Kitchens 

1. Full-tile backsplash feature walls. Attention-grabbing backsplash tile is nothing new in well-designed kitchens. We’ve seen colorful geometric and quirky patterns show up in a lot of kitchens for years now. 

But what many professionals are seeing more of lately is an interest in taking the tile from countertop to ceiling, including behind floating shelves and flanking range hoods, to create a striking feature wall.

This idea aligns with some broader trends as well. The 2018 Houzz Kitchen Trends Studyshows that half of homeowners are opening up their kitchens to interior spaces, and that the most popular kitchen layout is the L-shape. This openness means the kitchen is always on display and therefore in need of a good focal point. A full-tile feature wall draws your eye in, whether through shimmer and texture with something like a simple white subway tile or through bold color and pattern as with a Moroccan design. 

It’s also a relatively cost-effective way to achieve a stunning effect. Buying an extra several square feet of tile won’t break the budget, but it looks high-end.