2022 Tile Backsplash Ideas: 30+ Mosaic Tile Trends

The time has come. You’re finally going to remodel your kitchen, and the final piece you need to pull the whole look together is some trendy backsplash tile. 

Choosing a backsplash mosaic is one of the most important design choices you’ll make. You need to make sure you love how it looks.

This style guide to 2022’s biggest backsplash trends can steer you in the right direction. From the most popular shapes and patterns to the trendiest colors, this in-depth guide covers everything you need to know about this year’s hottest looks.

Backsplash Tile Types

Discover the latest innovations in backsplash tile and the trendiest materials.

Peel and Stick Tile Backsplash

With peel and stick backsplash tiles, you get the best of both worlds when it comes to ease and quality.

Manufacturers have developed backsplash tiles, made from real stone, that come with a pre-applied adhesive. To install, simply peel off the backing and stick the tile to the wall

This is especially helpful since ceiling-height backsplashes are becoming increasingly popular. If you want to take your tile all the way to the ceiling, you can keep up with the trend with less effort.

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Related Content >> How to Install Backsplash Tile

Grout-free Tile Backsplash

Grout-free backsplash tile cuts a step out of the installation process, while still providing professional-looking results. Just like with peel and stick tile, these grout-free products are made with real stone. 

Plus, you save some money that you would have otherwise spent hiring a professional to install the tile.

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Porcelain and Ceramic Tile Backsplash

Porcelain and ceramic tiles are durable, water-resistant, and some of the most reliable options on the market.

These days, you can find ceramic and porcelain mosaic tiles in endless shapes, colors, and sizes. They can look like anything, and that means they can always keep up with the latest styles.

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Marble Tile Backsplash

Classic and contemporary, marble is worth the price for that iconic stone backsplash. With beautiful swirling patterns, marble offers a one-of-a-kind appearance and the certainty that no other backsplash in the world looks exactly like yours.

Working on a tight budget but still wanting those gorgeous marble looks in your own kitchen? Plenty of marble-look tiles can give you a convincing appearance with a smaller price tag (more on that later).

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Limestone Tile Backsplash

With genuine limestone backsplash tile, you can go in a lot of directions when it comes to style. Sometimes you might want the natural beauty of the stone to take center stage, so you’ll keep it simple in terms of shape and pattern.

Other times, though, you’ll find natural stone in some less-than-natural patterns, like hexagons. It’s the best of both worlds, with trendy patterns and traditional materials that combine to make something great.

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Travertine Tile Backsplash

With the growing trends of unique, designer shapes in tile, travertine is experiencing a well-deserved refresh.

You can now find the gorgeous, sought-after look of travertine in more modern styles, with cubic tile, metallics, and more. Think of it as a classy, blank canvas that you can style to fit whatever trend you’re loving right now.

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Glass Tile Backsplash

If you want a modern kitchen, installing a glass backsplash mosaic is one of the easiest ways to get that look. The high-gloss finish, the translucence, and the colorful accent options all combine to create a backsplash that’s bright and fun.

With easy-to-install, pre-assembled sheets, glass backsplash tile is accessible to everyone. Install it with some nice chrome fixtures and some minimalist decor, and your look is complete.

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Backsplash Tile Looks

Tile is so versatile that it can look like almost anything, from fabric to marble and even brick. Discover the latest looks that everyone is talking about.

Wood-look Backsplash

Wood-look backsplash tiles won’t likely be in plank form. In fact, you might see a subtle wood-look pattern with highly modern shapes like pickets. 

You’ll still see it especially with farmhouse and cottage-style bathrooms and kitchens.

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Stone-look Backsplash

Everyone knows why authentic stone is a popular choice for mosaic tiles: the natural patterns and color variations are gorgeous. Stone gives any space a feel of luxury. But maybe you don’t want real stone because it requires a lot of upkeep.

Now, with advanced manufacturing technology, stone-look porcelain tiles give you the same convincing appearance with easier maintenance.

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Pebble-Look Backsplash

Bypassing clean lines and regular shapes, pebble backsplashes offer the raw, rustic beauty of nature. This more natural look is perfect for a rustic, farmhouse, or cottagecore kitchen.

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Marble-look Backsplash

Marble looks are everywhere right now. It can be bold or understated, and it works with contemporary styles just as well as more classical decor. 

