photo: grout as a design element in kitchen backsplash tiles

When you think of grout, I’ll bet you don’t think first of beauty! I sure don’t. In fact, I’d never thought of grout as a design element, though. I was surprised to realize that grout can be an important part of a backsplash design.



photo from Tiling

Look at the way the wide white grout lines emphasize this simple jack-on-jack pattern! The contrast between the black tile and the white grout is repeated in the range. If this were my kitchen, I’d do black-and-white through the whole room. It would be great!



photo from tile idea book

This is just the opposite effect. Here the large Indian slate tiles are set very close together. A dark grout has been used to de-emphasize the joint even more.

Who would ever have thought that grout could make such an impact?