Using decorative tile or a tile mural in the kitchen backsplash design can be a beautiful and personal way to accent the kitchen décor. Utilizing these tiles together in a cohesive, decorative theme can further enhance a kitchen’s design.
For kitchens with decorative wood work, or for homeowners with a passion they’d like to express, decorative tile can give the kitchen backsplash a personality all its own.
Deciding a Backsplash Theme
The kitchen backsplash is one of the most personal areas of tile in the home. Relatively small, easy to install and easy to change out, many homeowners feel more comfortable installing a tile they enjoy in this space, rather than a bathroom.
If not installing a simple backsplash, but wanting a backsplash with a lot of character and personality, the decorative tile backsplash is the way to go. When deciding on the theme, consider other elements of the home or homeowner’s personality.
Decorative tile is available in countless shapes, colors, styles and designs. From handpainted, three dimensional tiles in the shape of fruits, to etched stone tile murals of vineyard scenes; there are decorative tile designs for all styles.
If the home is in a wooded area, and the homeowners are passionate about nature or hiking, consider a decorative backsplash with a woodland theme. Include tile murals of bears, foxes or pine trees, with smaller accent tiles of pinecones, leaves, flowers or bees.
Wine lovers can use decorative tiles of vineyards, scrolling and looping grape vines and decorative tiles painted with grapes or wine bottles. Have the vines travel the length of the counter and frame an area behind the cooktop for a larger scene. Scatter additional decoratives throughout the design.
Laying out a Decorative Tile Scene
If choosing to use decorative tiles in a kitchen backsplash, the number of decoratives can add up quickly, possibly overwhelming the space. Once the style or theme of the backsplash has been chosen, it’s time to lay the possibilities out and determine how many will fit, which ones will work best and where they should be placed.
Begin by either taking photographs of the various decoratives in consideration, asking the tile designer to color photocopy the tiles, or asking for line drawings of the tiles, with the exact sizes listed. Make print outs or copies of the various decoratives in the sizes they come in. If this is not available, a scale model may be made.
Once in the space, gather together the decorative images, some graph paper, tape and a pencil. Cover the entire area of the backsplash to be covered in tile in the graph paper. If the space is not available for this, it is possible to make a scale model by shrinking the entire area down onto one sheet of graph paper per wall. For example, each square on the graph paper can equal 2”, so if a backsplash is 30” wide in one area that would equal 15 squares on the paper.
Using the pencil or a marker, draw a grid on the graph paper in the sizes of the tiles being considered. The entire backsplash will not be decorative tiles; there will be some field tiles, or blank tiles as well, so seeing them there, marked on the graph paper as empty space can help.
When the grid has been laid, begin taping decoratives within the squares traced on the graph paper. Move the tiles around, lay all the decoratives or lay half of them. Will there be decoratives every 6” or every 18”? Some designs lend themselves to a more busy pattern than others, so try a crowded layout and a more simple one to see what looks best.
Once the tiles are in a position that seems approximate, leave them taped up there for a few days before making the final purchase. Often these decoratives cannot be returned, so be certain of how many will be required.
A decorative tile kitchen backsplash is the perfect way to showcase the personality of the homeowner and the home. Use decorative tiles in the kitchen design today, and let the kitchen make a statement all its own.
Sarabeth Asaff - Sarabeth Asaff is a freelance writer and artist with a passion for cooking and good food. Growing up in the kitchen of her Lebanese ...
