There’s no understating the importance of a kitchen backsplash. Not only is a backsplash practical—sparing your bare walls from spaghetti sauce splatters—but it sets the tone for your kitchen’s personality. Think of it as an opportunity to flex your design skills, whether that means including a jolt of color, choosing an unconventional material, or sticking to a classic-as-can-be style.
There’s a caveat, though: if you veer too trendy or too conventional, a backsplash can quickly look outdated. To spare yourself from inevitable regret, we asked three interior designers for their honest take on backsplashes they’re sick of seeing. Warning: controversial opinions ahead.
Read on to learn which popular backsplashes they think need to retire, so you can invest in a conversation piece (not a controversy) that you’ll love for years to come.
There’s perhaps no backsplash more divisive than the most classic of all: subway tile. The style was first introduced in New York City subway stations in the early 1900s, and the rectangular, brick-like ceramic tile has become an enduring classic ever since—especially in the last decade.
“This is probably highly controversial, but I find traditional offset white subway tile backsplashes so boring and unoriginal,” Jenny Williamson, principal designer of West Rose Design, says. “Just make it stop.”
Nureed Saeed, the creative director of Nu Interiors, seconds that sentiment. “For a long time, bright white subway tile was little black dress of tile and we never got tired of seeing it,” Saeed says. Not anymore, she says.
There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Oversaturation of the popularized tile design, especially white subway tile in traditional sizes and layouts, means it
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