Sandra's ideas
Rectangular undermount sinks and wall-mounted faucets add a modern vibe. The same rift-cut white oak used for the vanity was used for a long shelf above it. “We wanted a way to terminate the backsplash, and it helps top off the vanity sink area,” Lenney says. “It’s a sweet spot for display storage, and they have another surface to spread things out and not have them on the countertop.” The white quartz counter has a mitered edge for a thicker appearance. The same quartz forms the short backsplash. “It’s one of the elements that makes this bathroom feel modern and luxurious,” Lenney says.
New-look subways. Classic white subway tile in a traditional horizontal offset brick pattern has its roots in early 1900s New York subways and gained popularity in hospitals as a hygienic, easy-to-clean surface. It is an easy design solution, and with today’s sanitary concerns in mind, it continues to be a timeless look for bathroom and kitchen walls. But in recent years, this rectangular tile has taken on new looks. This season’s subway tiles are available in a range of sizes and colors, and designers are stacking them vertically, horizontally and in herringbone patterns for modern looks, like the Emser 3-by-8-inch Passion tile, shown here in the glossy Rosa color.
Refreshed Classics Hip to be square. Square tile has been gaining popularity in recent years, but today’s squares are not the pink-squared bathroom tiles you grew up with. Many of the latest squares look hand-crafted and range from subdued neutrals to glossy and colorful. “We’re seeing squares really come back in style,” Emser’s Zurfluh says. The 5-by-5-inch square tile in the new Flash collection from Arizona Tile, shown here in white, imitates handmade tile, with a glaze that varies between individual tiles in eight colors. The collection also includes a 3-by-12-inch tile.
1. New Neutrals Clean and green. The color green in muted shades is one of the newest neutrals showing up in tile. It’s a nod to the biophilia design trend that brings nature into the home, and it can be considered a sign of growth and well-being. “Green emphasizes biophilia, but also is indicative of better things to come, and has healing qualities,” Zurfluh says. “It’s known to be one of the most restful colors to the human eye.” Subtle greens are showing up in many shapes and sizes, including the Kale color shown above from Emser Tile’s new Hues collection. The satin-finish 3-by-10-inch rectangular tiles have an organic, artisan-crafted feel and come in six colors.
Wundrow covered the entire back wall of the bathroom in a custom layout of white, cream and gray picket tile from Fireclay Tile. “I laid the tile out in a pattern that gives off a subtle ombre effect without being too distracting,” the designer says. The shower has a niche to hold bathing products, a floating bench made of white quartz and pewter-finished fixtures.
Jetted features. We saw many pampering bathroom features highlighted this year, which we discuss in more detail below, but Toto’s new Zero Dimension bathtub certainly stood out. Product designers from Toto studied the ergonomic position of astronauts in space to come up with a tub design that mimics the feeling of weightlessness. The design allows you to rest your head on a pillow, which cascades water onto your shoulders, and position your feet and legs slightly up. Jets massage the back and legs.
Adding Moroccan zellige tile around the room as wainscoting also helped balance the space — it created one continuous line between the tile and the drywall. The tile serves the tub and the counters as a backsplash. Wall paint: Cornforth White, Farrow & Ball Shop for bathroom lighting on Houzz Rosen Kelly Conway Architecture & Design The stunning tile on the shower surround is Calacatta Nero marble. This is the boldest element in the room and was the first material selected. This jumping-off point informed the rest of the material palette. Marble: Atlas Marble and Granite
The large shower niche gives Turner a place for hair and body products. “I wanted to do an oversize niche, because that’s the focal point in the shower,” Fink DeWolf says. “The niche was a chance to go big. I wanted it to be a style statement and decorative, in addition to being useful and practical.”
Merz created the 8-inch-deep Calacatta Gold marble shelf from a remnant piece of marble as a way to display some of her favorite art and collectibles. “I planned it so that it does not complicate cooking or obstruct ventilation at my range,” she says. “I do actually cook, so like the other details in my kitchen, it is meant to be used and will withstand normal wear and tear of daily life. I love to incorporate art into a kitchen. I haven’t had any problems cooking with my art there. You want to do what makes sense to you, and how you like to live.”
Undermount sink installation: A positive reveal leaves a small portion of the sink edge exposed. This is the easiest type of installation, as the cutout doesn’t have to be as precise as it does for a zero reveal. It also allows you to keep an eye on the status of the sealant between the sink and countertop, and more easily reapply it in the future as needed. The downside of a positive reveal is that the exposed edge tends to collect gunk and grime. Northland Design & Build With a negative reveal, the countertop extends slightly beyond the edge of the sink, offering the cleanest look. But that overhanging countertop can catch objects as you lift them out of the sink, causing chips or breakage to both the countertop and objects. It’s also more difficult to keep tabs on the seal between the sink and countertop. A good hybrid, then, is the zero or flush reveal. Here the countertop is cut to the exact dimension of the sink, so there is no place for water and food to collect and also no lip that can cause damage or get damaged. This can be a more expensive installation, however, because the countertop opening has to be cut precisely.
