Everyone loves a white kitchen. It’s a classic, timeless look that can work with just about any home or sense of style. But all the best white kitchens have a trick up their sleeve: something that sets them apart and keeps them from feeling washed out, sterile, or boring. It can be something as simple as a contrasting kitchen island, nice hardware, wood detailing, or even live greenery. But one of the hottest trends right now are graphic backsplashes. These bold, eye-catching tile accents are perfect for giving your white kitchen a little extra personality and pizzazz.
Fresh Twist On A Classic Tile Backsplash
Tile backsplashes have been a popular kitchen upgrade for a while now. Simple, colorful square or rectangular tile in particular is a standby for adding visual interest to a white kitchen. But tile with printed or painted patterns, unusual shapes, or unique interlocking designs are quickly overtaking these more basic tiles. It’s that graphic quality that’s really trendy right now, with an emphasis on bold, striking lines and unique repeating patterns. For instance, white marble tile installed in a herringbone layout is an old standby for a traditional white kitchen; for a trendier look, you want to alternate two different shades of marble. It’s less about the stone, and more about creating a distinctive graphic zig-zag pattern.
Shop Soci Backsplash Tile:
High Contrast White Tile With Black Patterns
The most common graphic backsplashes are white tile with black patterning. The designs range from simple to intricate and from geometric to stylized. What works best for you is up to your preference; the key is the use of a dark, contrasting color. This helps offset a white kitchen, adding a little drama and creating a place for the eye to linger. The biggest difference? Simpler designs with thicker lines will have a bolder, more assertive feel. Tile done with fine lines and intricate detailing will have a slightly more delicate look.
Shop Soci Mosaic Tile:
Uniquely-Shaped Tile Patterns
Many of the more ornate painted and printed tiles that are seeing a resurgence as part of the popularity of graphic backsplashes are Moroccan or Middle Eastern in origin. These beautiful, colorful, intricate designs are a great way to add a little personality to your kitchen. But Moroccan tile is very distinctive, and more colorful versions can be too bold or assertive for your average kitchen. That is, unless you plan to go all-out with a Mediterranean style. For a slightly more subtle look, consider opting instead for an Arabesque tile shape. Paired with a dark grout, these decorative tiles create something that passes well for a printed pattern; they evoke that sense of exotic style without necessarily dominating the space.
Shop Soci Backsplash Tile:
More Intricate Mosaics
Over the last several years, installing “mosaic” tile has become incredibly simplified and streamlined. There’s certainly still a market for hand-laid, artistic mosaics, but in many cases they’ve been supplanted by mosaic tile sheets. These are inexpensive and easy to install, but often much less intricate. Think simple repeating squares and rectangles rather than more elaborate designs. That said, you can also find sheets of ready-to-install mosaics that feature interlocking, uniquely shaped, and sometimes brightly colored tile that produce vivid and highly detailed patterns. These are trickier to install because the pieces aren’t perfectly square, but they produce a really lovely graphic style.
Shop Soci Backsplash Tile:
Going All Out With Graphic Designs
That said, while many of the bolder, more complex mosaics have a strong enough graphic quality on their own to fit with this trend, many graphic backsplashes rely less on tile patterns and more on painted or printed designs. Often very intricate ones. Of course, these encompass a wide range of styles, too: from bold modern decals to the aforementioned Moroccan tile, done either on laser cut glass or painted by hand. These are a great option if you really want a personalized, eye-catching piece for your kitchen (or if you want a pattern that isn’t necessarily strictly repeating). That said, you’ll need to have them professionally installed, which means these types of graphic backsplashes can be pricier.
Combing The Best Of Both Worlds
The easiest backsplashes to install are sheets of simple square tiles; the most interesting graphic designs are ones that break the mold of traditional tile with more innovative patterning. But it is possible to combine the two, specifically with square tile painted with interlocking designs. While it won’t have the perfectly seamless look of a glass backsplash, tile that’s painted with a pattern that connects from one tile to the next is incredibly easy to install while still maintaining that really strong graphic style. The tile above is fairly simple, with a single diagonal curve linking one tile to the next. But highly detailed, hand-painted tiles can also be installed this way, for an elaborate graphic look without the installation headache.
Whether your taste skews more towards flashy modern designs or highly detailed, colorful Mediterranean tile, graphic backsplashes are a great accent feature and a great way to add a little personality to a white kitchen.
Shop All Decorative and mosaic tile:
