Kitchen Splashbacks

Most of us who live in a house or flat will have some form of kitchen. We're all use to the traditional kitchen tiles splash backs above worktops and under wall units but is this our only option??

There are some simply stunning tiles available in today's stores, but some of the more eye catching kitchens are using other types of material for these all important splash back areas.

Timber
Ok, so not every ones cup of tea, but if you like a contemporary or country cottage look, there are timber worktops that can suite either of these design criteria. One advantage of this choice of worktop as it goes without saying that you can also get the continuation of timber as an up stand for your splash back, no worry about matching or contrasting your colour scheme - you just carry it on up the wall in theory!

Granite
Pretty much the same principle applies here as with timber, you choose your worktop and your splash back takes care of its self.

Glass
Glass is becoming more and more popular, there are a number of glass mosaic sheets available with differing thicknesses, as well as some glass panels. One crucial thing to remember here is that as you are delaying with large sheets of glass, you need to make sure your wall is pretty much perfect before trying to fix them - trying to force a 1.50m piece of glass splash back may well result in disappointment if it breaks.

So before you just buy a traditional tile for your splash back, consider these variables, make your new kitchen unique to you!!

New Year New Kitchen Tiles

The end of 2007 is almost here, and with a new year comes new ideas and some new home improvements.
Fitting a new kitchen can prove to be quite an expensive task, however it doesnt have to be.
Unless you really need to change the layout of your kitchen it is worth while considering a facelift instead.
Firstly, it is worth looking at your units, and see if they can be painted or stained. Many units may have a varnish or lacquer on, that with a bit of time can be removed ready to paint over. If you visit a decorators merchants such as Brewers they will be more than happy to help provide you with a system of strippers, primers undercoats and top coats that will be ideal for you units. This will obviously take some time, but make the most of teh cold winter nights ahead, and just focus on one door per night, or 3 a week. In the long run, for the cost of the paint, and your patient and valuable time, you'll be please with the results, and having an extra £5,000 in your pocket.
The next step is to look at changing the worktops. the like of magnets and mfi always have a good selection of laminate worktops, but personally and for longevity, i prefer a solid wood worktop. Again, as with the paint as long as you treat them properly to avoid warping, when they look a bit tired, a good sanding, and treatment really brings them back to life, and with age they just look better as they show their age with knocks and dent. A really good place with quick service for wooden worktops is Barncrest Worktops.
When that is done, you just need to finish the walls with paint and tiles, and maybe the floor. A wooden worktop finish can go with rustic cottage style kitchen tiles, or modern kitchen tiles. You can choose between a splashback or tiling between worktops and the underside of your kitchen units. Watch out for cuting around plugs etc as this can be a little fiddly.

Kitchen Tiles for Walls and Floors

Choosing kitchen tiles is a very tricky business, there isn't always a large quantity of tiles to go on the walls, above the worktops and below the kitchen units, but its really crucial to get the tiles right to blend with the units you have, worktops and then the tiles for your floor.
Kitchen tiles can be more often than not split into two main catagories for kitchens, rustic/country cottage style or contemporary. In general the differences are:
Rustic - usually a stone effect or bumpy surface, with uneven edges. Usually designed to either replicate a natural stone type of tile, either in a matt or satin finish to look more natural or coloured and gloss finish, as if the natural stone is underneath.
Contemporary - flat, clean straight edges, an ideal kitchen solution for todays more modern kitchen styles.
On the tileclick website, they cover both catagories, and these also include a stunning range of kitchen tiles from Laura Ashley - Milford. In addition, in the Candy Tile Collection, there are the Tibet range of kitchen tiles, and Ashbourme, a slightly lighter and softer shading range of tiles.
In the contemporary range there are, again a number stunning and suitable kitchen tiles, however, the design range are simply stunning, and compared to other and similar tiles that are available, are very competitively (sounds better than cheap)