#Make a splash: Kitchen backsplashes - Style At Home

Update your kitchen with a beautiful and colourful backsplash.

Looking to make a splash? Consider colourful glass mosaic tiles for your kitchen backsplash. Although today's ubiquitous white subway tiles remain on trend (if you just installed them, don't worry: they'll look great for years to come), if you're designing from scratch this year, consider taking a pass on that trend and trying something newer, something edgier, something eminently funkier – but versatile and sophisticated too.

And that's mini mosaic tiles in a look-at-me hue like cherry red, royal blue, mineral white or even the deceptively neutral "colourless" natural glass hue. Making their presence known in a number of designer booths and installations at this year's Interior Design Show, held in Toronto this past February, miniature glass mosaics are a bold alternative to the subway tiles so popular in the 00's. Their translucent finish also offers a lighter, more modern feel than opaque ceramic or natural stone tiles.

Go small

Available in intriguing shapes, including 5/8-inch-by-5/8-inch squares, 1-inch-by-1-inch squares, 5/8-inch-by-2-inch rectangles, tiny "penny-rounds," ovals, or even "shards" of thin, long tiles resembling mineral crystals, these pretty wonders are usually sold as 12" by 12" "tiles" adhered onto mesh backing for easier application. Just apply them with organic mastic (a latex- or petroleum-based "mortar" for vertical surfaces – conventional thin-set mortars take too long to set), and grout when dry.

Because the tiles have a repetitive pattern (all those tiny grout lines!) and, in many cases, eye-catching colours, they work best in a clean, streamlined contemporary kitchen. Consider them a natural if you have flat-panel cabinetry in a high-gloss lacquered finish. (Or, if your paste is more transitional, they also work with plain Shaker-style cabinets.)

To avoid sending mixed design messages, skip basic-issue white appliances in favour of appliance panels, or stainless steel or black finishes – unless your idea of white is conveyed via luxe revival whites as shown by Aga.