The kitchen is usually the most lived-in part of your home. It is not just a place to cook. It is a place where your family gathers to discuss the events of the day. A place where friends gather during parties to talk. It’s just a great place to hang out. As such, you will want to make the kitchen as inviting as possible. One of the best ways to increase the attractiveness of your kitchen is to create an eye-popping backsplash above all counter surfaces.
There is, however, a more practical purpose for a backsplash. The process of cooking involves oils and steam. The process of using the sink causes water to splash on the wall behind the sink. Just normal food prep can cause particles to fly up and hit the wall above the counter. All this leads to the accumulation the walls. A backsplash made from Ceramic or Glass tiles will protect the underlying wall surfaces keeping them protected.
To choose the best tiles, you need to consider design, ease of cleaning, and budget. This article discusses briefly all these aspects along with a few other thoughts.
Design
The most popular tiles used for backsplashes are either ceramic or glass. Sometimes, if the countertops are made with stone, that same stone is used for the backsplash. Regardless of the material used, it is very popular to extend the backsplash from the countertop to just under the cabinets or in the case of a stove, just below the vent hood.
Both ceramic and glass tiles come in a wide variety of colors, sizes and shapes. Glass tiles tend to come in more regular, angular shapes, rectangles, and squares. One of the best features of glass tiles is that they come in colors that are impossible to achieve with ceramic tiles. The colors can be brilliant or deeply variant. On the other hand, if you are looking for tiles that are curve-linear in shape, then ceramic tiles will offer many different shapes and a wide variety of colors, but not the deeply variant colors as glass.
A current trend in kitchen backsplash design is to inlay a discrete ceramic or glass mosaic into the background tile of the backsplash. Ceramic Mosaic Art offers over 850 designs from which to choose. On a more practical note, many of our mosaics are simply too large to fit under a cabinet. An example of one design a customer used is to inlay one of our standard turtle mosaics. This is a perfect place for you to add a custom design to make your kitchen unique. If you do not want to have to inlay a curve-linear design into the backsplash, then you could have a custom Photo Mural done on standard 6” x 6” tiles.
Ease of Cleaning
Keeping your backsplash tiles clean can seem like a never-ending job between kitchen grease and food remnants. Tiles near the stove tend to have the most food gunk on them because of the cooking splatter. Ceramic and glass tiles are common backsplash options, and they’re relatively easy to clean with common household items. Two of the most popular common household items to use are baking soda and vinegar.
Baking soda is a great product to clean very greasy backsplashes. Mix the baking soda with some water to form a paste that is thick enough to stick to the tiles. Rub the mixture over the greasy spots and wait at least 10 minutes. This mixture is primary for really tough grease spots, not general cleaning. After about 10 minutes, take a clean wet sponge to remove the baking soda paste and grease.
This same backing soda paste is also a great mixture to clean the grout lines. Using an old toothbrush, scrub the grout with the paste. Next, fill a spray bottle with a third cup of hydrogen peroxide and two-thirds cup of water. Shake well. Spray the grout and wipe off the mixture. Your grout should be looking good as new again! If this is an ongoing problem, then maybe applying a grout sealer would be in order.
Another popular homemade backsplash cleaner is vinegar. Mix vinegar with warm water in equal parts in a spray bottle. Wet the tile backsplash with the vinegar solution and wipe them clean. This works well as a daily cleaner for your backsplash to keep grease from building up.
Budget
Decorating your kitchen backsplash with tiles is not a cheap option. First of all, when it comes to the backsplash tiles you need to purchase at least 5% more tiles than required, because tiles may break during installation. Another expense to consider is the cost of inlaying your selected discrete mosaic designs. The backsplash tiles will need to be cut to the outline of the discrete mosaic design to allow for the design to sit level with the backsplash tile. It is recommended to carry out comparison shopping and select the materials and installer that perfectly fits your budget and promises to serve the same quality.
Summary
Tiling your kitchen backsplash using mosaic tiles can bring an entirely new look to the area. With the wide variety of style options and various ornate types (each with unique features), you are free to choose the one that fits your budget, safety, and the look of your dreams. With mosaic tiling, you can mix and match the bathroom style as per your mood and budget.
Just a lost note, unless you are a skilled tile installer or DIY enthusiast, please consider getting the work done by a professional. This is especially important if you are going to have a discrete mosaic installed in the backsplash. It does take a lot of skill to cut out the backsplash tile to fit the discreet mosaic.