Splashback kitchen tiles with style

Splashbacks come in all sorts of materials - everything from stainless steel to toughened glass, and even natural stone. But one material that's currently making a comeback is the humble tile. "Kitchen tiles are becoming popular again," says kitchen designer Darren James from Interiors by Darren James. "But the kitchen tile backsplash is getting smaller and glossier, with glass mosaics being very popular, or alternatively, long and rectangular shapes to provide contemporary lines, rather than the square profile that we saw years ago."

Darren says that if you opt for a glossy glass mosaic, you get the best of both worlds. "Depending on what type of tile you go for, it's likely to wind up costing you less than a glass splashback and will definitely be much easier to install, but it'll still have the reflective quality of glass," he says.

"When you start to shop around you'll see that the colours available are amazing - they're bringing in some fantastic options now, with reds, turquoises and even amethysts being seen in glass mosaics. Of course you need to make sure that any colour you choose is appropriate both for your kitchen and for your house in general, but the message is that there are so many options out there."

Still, before you jump on the tiled-splashback bandwagon, you do need to consider the fact that tiles in the kitchen will be harder to keep clean than, say, glass or stainless steel. "That's true," says Darren. "In particular the grout is likely to get dirty, especially behind the cooktop. One way to minimise this problem is to go for tiles with a larger profile, like up to 600mm, which means there is less grout to worry about."

Otherwise, if you do have your heart set on tiny glass mosaics, but are worried about the maintenance of your kitchen tile backsplash, then consider compromising. "What you can do is install stainless steel or even glass directly behind the cooktop and use glass mosaics or tiles elsewhere - that way you'll still get the effect of the tiles, but maintenance is likely to be easier."