9. Tantalizing Tile The Reef is a hexagonal tile by Nemo Tile + Stone that can be laid in a variety of patterns to create optical illusions and accents. These angular geometric tiles mimic the look of encaustic cement tiles but are made of user-friendly porcelain. The tiles are available in a variety of patterns and solid colors that can be arranged however you see fit.
3. Signature Collection The Treble lighting collection by David Weeks Studio is designed to be reminiscent of cursive handwriting. The collection consists of a chandelier, floor lamp and wall sconces that feature curved brass arms that provide a signature look. Each shade is illuminated by an LED light source with a molded glass diffuser and a polished brass disc.
Design idea. Consider skipping a wood floor and going with concrete or tile. Here, concrete-look porcelain tiles (24 by 48 inches) balance base cabinets and floating shelves made of rift-sawn white oak veneer, a white ceramic tile backsplash in a straight-lay pattern and a light gray cabinet tower (Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore).
This unusual, slender-legged piece combines an induction cooktop, range hood, large drawer and wireless charger. The mini kitchen can be placed in any room.
Tobia floor lamp in gold by Ferruccio Laviani for Foscarini Mini and Portable Playful objects in the form of lamps and even mini portable kitchens are meant to help people get the most from small spaces.
Sideways sofa encourages face to face interaction.
Here’s a closer look at Yakedo’s crackle-textured surface.
The flooring in this room is a plank tile called Yakedo from Emser Tile that melds several trends. It’s a glazed porcelain faux-wood tile that mimics the look created by the Japanese wood-charring technique shou-sugi-ban. It debuted in late 2019 and comes in five colors.
The shapes, muted color palette and matte finish of the tiles in Bedrosians Tile & Stone’s new Makoto collection, launching this spring, are fresh versions of the options in the company’s popular Cloe collection. They’re also trends that Coco Nicholas, creative director of decorative products at Bedrosians, saw at Spain’s Cevisama trade show for kitchen and bath ceramics in February. “Matte is definitely a huge trend, and the blush color is also a trend. The color palette of Makoto is something we saw everywhere at the show,” Nicholas says. The Makoto collection includes the large-format hexagons and field tiles shown here.
In the dining area off the kitchen, an iron chandelier hangs over a rustic wood table surrounded by black spool chairs. The black-framed French doors at the left lead to a front porch.
Daltile’s new Sublimity collection offers fresh geometric shapes in marble, limestone and travertine mosaics. There are eight shapes, including cube, elongated hexagon, parquet, trapezoid, herringbone and random linear.
You can make very inexpensive tiles look expensive by playing with the pattern, like the herringbone pattern on the floor in here,” Pedersen says. She sourced reasonably priced 8-by-36-inch matte porcelain floor tiles with a wood grain finish for the floor. Using such a large-scale tile in a small space and arranging it in a herringbone pattern was an unexpected and impactful move. It works all the better because it can be seen continuing underneath the raised vanity.
9. Stylish Slats The team at Enigma Design in Ireland covered the right half of the island base in vertical wood slats that visually connect to the slatted perimeter cabinet on the back wall. The kitchen also includes a trio of metal cage pendant lights above the island that reinforce the vertical lines of the space.
Book and Wine Club The multifunctional island in this London kitchen designed by Sarah Mailer Design includes a built-in wine refrigerator and a large open cubby for storing cookbooks. The design team painted the island base navy blue to provide strong contrast to the light gray perimeter cabinets.
The kitchen’s soothing color palette includes soft white walls and trim (Simply White by Benjamin Moore) and custom Shaker-style maple cabinets painted a creamy off-white with gray and beige undertones (Balboa Mist by Benjamin Moore). “They wanted neutral cabinets but not white,” Kath says. “We also talked about their lifestyle and everything they needed to store so we could maximize all the storage.” Aged brass knobs and pulls complement the brass finishes on the light fixtures and faucet. Stainless steel appliances offer a contrasting finish. The custom walnut island features a natural finish.
