These Backsplashes Are Completely Outdated, According to Designers

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There’s a caveat, though: if you veer too trendy or too conventional, a backsplash can quickly look outdated.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.  

Meet the Expert

• Jenny Williamson is the principal designer of West Rose Design.

• Nureed Saeed is the creative director of Nu Interiors.

• Victoria Meadows is the owner of Victoria Meadows Interiors.

Subway Tile

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 can appear passé to some.

“If a subway tile is a non-negotiable or dictated by budget restraints, switch up the pattern variation for a more custom look,” Williamson says. Try a running bond, herringbone, or basketweave pattern for a more modern take on the classic. 

Small Mosaic Tile

Step away from the petite tiles, says interior designer Victoria Meadows of Victoria Meadows Interiors. While small tiles can be a perfect fit for your shower or pool, they have no place in a kitchen, she says.

“Tiny mosaic tiles on a kitchen backsplash is a recipe for a bad investment,” Meadows says. “It screams outdated. Leave these sad beige mosaic pencil backsplashes back where they belong—in the early 2000s."

The worst offender, according to Meadows, is linear stacked glass mosaics. The teeny shapes and patterns look busy and cramped in a small backsplash space, she warns.

“It’s not just visually overwhelming,” Meadows says. “It’s also impractical unless you love scrubbing that green smoothie blender explosion out of hundreds of tiny grout lines.”

Contrasting Grout Color

When choosing your backsplash’s grout, Saeed says to steer away from a contrasting color. It’s outdated, giving your kitchen a “been there, seen that” feel. 

“It’s time to match our tile to our grout for a seamless look,” Saeed says. 

All White Tile

While a light, bright kitchen is a dream for many, Saeed is over it—at least in terms of backsplashes.   “All white tile, particularly large white marble, feels like a period in time,” she says.

While she loves stone and large-format tiles, she opts for options with color, movement, and texture. All of those characteristics, as opposed to flat white tiles, add depth and interest to your kitchen, and it hides occasional splatters better, too. 

The Backsplashes Designers Love

For a more elevated—and not so outdated—look, Williamson recommends trying a marble mosaic tile or a white zellige tile. Saeed, meanwhile, is happy to see her clients embracing more organic, handmade tiles in off-white and cream tones, “letting the imperfect be perfect,” she says. 

Ultimately though, remember: choose a backsplash that you love and one that you expect to love for years to come, no matter what any designer or real estate agent has to say about it.

Read Next: 5 Outdated Kitchen Trends Designers Want to Ditch

Read the original article on The Spruce.