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Where Color Meets Craft Original Ceramic Tile

Where Color Meets Craft: Reintroducing Original Ceramic Tile

See Featured Blog →
New traditional bathroom floor subway green tile 3

Nicholas Potts: Historic Primary Bathroom

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  • Kitchen + Backsplash
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2023 img hi res full usage design Atypical design Studio photo jordan Layton wainscott offset cardamom 3x9 floor tile iron ore 2 hexagon FC596427 1

Original Ceramic tiles showcase handmade qualities with unique variations in color, crazing, and finish.

  • All Original Ceramic Colors
  • Studio Glazes New
  • Ceramic Stains New
  • Shop Shapes
  • Shop Patterns
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Resources
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Your first 5 color samples are FREE through a rep

BOOK AN APPOINTMENT BROWSE ALL SAMPLES
2024 residential full usage 4x4 terre verte satin red jasper satin indigo satin 2x2 red jasper satin bathroom checkerboard straight set 6x12 cove base indigo satin Pluck Architecture Leonid Furmansky FC796720 2

Our budget-friendly ceramics line, Natural Press is made with your largest indoor and outdoor projects in mind.

  • All Natural Press Colors
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Your first 5 color samples are FREE through a rep

BOOK AN APPOINTMENT BROWSE ALL SAMPLES
Modern blue subway wall glass tile 2

Our radiant Glass Tile provides a freshness that pairs perfectly with today’s modern designs indoors or out.

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Your first 5 color samples are FREE through a rep

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Glazed Thin Brick Destination Eichler Blue Brick Fireplace

Brick’s hand-mixed glazes enrich its surface, delicately exposing its unique textures and variations with the colors of the environment around us.

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2022 img hi res full rights residential photo design plural design studio bathroom floor tile mini star and cross antique white grout FC 407104 2

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Learn More →
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Enscape 2025 04 08 12 57 54

Visualize our tile in your space with our comprehensive design packages.

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  • Bathroom
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  • Pool + Fountain
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Where Color Meets Craft Original Ceramic Tile

Where Color Meets Craft: Reintroducing Original Ceramic Tile

See Featured Blog →
New traditional bathroom floor subway green tile 3

Nicholas Potts: Historic Primary Bathroom

See Featured Gallery →
Blog
  • All Blog Posts
  • Design + Inspiration
  • Project Spotlight
  • Tile School
Gallery
  • All Gallery Entries
  • Bathroom
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Where Color Meets Craft Original Ceramic Tile

Where Color Meets Craft: Reintroducing Original Ceramic Tile

See Featured Blog →
New traditional bathroom floor subway green tile 3

Nicholas Potts: Historic Primary Bathroom

See Featured Gallery →
Blog
  • All Blog Posts
  • Design + Inspiration
  • Project Spotlight
  • Tile School
Gallery
  • All Gallery Entries
  • Bathroom
  • Kitchen
  • Commercial
Where Color Meets Craft Original Ceramic Tile

Where Color Meets Craft: Reintroducing Original Ceramic Tile

See Featured Blog →
New traditional bathroom floor subway green tile 3

Nicholas Potts: Historic Primary Bathroom

See Featured Gallery →
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  1. Home
  2. Blog
  3. Tile School: Choosing the Right Tile for Your Backsplash

This vs That

Tile School: Choosing the Right Tile for Your Backsplash

By Kali Gibson

Q2 2017 Image Commercial Office Photographer Laure Joliet Design Kirsten Grove Tile Handpainted Old Cairo Black White Motif Detail 3
Q2_2017_image_commercial_office_photographer_Laure_Joliet_design_kirsten_grove_tile_handpainted_old_cairo_black_white_motif_detail_3.jpg

If you're working on designing your kitchen backsplash, you know that you've got a lot of options. If you're going for handmade backsplash tile, we've got you covered. All of our materials, Glazed Thin Brick, Handpainted and Tile, are suitable for a backsplash application. You just have to decide which one best suits your style! We'll go over a few things that are good to consider (along with design tips and ideas) below:

1. Don't Be Afraid to Mix Materials
Perhaps you've fallen in love with two of our materials and cannot decide between them...maybe you don't have to? If you have opposing walls in your kitchen, two materials can really complement each other, while adding texture to your space. A lot of people want to use handpainted tiles, but find it's out of their budget, but you can always just create a focal point and pair with one of our budget-friendly Essentials or Foundations Tile colors.

