Yes.. I dream of tiles

Yes.. I dream of tiles

• Monday, 28 August 2017

If there’s any room that is held closely to my heart, it’s the kitchen. Because that’s what the kitchen is, it’s the heart of our home, the central point, the place I create wonderful food for my baby.. being in the kitchen makes me feel happy and productive. 

I haven’t mentioned it on my blog yet but in the near future we’re going to be buying a house and of course, I’m already dreaming of how our first non rental property might look; from the colour we might paint our bedroom, the accessories we might have in our bathroom to the kitchen wall tiles we might choose to create our dream culinary workspace.

TileMonkey invited me to check out their range of kitchen tiles and share with you some of the designs that I could imagine choosing for our future kitchen...

Herringbone

This trend (shown in the image above) is usually associated with flooring and is a form of ‘Parquet’, which is a classic design, but it has been making more of an appearance on kitchen walls over the past couple of years. I love how subtle this pattern is but how it demands so much attention when you look it, the intricacy of each tile overlapping the other adds a sense of elegance and can be paired beautifully with different floor tiles.

One of the great things about tiles is how you can make them stand out, the same goes with herringbone patterns, there are simple touches that you can add to make the biggest difference. An example of this would be different grouting colours, if you want to have a completely neutral effect then stick with light tiles and a white grout, although this is simple it’s a much more effective pattern than regular brickwork. If you wanted to get the tiles to ‘pop’ then you can use a darker grouting, this effect works well with more neutral coloured tiles and can make them seem bolder. However, Herringbone tiles aren’t only available in lighter shades, if you’re fancying something a little different then there are an array of colours to choose from, especially if you’re more a contemporary fan. Bold colours such as red, teal or orange all look great as a backsplash feature in the kitchen and when they are used alongside a lighter grout the different shades within the tiles themselves are highlighted more.

Metro/Subway

A classically British look that is being used across the design world, in fact, interior designers are going as mad for this as I am; it’s so popular! This style is named after the look created in the London Underground and New York subway stations, an almost industrial appearance that has had a huge resurgence in popularity over the past 18 months. It’s all the rage if you’re into that early 20th century industrial chic feel, which I certainly am. As with other tiles there’s a lot of variety and different styles that can be applied using this trend, another reason why it’s probably as popular as it is. 

Metro tiles allow you to add a super sleek and stylish appearance to your kitchen, whether that’s with a simple splash back or an entire feature wall. Personally, I love the smooth finish of the brick patterns, especially those that are glossed for that extra shine and allow the light to bounce around the room which can make it seem bigger than it really is. It’s completely up to you how you have the tiles placed, either vertical or the most commonly used; horizontal placement. For an ultra-modern look people tend to stick with black or white tones but pastel colours are seeing a renaissance and allow a lot more room to accessorise with your appliances.

Mosaic

There's a reason that this trend has been around for so long, it’s timeless. Originating way back in Ancient Greek times, Mosaic tiles remain a popular choice within the home especially in bathroom and kitchen areas. One of the reasons that I really love this style is because of the sparkle that is added to a room by using so many different colours to create a unique pattern, especially when they are used as part of a splash back. I love the way that this pattern allows you to make a statement but can also be used to accent other features and tiles, even though the pattern itself is centuries old it can still appear modern when used in the right way and placed in the correct environment. There are a lot of materials that can be used to create this pattern but one of the most popular is glass, probably due to the fact that they’re really easy to keep clean and are resistant to stains, sold and mildew which makes them ideal for the kitchen!

Narrowing down to a top 3 favorite tile trends was pretty difficult because there are so many other stunning patterns and styles to choose from; if you could choose a style for your kitchen what would it be?

XOXO