 Back talk about Backsplashes
What Design-Savy Homeowners and Experts Have to Say About
This Important Kithchen Detail
BY PRISCILLA KOHUTEK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT FRENCH
SAN ANTONIO AT HOME recently asked several professional
decorators and design-savvy homeowners how they felt about
the choices they made in their brand-new and newly remodeled
kitchens, and their responses were enlightening.
Interestingly enough, they all commented upon the importance of choosing a good
backsplash for their kitchens. Sure, it’s a small detail to consider, so sometimes
choosing materials for just the right look is one that’s ignored until
the last minute when the homeowner has run out of ideas and money
for the project.
So when we asked them about this important kitchen
detail, here is the helpful “back talk” we got about backsplashes.
 AT HOME: How important was the backsplash in your kitchen
design plan?
Linda Fugit, interior decorator and homeowner: Very important.
When you enter the kitchen, the backsplash is more noticeable than
the countertops.
Adrian Galvan, a designer at Design Materials Inc.: Choosing the right
color and material is very important. You want the countertop to grab you,
so the backsplash is a significant complementary component in the overall
design. Give the look an extra kick with great under-counter lighting.
Kathy McCormick, realtor and homeowner: It’s so important that I
found the decision-making process overwhelming, so we don’t have a backsplash
yet. It’s the one missing element in our newly remodeled kitchen.
Carol Ratcliff, homeowner: Style is important to me, so of course I
wanted something that’s good-looking, but it had to be functional as well.
Peggy Shuman, events designer and homeowner: The backsplash has to
be easy to clean. Design-wise, I like something that fades into the background.
 AT HOME: What is the best choice you’ve ever made for a backsplash, and
what was your biggest mistake?
Fugit: I love the white subway tile in my current kitchen. It functions beautifully
and dates appropriately for a 100-year-old grande dame. But the easiest
material I ever had was bead board! In fact, I highly recommend it when it’s in
keeping with the kitchen design. It’s inexpensive, easy to maintain and simple
to install. It can be installed over anything, including ceramic tile.
My biggest mistake was leaving this decision until the last. I ended up painting
the Sheetrock that had been installed in lieu of a traditional material … a
very bad idea!
The worst I ever got stuck with was beige tumbled marble. I don’t do beige.
Galvan: I love anything laid vertically. It adds so much interest. A herringbone
pattern is by far my favorite, usually for classic and traditional settings.
The easiest material of all time is three-by-six-inch subway tiles. It’s been
around forever, goes with practically everything, and I’ve never come across
anyone who doesn’t like it.
The biggest mistakes clients make are selection mistakes: Too much of the same
thing: like using the same floor tile on the backsplash, eeuuhh! That’s boring and
very blah. Big design mistakes? Over-complicating things and overlooking everyday
items such as outlets and necessary evils like that. As for installation, we stay out of
that, thank goodness, but the installation makes or breaks a backsplash, no matter
how beautiful or expensive the material is.
Fugit seconds Galvan regarding their all-time favorite: subway tiles. She
agrees that they go anywhere, anytime.
Shuman: Well, my current laminated backsplash, which is
actually a seamless continuation of the countertop, is a snap to
wipe clean. I’m getting ready to update the whole thing, but I
haven’t made any decisions about materials yet.
The most interesting backsplash I’ve had was in a beautiful new
Federal-style house. The area between the countertop and the
cabinet was covered with washable vinyl wallpaper, including the
space behind the stove. The vinyl wallpaper was tough and
durable and easy to wipe off, but I knew I’d have a problem in the
stove area, so I covered it with glass: simple and inexpensive!
 AT HOME: What tips do you have for those who are in the
process of selecting material for a backsplash? What are the pitfalls?
Fugit: Don’t use the same materials on everything. Surfaces
should be compatible but not matching. Choose carefully, and
remember the big picture. That is, unless you’re doing a fabulous
San Miguel approach, then go for it. Use the best you can afford— original hand-painted tiles — they’re to die for!
Galvan: Know your options! There’s so much out there; you
have to be educated about all of the materials regarding maintenance,
price and installation.
Pitfalls: Murals are great, but I tend to stay away from things
that limit your palette, like wine and fruit baskets. They don’t
wear well: People tend to tire of them.
Watch out for grout lines. Grouting always has to disappear,
so it should be paper-thin. The color should match the backsplash
material.
McCormick: Professionally speaking, I can say that highend
clients pay a lot of attention to details, such as backsplashes.
They want high-dollar extra touches.
Pitfalls: The biggest mistake homeowners make is installing
materials and colors that date the house. For
example, trendy color combinations, such as
turquoise and pink, or bright hard-to-workwith
colors like lime green, are big turnoffs.
Ratcliff: Get what you like.
So, what’s the buzz these days? Go with
clean and contemporary, according to
Galvan. The popularity of busy granite countertops
with lots of color and movement calls
for a calm background or backsplash.
Three-by-six-inch limestone tiles are
very popular in our area. It’s all about patterns
and textures: preferably rough textures,
such as a “split face” texture, which is
like cutting the brick open and using the
exposed, rough side as the exterior surface.
Metal tiles, rather than sheets of metal,
are more “cutting-edge” and have more
character. Don’t forget to add good undercounter
lighting.
Get a very cool look with an updated
checkerboard pattern in brushed stainless
steel tiles and smoked grey stainless steel or
aluminum satin black tiles. It’s also great
looking when set in a diagonal pattern.
Glass tiles in all shapes, sizes, textures,
and colors are avant-garde and trendsetting,
and a fun option might be animal
print tiles for a safari look.
Open yourself to new products and fashion-forward design ideas. Let yourself be
lured into looking at all the possibilities when
you’re choosing materials to use in your
home. You have to love it to live with it.
Remember: The little details really do matter.
Priscilla Kohutek is an internationally published
home decorating columnist and author of The
Guide to Home Decorating Indian Style.
Visit her Web site: www.askpriscilla.com.
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