If you're doing a kitchen renovation and are looking for just the right splashback tiles, you are facing a challenge. The days when your options in kitchen splashback tiles were limited to square ceramic tiles perhaps topped with a row of feature tiles are long gone. Today, even describing them as a "rainbow of options" doesn't do the available options justice. In order to help make your challenge an inspiring rather than a frustrating one, here's a brief rundown on some of the trendiest kitchen tiles on the market right now. Your ideas, together with the help of an expert tiler in your area, will ensure that your new kitchen is anything but ordinary.

Think Outside the (Square) Box

Since orderly rows of square kitchen tiles have been so common in Australian kitchens for so long, it is sometimes hard to visualise anything else unless you have seen some of the array of layouts talented interior designers have been coming up with. Square is not passé, but trend setting designers are thinking outside the box and using an array of shapes, sizes and configurations to create splashbacks that really make a "splash." Some of the latest trends include:

• Mosaics: After going out of style for awhile, mosaics are now back with a vengeance, thanks to new patterns, colours and materials. Especially "in" at the moment are glittering glass mosaics. For even more dramatic effects, they are laid on angles to form a 'V' pattern, used in combination with other tiles and used in conjunction with feature lighting to highlight their shimmering beauty.
  
  
• Oversized tiles are used to make the kitchen appear even larger and to draw attention to the splashback. Especially popular at the moment are oversized natural stone and faux stone kitchen tiles. These are used in both modern and traditional style kitchens. The subtle tones of natural stone provides a perfect complement to a timber benchtop and oversized, rough textured tiles can soften the appearance of a gleaming stainless steel or granite benchtop.
  
  
• Rectangular kitchen tiles are "trés chic" right now. Kitchen designers love them because they can be used to make walls appear to be longer or taller than they are, depending on how they're laid. For eye-popping feature tiles, lay rectangular tiles vertically between rows of horizontal tiles.

More Options in Kitchen Splashbacks

Along with all of the options in kitchen splashback tiles, there is also an incredible array of other types of splashbacks available. Metallic sheets, LED splashbacks and wide slumped (textured) glass panels are just a few of them. The drawback to these, especially in larger kitchens, is that they can be too uniform in appearance. One great way to get around this is to use them together with complementary tiles to break up the uniformity of the wide sheets.

These are just a few of the latest trends in kitchen splashback tiles. Now that you are thinking outside the box, why not start a trend of your own?