Tile is serious business. It's secured to the wall with grout, making it pretty solid, and is not an easy choice to go back on. If you're me you could wait three years to choose your backsplash tile after dozens of pins on Pinterest, then deleting some that don't some any appeal after a few months. Being secure in your tile decision is the first step in how to choose backsplash tile for your kitchen.
These are the untiled walls from shortly after the kitchen was completed. Looks a little unfinished and plain, right?
Indecision wasn't the only reason it took me forever to choose a backsplash tile though. When I was having the kitchen renovation redone in late 2015, I couldn't decide on a backsplash because the countertops were a different color than I originally even wanted.
They are more beige than I was thinking, and while I like them but didn't love them, my dream backsplash color of a watery aquamarine blue looked awful next to them.
So I decided to just paint the walls and call it a day for now. Plus, I maxed out my HELOC and was running my Lowe's credit card bill quite high. I looked until I found the tile that made the countertops and my heart sing once my bills were paid off.
A kitchen by its very nature is just a bunch of boxes and straight lines, so I want my backsplash to have curves to offset the lines. At first I thought about penny tiles but something about them didn't do it for me visually. I was drawn to Moroccan style and shapes and tried to keep my eyes open for off white fish scale tiles.
I wanted a simple backsplash that wouldn't compete with the herringbone patterned floor tiles. Something without complex visual patterns, and definitely no contrasting grout lines were about all I was aiming for, along with the curvy factor.
Nothing looked great in person and there wasn't much selection within my budget at local tile stores or big box stores. So I turned to the internet, where everything is. I scrolled and scrolled through Wayfair.com and opened new tabs with several off white tiles that caught my eye when I saw it. Off white arabesque tiles with an option for a sample for just a few bucks. Arabesques are also seen a lot on Moroccan and Islamic designs.
This shape reminded me of home since the bathroom I grew up with has the exact same shape. I ordered a sample immediately and they came cracked. I still set them up against the wall and knew these were the tiles to make me forget about my original vision.
Those samples stayed up for a while, so I could see them in a variety of lighting situations and make sure I didn't get sick of them. This design decision was permanent. This was in February. Over the next months I stalked the tiles and the price came down in May. By June I ordered the tiles and the heavy boxes sat in the living room for several months.
I finally scheduled Local Happiness Construction to come in October. They took four days to tile the entire space, including redoing some uneven drywall because we have an older house.
The result is a beautiful backsplash that really, truly finishes the kitchen. Suck it, boring white subway tiles.
Keep these things in mind when choosing a backsplash tile:
Shape
Do you want clean lines or shapely curves? Maybe you want a funky retro shape or something very classic.
Color
How does it look in all lighting situations from daylight to just the soft glow of under counter lights? For food bloggers who photograph in the kitchen, does the color cast unwanted hues onto your subject? This is a big reason I ultimately am glad I didn't end up going with with blue tiles.
Grout lines
Do you want them to pop and show off the tile shape, or quietly blend into the overall effect of the tiles? No answer is wrong here. I wanted a more subtle effect.
Trendiness
Is this just a passing fancy or is this something you want to see daily? Consider ordering samples or one sheet of tile to see if you get sick of it after a few weeks.
Texture
This may not apply to your tile type, but some have a slight bevel or rough, unpolished natural stone. Will these tiles be in places that will require a lot of effort to clean, like over the stove? Most of the appeal of backsplash is its wipeability.
I chose to have the tile go all the way to the ceiling because I hate the cut off look. This look is just so luxe and doesn't require difficult decisions on how to cap off the tile. Just let the end of the wall do that work for you.
We overestimated our tile needs by a whole box and Wayfair generously took them back with zero problems. I used that site credit to buy a new pendant light for the hall, but that's for another post.
Local to Columbia, SC? Call Local Happiness Construction for your contracting needs and tell them I sentcha. This is my third project with them just this year, including wood floor refinishing and new porch columns, plus they're about to start on some exciting exterior work for us too!