While we’re back in the kitchen…
Completely unrelated to the dishwasher itself, I noticed in the photo in the last post how prominent the flowered tiles are on the backsplash. I think I’ve been tuning them out for the past 8 months (when we first saw the house, I identified them as a higher priority change than they’ve turned out to be). As we replace the appliances with stainless steel and work toward a more modern look, the flowers are going to look more and more out of place.
Our existing kitchen backsplash - picked out by previous owners
Those flowers run all the way around, over the sink, on either side of the range, and on either side of the fridge. Don’t get me wrong, I love flowers… but I like them to be part of my yard posts. Not my kitchen posts.
I’ve been thinking about what kind of tile backsplash I’d like to replace it with – something fairly neutral/earth toned and warm, with blue and/or green accents. The existing white feels too sterile, frozen, and snowy to me. I’d also like it to be visually interesting. There are really no (or very few) good places to hang any pictures or anything in the kitchen, because all 4 walls have doorways to other rooms. The backsplash is going to be a good way to add some color. I’m not sold on any particular tile shape or material.
Brainstorming session commencing… now:
Not unappealing, but not exciting.
It’s sort of like what I’d choose to put in a kitchen if I needed to redo the backsplash to be happy with the house, but I wanted to keep it pretty neutral because, e.g., we were planning to sell the house in a few years. As far as I know, though, that isn’t our situation, so I’m thinking I might like something a little bolder.
I keep coming back to this one...
I like the combinations of tile shapes in this design.
Pretty! Maybe a little dark for our kitchen, though.
Ceramic subway tile
Pebbles!
No idea what I'd use this with, but it reminded me of ocean waves.
Thumbs down to the checkerboard, but I like the colors.
The glass tile designs are a much different look. I might be a bit concerned about the grout getting dirty...
I really like this color, although I'm pretty sure (I think) that I don't want to commit so strongly to a single color.
Photo: Earth and Wood Creations
Photo: Earth and Wood Creations
Something like this design (above) would allow us to leave the existing white tiles, and only replace a single band that includes the flowered accent tiles. This could be a short term winner!
Green glass subway tiles, photo courtesy of Country Living
I'm not dead sure I'd ever be neat enough for all white, but it's pretty nonetheless.
Plugging a row of these in place of our flower tiles would also be a huge improvement!
Photo: DIY Network
I don’t so much care for the embellishment over the range, but the band around the kitchen is pretty!
Photo: mlive.com
Hi,
I am also looking for ideas on kitchen backsplashes. I absolutley love the green glass subway tiles. They are exactly what I was looking for. Do you know what website you found that idea? I would love to go out and purchase some.Thanks and good luck to you on remodeling.
J
The green glass subway tile inspiration photo came from Country Living. I’ve updated the post to hyperlink the photo to the original source. Enjoy and happy kitchen remodeling!
[...] 31, 2010 by J We’ve been thinking about updating our kitchen backsplash for a long time. It was one of the things that stuck out to us before we’d even [...]