Take Your Kitchen Tile to the Next Level

Colorful or boldly-patterned tiles show a sense of playfulness and modern style. You can't go wrong with timeless checkerboard tiles, diamonds, herringbone, or terrazzo. Floral tiles and tiles that look like wallpaper are trendy right now, as are honeycomb-like penny tiles and mosaics. A small section of graphic tiles can delineate a nook and contrast well with wooden flooring.

You can opt for a zigzag border in your kitchen, keep the lines straight, or demarcate an area with a different-colored border tile.

There's old-fashioned, and then there's elegant and retro. You might want a throwback in your kitchen, and there's plenty of antique-look tile inspo out there. From stars and fleur de lis motifs to geometric Azulejos-style tiles that bring to mind travels to Portugal and Morocco, you need only look to the past for a contemporary statement floor.

Reclaimed tiles are full of character, ceramic Edwardian and Victorian-style tiles add granny chic, and worn-effect porcelain is so in. Have you seen those encaustic tiles that look like they're straight out of an ancient medieval building?

Tile insets give the illusion of an expensive rug without the capital outlay. They add texture and visual flair by using interesting materials and colors and break up the monotony of single-color tiles to add structure to a space. Tile insets can be circular rather than rectangular, and you can even juxtapose them with wooden floors for an interesting change.

Slip-resistant insets near sinks are functional in addition to being decorative.

There's nothing better than zhuzhing up a Scandi-inspired small kitchen with an array of brightly-colored tiles. Unconventional flooring is a design risk that often pays off—it's an instant mood booster, infuses a neutral room with personality, and speaks to the diverging instincts within all of us—should I be sensible or spirited?

You can be both and play "She's a Rainbow" by The Rolling Stones while you're meal prepping, too.

Kitchen floor tiles that match the cabinets lend the space a welcome symmetry. The kitchen looks put together and thematically cohesive, and the visual harmony is calming. You're not going for a copy-paste scenario. Instead, you're picking up a single color thread from a busy floor and using it on the cupboards.

Grays, whites, duck egg blue, sage, and baby pink work well, but aim for a balance between the floor and cabinetry. You don't want either element to make the other redundant or overbearing.

Don't be afraid of gold—no one's going to confuse you for Louis XVI, we promise. Marble and just a hint of burnished gold can add royal glamor to your kitchen backsplash without being overwhelmingly shiny. The metallic can complement fixtures and fittings to stunning effect. You'll be humming Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" in no time.

If you want your mugs, oil and vinegar sets, and salt and pepper shakers to be a specific color, consider what that accent color would look like as a glossy or matte backsplash. Matching decorative bits and bobs to a prominent feature offers the room aesthetic coherence and a sophisticated feel.

A mostly-white kitchen has a certain virtue, but if you don't want the sterile ultramodern look, your backsplash is an opportunity to create contrast with white or off-white cupboards to make your kitchen exciting and on-trend.

If you're doing a kitchen overhaul, you can even match your big-ticket appliances—such as your washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, microwave, and other cooking paraphernalia—to a gray, silver, or black (or pretty much any color if you're a Smeg convert) backsplash.

Who needs to go out and eat when your at-home setup looks like an impeccably styled eatery? Pick a backsplash tile you like and carry it through an enclosed area in your kitchen, such as a scullery, or go big and adorn the whole kitchen for a full-on theme. If you're on the fence, consult an interior decor expert.

Few things say futuristic more than black-on-black interior decor. When a kitchen backsplash is glossy and the cabinets are matte or vice versa, there might be even more to rave about. Matching dark with dark, whether deep green with charcoal or midnight blue with chocolate, is unconventional but has a high payoff for the daring foodie.