Q1_2017_image_residential_kristen_pena_kitchen_backsplash_tile_handpainted_malta_tusk_2x6.jpg

Tile Shown: Handpainted Malta in a motif created with our Color-It Tool, paired with 2x6 in Feldspar Gloss // Design: Kristen Peña

The founder of Fireclay Tile, Paul Burns, chose to feature hand-painted tiles behind his stovetop and then used 4x4s in Gardenia in the rest of his kitchen:

4x4__Backsplash__Founder_Feature__Gardenia__Handpainted__Kitchen__Madrid__Paul__Tile_6.jpeg

Tile Shown: Custom Madrid handpainted tiles and 4x4s in Gardenia

You can also consider one material for your backsplash and another for your floors. As you can see below, our Glazed Thin Brick and ceramic tile pair together with ease in the same space:

2018_Q1_image_residential_influencer_Anne_Sage_MonicaWangPhotography_kitchen_backsplash_brick_white_Ceres_floor_tile_Gypsum_6x12_herringbone_full.jpg

Tile Shown: Glazed Thin Brick in Olympic with 6x12 in Gypsum // Design: Studio McGee // Image: Monica Wang

2. A little tile can go a long way
On a budget? Don't underestimate how far a bit of tile can go. If you really love our handpainted tiles, you can opt for just a focal point, as they have done in the two kitchens below:

Backsplash__Handpainted__Kasbah_Trellis__Kitchen__White_Motif.jpeg

Tile Shown: Kasbah Trellis in Neutral Motif

Q2_2017_image_commercial_office_photographer_Laure_Joliet_design_kirsten_grove_tile_handpainted_old_cairo_black_white_motif_detail_3.jpg

 

Tile Shown: Old Cairo in Black and White Motif // Design: Kirsten Grove // Image: Laure Joilet

3. Gloss vs. Matte
Within each of our materials, we offer different finishes (more on that here). It's important to consider what finish, Gloss, Matte or Satin, will work best in your space. Consider both the natural and artificial light that will exist in your kitchen and make sure to look at your color samples at different times of day and under lights to make sure the color and finish is the one you want.

The kitchen below uses a mix of gloss and matte finishes (which we love). You can see here how much more the gloss tiles will reflect light.

Backsplash__Raven__Blacks__Brick__Cotton__Dark_Neutrals__Galaxy__GE__Greys__Kitchen__Laundry__Of(1).jpeg

Tile Shown: 3x6 Subway tiles in Raven and Carbon.

You can see how this matte glaze doesn't reflect as much light and has a slightly softer look:

2017_Q2_Img_Residential_lo_res_instagram_Pamela_Lin_Urbanism_kitchen_backsplash_ceramic_calcite_hexite_glazed_edge_wood_cabinets__FC-165817.png

Tile Shown: Hexite in Calcite // Design + Image: Urbanism Designs

4. Myths about Brick
Some people worry that our Glazed Thin Brick will be difficult to clean, but it actually cleans just as easily as our other materials! Also, sometimes the thickness of our Brick concerns people, but this really doesn't pose an issue for your space or during installation. The width of the brick can actually be a blessing if you are doing a lipped marble countertop. These two materials are roughly the same width, making for a seamless transition between the materials!

2017_Q2_image_hi_res_residential_House_Beautiful_KOTY_Jon_de_la_Cruz_kitchen_backsplash_brick_offset_meteorite_detail.jpg

Brick Shown: Front Range (discontinued; for a similar look, try Absaroka) // Design: Jon de la Cruz // Image: House Beautiful

FireclayTile_Brick__Kitchen__Pottery_Barn__Snow_653_653_c1_1.jpg

Brick Shown: Lewis Range

5. Your Grout
Your grout is an important material for backsplash too, both as an installation and design element. (Grout 101 here). We always recommend sanded grout for most installations, but If you are using our Tile or Brick consider investing in Epoxy grout, it's a real game changer. Tile is easy to clean, but your grout will show wear. Epoxy grout requires very little maintenance, so even if you've tiled behind your stove top (the area that will ultimately get the dirtiest), you're looking at a lot less cleaning.

2017_Q1_image_commercial_influencer_witdelight_studio_kitchen_backsplash_tile_hexagon_6_navy_blue_full_edit.jpg

Tile Shown: 6" Hexagons in Navy Blue // Design: Kate Arends

Like any of the featured colors? Order samples online now. Need some help? Simply call, chat or fill out our Design Assistance Form and one of our talented Design Consultants will get back to you shortly.

Shop the Story

6" Hexagon Tile in Navy Blue Gloss
2x6 Tile in Feldspar Gloss
  • 1/ Navy Blue Gloss, 6" Hexagon
  • 2/ Feldspar Gloss, 2x6

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