NEW this week AND just in time for SPRING!Our tile trade partners, American Olean and Daltile have come through with the

long awaited…

highly anticipated…

hot off the presses…

KITCHEN BACKSPLASH sample boards!

I am delighted to have the opportunity to share with our home owners the very latest in tile trends for kitchen backsplashes. It is not a surprise to see a return to the beautiful classic stones but now in updated shapes, sizes and installation methods. Pheadra Cowart, tile designer at Daltile In Charlotte worked with me to not only create the looks for our boards but also to stay on trend with what is selling across our market area.

GONE are the square 4 x 4’s with clipped corners, IN are all sizes of rectangles from very small to very large! The key is to keep a very clean palate of color, shape or pattern without distracting the eye. The backsplash space should play as one continuous canvas.

Installation patterns provide interest from brick joint to herringbone and anything in between. “The straight pattern is the more modern and it is showing up more and more” says Richard Scango, regional sales manager for Daltile.

The earthy warmth that stones provide work so well with the warm grays that are still very popular in all types of home décor. Just this weekend I attended the 2015 Architecture Digest Home and Design show in New York. Grays are here to stay for the foreseeable future. More and more products are being introduced by trade partners to compliment the demand for this warm neutral. While we are seeing more and more manufactured countertop surfaces rise to the top for durability, backsplashes in real stone give us that earthiness we desire without the maintenance issue.

Still hot! Glass! But here again sizing has changed and so has the composition. Metals (from copper to stainless) is showing up mixed in with glass more and more. Metals tend to break up the shiny background with an industrial nod giving the space a modern twist.

Another interesting modern approach is the textured effects showing up on tile. The subway shape is still prevalent but the new twist is using fabric-like textures to change not only the way light is reflected off the tile but to give a tactile nuance. The look is almost akin to wallpaper but with incredible durability!

Clean and simple lines continue to win hearts in today’s homes selections.

Jai Covington

Home Owner Relationship Manager

Evans Coghill Homes is a new home builder in the Charlotte, NC area building new homes in Riverwalk, Springfield or Cheval, and River Run.  For more information, please visit www.evanscoghill.com.

Jai Covington