design ideas: grouting

Decorative ceramic tile, custom hand made tile for unlimited possibilities

Get inspired!

Before you begin designing a room, you might want to consider how the room will inspire you and your family. I'd like to thank Emmanuel Dagher for the color wheel shown below. It's a great start to balance you and your room...

Where do I get my inspiration?

The creek behind my studio once ran wild with trout and  salmon. Now, because of toxic waters, just the occasional salmon appear to spawn. I look forward to this event yearly, just like a wide-eyed child.

Although the fish are not as plentiful, they still put on a fabulous show with their spectacular display of color, as they make their trek upstream to spawn. Thrashing on the rocks with fierce dedication, their bodies intertwine in a dance of color and fury. As their milky eggs spill, the water sparkles against the moss lined rocks where frogs await a feast.

I perceive the salmon’s devotion, their mission in life, that is their ultimate demise, to be admirable, and a fine lesson in work ethics; don’t ever give up on your goals in life. Work as if you are working for Father (God), and then you will truly do your best work.

Diane H. Holycross

kitchen salmon tile backsplash idea

This salmon backsplash tile design will someday adorn my parents kitchen back splash walls above their countertops in honor of Father's beautiful works of art that many people never take the time to see.

I plan on using green rainforest granite on the countertops; 1 ft. squares to save on cost. These actually look quite nice if you space them with a dime or something even smaller.

I'll be using a brown/green mossy rock base beneath the stream. These rocks will blend into the countertop material making a seamless design.

The ceramic tile grout will be an olive green at the base, fading up to white above. Sanded grouts are a must with mosaic designs because of the larger spacing and they can be dyed; see my www.tileswithstyle.faqs.htm page for details on this technique.

White-washed cabinetry will be above and below for a bright, light kitchen. this tone will also mimic the tones in the green rainforest granite countertops. The flooring will be wood, to maintain the earthy feel beneath our feet; probably a mahogany color like in the bands of the rainforest granite.

Two, stained glass windows with salmon and kelp will be above the two large windows behind the single, deep sink...light green of course to blend in with the countertops.

Vintage Amberina glass will be a beautiful accent to the salmon ceramic tiles and add that bit of bling to the kitchen!

It will be a fabulous room to entertain in, as well as be in harmony with nature in our very own home. Because remember, a house is not a home until it is filled with love; human, animal, or angels.

And of course, under cabinet lighting is a must to show off the tiles and make for a suitable work environment for the cook and canner.

Did you know that current accent / decorative tile costs for manufactured tiles run anywhere from $50 - $250 per square foot? Our decorative ceramic tiles are reasonable priced and, unlike manufactured tiles, FULLY customizable!

Below are a few kitchen, ceramic tile freshwater fish backsplash design ideas, all of which are 100% customizable.

The picture below shows two, large Chinook Salmon tiles amidst cobalt blue, round tiles and gray rock beneath.

Deep water

The next picture shows the same freshwater fish mosaic tile design, but with different colors. As you can see, the color change creates an entirely different look and feel to the freshwater ceramic tile design that utilizes two large Chinook Salmon tiles.

Shallow water

This design is framed by rock tiles, creating a top-view stream.

Salmon spawning

Trout

For all you fly fishermen and women, I have created several takes on trout kitchen backsplashes. This first design uses wavy water tiles, kelp, and three large Lake Trout tiles with rock tiles at the base. It has the look and feel as if you are lying underwater watching the trout swim peacefully along.

Note: Wavy water designs have an upcharge. These pieces are very time consuming to produce.

Lake Trout tile in kelp

The next two drawings show a freshwater fish tile border and a coordinating freshwater fish ceramic tile floor. The white, brown, and teal tiles could be picked up at most tile stores.

                     Aquatic pond ceramic tile design

This ceramic tile pond design is bordered in 6x6 squares, has a 2x6 inner border, rocks, and a center fresh water fish tile medallion. It comes with, or without a matching ceramic tile wall design that features a ceramic tile fish motif and subway tiles.

This tile pond design is fully customizable. If you prefer our lily pond ceramic tile design, we can easily modify this aquatic pond ceramic tile design to meet your lily pond tile needs.

Lily Ponds

I like to think of our lily pond ceramic tile designs as being a way to have an indoor lily pond without any of the headache and heartache associated with an outdoor lily pond.

The first design is a vivid blue lily pond tile kitchen backsplash. it has a channeled listel outer and inner border. Between the two listel tile borders / bar borders are beautiful square cobalt blue tiles.

The center of the ceramic tile kitchen backsplash design is where the lily pond tiles appears. This design is for someone that likes a lot of color.

You could purchase all of the tiles from Tiles with Style, or just the lily pond mosaic tiles in the center of this drawing. It all depends on the look you want to achieve and your budget.

I'm always amazed at how color changes can effect the overall appearance of a ceramic tile design. The next lily pond tile design is for someone that wants a bit of color, not too much, and has a very neutral colored kitchen. Perhaps stone or quartz countertops, light colored cabinets, etc.

Click the links below for additional ceramic tile kitchen backsplash ideas!

• Salmon

• Trout

• Lily Ponds

• Grouting Ideas

Grouting Ideas

Add some anthill gravel, bee bee-size gravel, or pea gravel into your grout. These tiny rock chards are easy to collect and use in the grout of your ceramic tile floors and walls. 

The example below shows a poly/sanded charcoal grout, purchased from Home Depot, in conjunction with tiny pebbles. This winning combination creates a black granite-like feel that goes splendidly with granite countertops.

If you want to match a tan/brown granite countertop, take a tan ceramic tile sanded grout and mix your pebbles in with the grout. It's that easy!

During the ants dormant months, grab a shovel and bucket, and dig away. Wash off any sand/dirt and thank the ants for sorting through the different size gravel for your ceramic tile project!

Grout/filler ideas:

There are numerous things you can mix in with your sanded grout to make your ceramic tile floors/walls appear more uniform and natural. If you are merely wanting to fill in around your ceramic tile mosaic pieces, you can use any of the following:

• Broken manufactured tile chards to fill in around the tiles. See our Medallions link.

• Skipping stones from the beach.

• Small dime-sized / penny  round ceramic tiles.

• Flat lapidary pieces—like amethyst, jasper, etc.

• Found art, such as bottle caps, penny's, etc.

• Pea gravel.

• Glass globs from the craft store (flat side up)

• Sand blasted glass pieces from the beach

Any of these techniques will add a little sparkle to your ceramic tile mosaic designs!

For more design ideas see:

• Ceramic tile mirrors

• Ceramic tile fireplaces

• Ceramic tile lily pond

• Ceramic tile bench

• Ceramic tile grouping

• Scattered ceramic tile leaves

• Design dilemma 

"Diane, We've been very happy with how easy it is to work with you and how quickly you got our tiles out. They look great and we can't wait to put them up on the backsplash."

Jenny and Brian Cross, Redlands, CA

Contact us to order your custom ceramic tile today!