wishful wednesdays {kitchen backsplash}

One thing this Lazy Lady does best is fantasize about the future.  I'm not very good at living "in the now," I'm always thinking about the next recipe we should make, or couch we should buy, or city we'll live in, or job I could have, and where we'll be in 1, 3, 5, or 15 years.  It's not really the healthy way to live, buuuut sometimes I come up with some really great futures. . . 

I know I'm getting into small details by talking about backsplashes but I just love them.  There are so many different options to bring a little creative flair into your kitchen.  I feel like the backsplash is the cherry on top of a beautiful kitchen, it's one of the last little details that can really bring everything together.  I look through pictures of houses and remodels and DIY home projects every day on various blogs, and I think the backsplash is one of the only aspects of a home that I've formed a fairly concrete opinion on.  As you've probably seen with my other wishful wednesdays posts, the styles that I like jump around a bit.  Sometimes I look at a house that it is all white walls, with lots of light and is very clean and crisp looking and I think, yeah, wow, I want that.  Then I look at something with lots of colors and a mishmash of furniture and maybe something hot pink and lacquered thrown in the mix and I think, OK, oh yes, now that's what I like.  Recently I found a picture of an old cabin that was built in 1903 out of rail road ties and it's one of the most beautiful spaces I've ever seen.  But for some reason when it comes the backsplash, I'm always drawn to the same type.

I don't think this feeling is shared with may others.  I asked the man what kind of backsplashes he likes the best and he told me that honestly, it wasn't something he'd ever give any thought to.  So maybe it is just me.  Well, me and people who actually own a house and are remolding their kitchens.

Like I said before, there are so many options and varieties of backsplashes.  You can use tile, wood, stone, steal, photos, paint, tin, I think I've even seen fabric.  Here are some that have caught my eye.

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This is some beautiful wood.  I love how the counter-top just flows into the backsplash as one continuous piece.  I also like how it still looks really modern and sleek.  Oh, wood, you versatile material, you.

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Then there is the ever-increasing-in-popularity (or maybe I'm behind the times and it's had it's peek) Stainless Steal.  People love their stainless steal, from their refrigerators, to their vent hoods, to their counter-tops and now their backsplashes.  It's a clean sterile look.  It definitely looks sharp, but I think it will always remind me of restaurant kitchens.  And I think you already know my qualms with the material, at least in fridge form, (damn you and your inability to attract magnets).

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You could also go for the retro look.  Now this fits in with my whole 1950's fridge obsession, and it sure is cute.

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Chalkboard paint is making it's way into every room of the house.  And this is a really fun idea.  Being able to tweak the design of your kitchen, by creating a different pattern every once in a while could be a great group project.  I loved the chalkboard idea in the mudroom, and it really could be fun anywhere in your house, but there are just some places that I don't want chalk dust flyin' about.

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Subway tile is pretty standard when it comes to kitchens.  It's a classic, and it's still beautiful and simple and a great way to go.  I love that these people (in the second photo) decided to change it up a bit by turning it vertically.

But the one style, or I guess material of backsplash that I'm am consistently drawn to? . . .

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Glass Tile.

I love glass tile.  When I look back through the images I've collected of backsplashes it's always of the greeny bluey variety (ok, there's also some grey thrown in, but who doesn't love grey).  I think it's that shiny pop of color.  It's a great place to add a splash (yes pun 100% intended) of color in an otherwise neutral kitchen.  You don't see many kitchens with magenta cabinets or seafoam counter-tops, the rest of the kitchen is usually pretty mild in color , so why not go wild with the backsplash.  I love the way the glass glimmers, and reflects the surfaces around it.  I love the bright and fun but also calming effect of these cool colors.  I haven't quite decided which size of tile I like best, I just know I want it to be glass.

You may have noticed that I didn't add any photos of stone backsplashes, and that's because I just don't like them.  I'm also not a fan of mosaic ones, but hey, that's just me, and my future kitchen.  I think it really depends on the style of your kitchen, or of your whole house.  There may even be a chance that one day, in my future, when we buy our house, a glass tile backsplash might not work at all, but I think I'll jump that hurdle when I get to it.  And if that's my biggest problem, in this future house of mine, then I'd be a pretty lucky gal.

How about you?  Are you all about the stone work? Did I even mention your favorite material or style of backsplash?  Are you jumping on my glass tile band wagon?  Do you prefer some of the other options I mentioned? Or are you like the man and have no opinion on the matter what-so-ever?

Tell me, I want to know!!!

p.s. he did have one opinion.  I showed him the last picture of this post, and before I could say how much I liked the blue glass tile he went "BLEH!"  I think it was an overall reaction, but we'll see how much his indifference to backsplashes changes one day when we're picking out our own.  I'll let you know in a couple of years if this is a battle I win!

p.p.s. I know that some of the "glass tile" photo's I posted might be plain ol' glazed tile.   Either way I like the shapes and colors of all those tiles, and i'm just imagining that they're glass, you know, just a little translucent.