Subway tiles are classic, and ~ if done right ~ are timeless. But they’ve been so popular for enough years now that even these are starting to feel a little tired and overdone.

I’ll always love them, but I will admit, there’s another approach to backsplashes that’s been a rare sighting for a long time, but is getting a little more attention these days, and I couldn’t be more excited.

The slab as backsplash. Personally I’ve been head over heels in love with this look for a long time. It doesn’t really get more sophisticated than this. And if anything is more timeless than subway tiles in a kitchen, this might be it.

I definitely plan on doing something along this vein when we dive into our kitchen renovation. I love the ledge in the middle photo above as a place for some art or small special items {but only a few!} and a clean way to finish the stone if you don’t want it to go very far up the wall… but i’m also a fan of potentially taking it all the way up to the ceiling, you know how I love a kitchen with no upper cabinets!

As far as this style goes though, how bold would you be with the stone pattern? I love this dramatic bar installation. Right now white everything is so popular, but for me this is really refreshing, and the stone is classic even with the heavier veining, so it doesn’t feel too ‘trendy’.

I could stare at this beautiful space for hours. And those black lower cabinets. HELLO. 

And there’s always the traditional twist. I feel like I have a more modern aesthetic in general, although I do adore old buildings so maybe it just depends on the space… would you consider a stone backsplash in a traditional shape?

I didn’t think I would like this one, but there’s something about it that I really love. . . if you look back at marble in old buildings, they did use astonishing level of detail and ornamentation… those guys back in the day were literally amazing when you think about the fact that they built everything by hand! I think that’s what I love about this, the connection to history and older uses of the stone.

I can’t wait to get started on our for real, actual kitchen renovation, and it’s getting closer by the day… but until then I’ll be here, daydreaming about every nook and cranny of what our ‘soon to be’ dream fixer upper will look like!