Kitchen Geometry

Geometric kitchen patterns — on back splashes and rugs – give kitchens youthful, individual looks.

Among my laments about kitchen design over the past two years is the copy-cat white- or white-and-black kitchens which sink into stereotypes, even when done by well-known designers. So I see kitchen pattern on back splashes or patterned rugs as welcome antidotes. I also hope the popularity of all-over kitchen pattern will finally mark the death of picture-frame tile behind the range — that feature almost always looks terrible. Choosing patterned tile for a kitchen isn’t risky. It keeps the look informal and can put some jazz into popular white, black or gray color schemes. For me, a patterned back splash offers more individuality than plain subways, glass mosaics or stone. And striped cotton rugs — like the one in the black-white-and gray print backsplash kitchen [top] — are mass produced (notably by Dash and Albert), affordable and guaranteed attention-getters.

Blue and green in the low Moroccan-tile-style backsplash in an otherwise  white kitchen sets up a neutral “land and sea” mix. While the blue-and-white striped rug is really conventional, the lively ‘splash paired with stunning botanical prints — to balance vintage upper cabinets on the opposite side of the vent hood – shows that someone has thought about this kitchen and made it their own.

Sage, gray and white is a sophisticated color scheme that can be subdued. Not here. Exquisite Surfaces’ “La Terre” tiles in a full-height (eurosplash) behind the range pay for themselves. The large lantern pattern, framed in the range niche, pull the eye right to the kitchen’s focal point while the zig-zag rug is both a supporting element and a wonderful counterpoint.

With cabinet color this bold, all you see at first is that zany, happy turquoise. Looking closely, however, the backsplash color is well coordinated and it’s no sissy either. But  with such an intense cabinet color the tile pattern becomes subdued so it’s smart to support it with a striped cotton rug in the same palette.

What’s interesting to me is that the “land and sea” kitchen and the one with the turquoise cabinets have somewhat similar backsplashes and similar rugs.  Yet the impact of the kitchens is very different.

(Source: houseandhome, coastalliving, cindab, wikinoticia)

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