magazines etc….you could market yourself as a marriage counsellor too you know!
That’s true! I’ll have to think about that suggestion. You and Ryan can be my first clients. Who to move on to next…?
Michael
Maybe you can help me & my husband. We have some porcelain tile (looks like travertine) that I bought for our masterbath reno. But mid-stream I changed my design and ending up also buying some marble tile that I love. Now the porcelain tile is sitting in the attic & the hubs wants us to use it in our guest bath reno. I prefer to use penny tile.
I know it I went with the porcelain, the guest bath will look OK but I don’t LOVE it.
Since this is for the floor…maybe I could do a border in a penny tile? What do you think?
Sure, use the porcelain on the floor, I’m sure it will be lovely. If you want to incorporate the penny tile, yes you could do a border. But you’d have to make sure the thicknesses with the two tiles work, and also, I’d go for a similar coloured penny tile rather than a contrasting border. Just so that it’s a subtle border and not screaming out at you. To be honest though, you might appreciate one type of tile on the floor in the long run. This border, tile combo trend is sort of just that – a trend. It’s a good way to use a little bit of expensive tile and get that luxe hit, but I could see it dating in a few years. So just weigh those options.
Good luck Mary!
Michael
Oh wow! I am dying over the gold patterned tile (the third one by Tom Scheerer)! LOVE that one!
I know! Tom Scheerer is one of my heroes for sure.
Michael
Thanks,
You have given me some things to think about. Especially since I don’t want a trendy bath & then getting tired of it down the road.
I love the small blue glass tiles. Where did they come from?
Sorry, not sure where I found those ones, but I definitely seen ones like it in lots of tile shops.
Michael
I am on the hunt for penny tile for the floor for our tiny front foyer area; where is the one you posted from (or are there any recommendations in Toronto whereabouts to find them?)?
Check in the Castlefield area in Toronto (not far from the Yorkdale Mall) because there are tons of tile suppliers there like Stone Tile, Mettro Source etc. And Olympia Tile is amazing too. Good luck!
Michael