A couple of years ago, a kitchen designer talked to me about the rising popularity of color. Thank goodness we don’t see much of those plain white 3X6 subway tiles, she said.

When first created, backsplashes were only for functional purposes. They were placed a few feet up the wall behind the range. The thought was they’d catch grease and make clean-up much easier, allowing the homeowner to wash without worry of damaging wallpaper or paint..

Today’s backsplashes have as much a design role as they do a practical one, With an assortment of bold colors, patterns and designs, they often now go all to the ceiling, eliminating visual breaks and making focal points.

With a little creativity and planning, you can easily combine form and function; one way is to create “chair backsplashes” by placing some tiles on the wall behind seating so people can lean back without concern of scraping or marking. About Floors ‘n More, is the expert when it comes to all things tile, including the installation of perfect backsplashes.

The Road to a Gorgeous Kitchen
This is the way to freshen a kitchen without spending an arm and a leg for a full remodeling, so follow a few rules:

1.Make sure your wall and countertops are coordinated, so they don’t clash or look too busy.

Otherwise, the eye won’t know where to go.

2.Use grout as a design tool. Go as colorful or simple as you like.

3.One of the hottest kitchen trends this year is to get rid of the top cabinets. They were the reasons a tiled wall couldn’t go to the ceiling. The tops would just obstruct. Now you can go full top-to-bottom with no worry.

Another hot trend? Tiled shelving.

4.Use creativity for high style, low cost. We’re borrowing our philosophy for floors; if your budget is tight, use a plain, less expensive version on the biggest area, with a few highly designed pieces as accents. Mix and max--different sizes, but layouts as well. Rotate them, placing tiles vertically or diagonally and linear.

Want to get your creative juices flowing? Come into the About Floors ‘n More showroom in Jacksonville, FL, to talk to our pros.