One benefit to glass door fronts is how inviting they can make your kitchen space feel. Luckily, there’s more than one way to design a warm and welcoming kitchen. If you want a low-maintenance alternative to glass door fronts, stick with lighter cabinet stains like golden browns. They can make your guests feel just as cozy as glass door fronts do.
neutrals
A cutting board slides into its own slot to the left of the sink. A drying rack tucks away neatly to the right. Both include leather pulls. “I wanted a cutting board that was super convenient to the sink, and that was a perfect spot for it,” Robertson says. “We’ve had other clients who liked having a drying rack, so we felt you could add a lot of utility there with those 3 inches.”
pullout for utensils
pull out rack for oils
Random Selection This fun Vancouver backsplash of black, white and gray hexagonal tiles traipses merrily up the wall, refusing to stick to a predictable rhythm. The result is a delightful surprise to the eye.
I like the "cosy" feel with some things out and accessible and lots of cupboards.
8. Unadorned Mirror Minimalism means eschewing the kind of busyness that an ornate frame might add to a bathroom. This simple, streamlined mirror is one long piece that extends from the floor into a recess in the ceiling.
4. Wall-Mounted Vanity A wall-mounted vanity floats, allowing flooring to extend completely underneath it and thereby making a bathroom feel larger. It also provides the opportunity to install LED strip lights beneath it for a soft glow during midnight trips to the bathroom.
3. Frameless Glass Shower Enclosure The practically invisible quality of clear glass can make the smallest of bathrooms and shower stalls feel much larger than they are. There’s no frame to catch the eye, and as a bonus, you won’t have to dig gunk out of it when cleaning.
Mirrors Taps Muted tones
The shapes, muted color palette and matte finish of the tiles in Bedrosians Tile & Stone’s new Makoto collection, launching this spring, are fresh versions of the options in the company’s popular Cloe collection.
tile
The Daltile Sublimity collection also includes encaustic stone 3-by-3-inch mosaic tiles in eight patterns. The one shown here is called Mindful.
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Search Photos, Products, Pros & More... FREE SHIPPING 0 Your Houzz GET IDEASSHOP BY DEPARTMENTFIND PROFESSIONALSSALE Kitchen Backsplashes Kitchen Design Tile For Pros Designers Share Their Hottest Picks for Kitchen Backsplashes Make a splash in the kitchen with these design pros’ selections for backsplash materials, colors and layouts Bryan Anthony Bryan Anthony5 days ago Houzz Editorial Staff; writer, design enthusiast, reader, avid traveler. More A backsplash is an ideal location for making a dramatic visual impact in the kitchen. And there’s a wide range of materials, colors and layouts to choose from. Here, design pros share some of the latest backsplash looks they’re using in their own projects. Delphinium Design 1. Handmade Character There’s something almost perfect about imperfections, which is why designers tell us that handmade tile is the way to go for kitchen backsplashes. “I use a lot of handmade tile, typically in porcelain or ceramic,” says designer Jena Bula of Delphinium Design. Bula used elongated subway tile in light gray ceramic to cover the backsplash in this Charlotte, North Carolina, kitchen. “I love the natural look of handmade tile,” she says. “The movemen...
Stylish Slabs Large slabs of marble, stone and engineered quartz for backsplashes are a great way to create a sleek and dramatic look in a kitchen. “Currently trending for us in backsplashes is using slabs to match the countertop surfaces,” designer Joe Human says. “Depending on the material, it can really go ultramodern or really traditional in the right space.” Human used large slabs of marble-look quartz for the backsplash, countertops and waterfall-edge island in this contemporary Manhattan penthouse kitchen.
Milner used artisan-made large-format porcelain tiles for the backsplash in this Toronto kitchen. “Handmade looks featuring textures and patinas differentiate this type from standard factory tile. Imperfections are the key. Organic and weathered looks create interest and become a focal point of the kitchen,” she says.
Highlight wall.
pop of colour
Mostly cupboards but some open shelving for daily used items or decorative/momento items.
slide out chopping board gives additional seating.
I like a bright accent colour but worried it doesn't have staying power over the years.
kitchen
he wife is petite and was concerned she’d have to carry a ladder around the room to reach things. Medina came up with a better solution. The kitchen cabinets have two slim pullouts that contain built-in stepladders.
To keep to the budget, she knew she needed to use inexpensive tile. She picked three different sizes of standard white tile at a big-box store. “We knew we needed to make the inexpensive tile look fancy so we got creative. We played around with them on the floor of the store and came up with this pattern,” she says. She alternated the three different tiles in horizontal stripes, using a running bond pattern and dark grout. The square tiles nod to midcentury modern design but the composition is fresh and unique. Carter lined up the large niches to correspond with the pattern. “I think everyone needs niches that can handle Costco-size bottles of shampoo,” she says.
walnut accents hexagonal tile on floor and to offset that is black ceiling.
teal for elevator
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