Photo by Pieter Estersohn
1. tile as wallpaper
For major drama, liberate tile from its backsplash-only status and use patterned varieties to cover an entire wall. (Bonus: It's super-easy to clean.)
STRIPES
3/8" "Stripes Summer" mosaic $104.29/sq. ft. Bisazza (800) 247-2992
GEOMETRIC
9½" x 12¾" "Infiniti" #5-1-19,
$125 each
Mosaic House for information
DECORATIVE
8" #CH140-1A
$16/sq. ft., Wholesale tile & Accessories, (813) 248-0455 for stores
2. the next subway tile
"Squares, instead of the long rectangles, set in a horizontal running-bond* pattern."—Gil Schafer
"Subway in a herringbone design."—Ruthie Sommers
"Mosaic."—David Netto
"Overscale subway."—Rita Konig
"5" x 5" with no grout showing."—Suzanne Rheinstein
*running bond: In this common motif (also known as stretcher bond" and immediately recognizable to any child who has drawn a brick wall), each horizontal row is offset from the row above it by half a tile.