Marble-look tile is more low-maintenance than the real thing. With genuine marble, you need to be careful about how you seal and clean it. That’s less of a worry with marble-look tile.

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Brick-look Backsplash

A brick-look backsplash can go with almost any style. It can look bright and fresh, whitewashed, or even a bit weathered and worn down. 

Brick-look tiles come in a ton of different colors and finishes for you to get creative with.

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Metallic-look Backsplash

Metallic-look tile pairs perfectly with geometric patterns, industrial and warehouse styles, and even more glitzy, glamorous aesthetics. Deck out your kitchen in gold, stainless steel, or iron.

Consider using metal-look tiles as an accent in a more neutral backsplash for the perfect balance.

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Fabric-look Backsplash

With fabric-look tile, you can bring your favorite patterns and styles of textiles to the backsplash. It adds something unique and cozy to a surface that’s usually all about gloss and shine. Consider this option for shabby-chic and farmhouse styles to add a touch of personality to your space.

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Encaustic-look Backsplash

Encaustic look tile typically features bold patterns with lots of colors. You can expect intricate, detailed designs, with graphic styles ranging from geometrics to florals, to old-world and Victorian. These gorgeous patterns are so versatile, you can use them anywhere, but they’re especially popular in farmhouse kitchens.

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Concrete-look Backsplash

Concrete-look tile is minimalist, contemporary, and chic. The latest trend with concrete-look tile is to use modern geometric shapes, like triangles. This creates a neutral yet visually interesting backdrop for color accents and decor.

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Backsplash Tile Color Trends

Will the backsplash blend in, or will it provide an accent against the rest of the decor? Here are some tips to help with your decision.

Gray

Gray has taken over as the trendiest neutral in all areas of interior design, from carpet to paint, and even tile. It provides the perfect backdrop for bold accent colors in your kitchen. 

Some trendsetters are even starting to blend grays with warmer colors, like beiges and browns, to create “greige” tile. 

Plus, lots of gray tiles come with intricate shapes, patterns, and textures that can make your backsplash the star of the show.

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Green

Green is the color of nature, energizing and relaxing at the same time, and it adds the perfect pop of color to the backsplash.

Darker, jade green tiles are especially big right now because they have a vintage, antique look that adds a personal touch to any space.

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Lights

Create a space that’s airy and light with bright neutrals and whites. You’ll find light-colored tiles in all sorts of kitchens, from beachy and bohemian to Scandinavian minimalist.

More homeowners are taking advantage of the trend toward designer tile shapes and using tile patterns to create visual interest while still having lighter tile. Creative shapes like arabesques and hexagons add enough personality to allow for a muted color palette.

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Blue

Blue is almost like a neutral in how it’s so versatile in design spaces. For a cool, contemporary kitchen, go for a dark blue or even a gray-blue, which will add drama without being too overwhelming. 

To create the Pinterest-perfect farmhouse kitchen, a muted or powdery blue backsplash tile can complete the look.

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Neutrals

A muted tone for the backsplash can help create a zen mood in the kitchen. A neutral backsplash can also act as a blank canvas, allowing you to get more creative in other areas of the kitchen. 

Do you want bright, bold cabinets, or a highly decorative tile floor? You can balance all that personality with some neutral tile.

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Trending Backsplash Tile Shapes and Sizes

Of all the mosaic tile trends, designer shapes are the most popular right now.

Subway Tile

Subway tiles offer a sought-after vintage look. At the same time, you can modernize them, choosing from tons of colors beyond the traditional white, and even using them in more contemporary layouts, like herringbone patterns.

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Square Tile

If you want to focus more on patterns, and less on shape, a square tile delivers plenty of style in a simplistic package. With pre-assembled tile patterns and designs on the surface, installing a detailed backsplash can sometimes be as simple as installing square tiles in a grid.

Square tile is also perfect for a minimalist kitchen.

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Hexagon Tile

One of the most popular tile shapes of the last few years, hexagons have proved to be incredibly versatile. You can mix and match finishes, colors, and materials. 

It’s also easy to build a vintage look around hexagon tiles. That beehive tile look works perfectly as a mosaic border around subway tiles, for example.

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Picket Tile

The picket tile is a great choice for modern and contemporary kitchens. This is a great candidate for mixing and matching finishes and colors. 

Some designers are calling the picket tile the more creative alternative to subway tiles. So if you like the look of longer tiles, a picket backsplash could be perfect for you.

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Arabesque Tile

When it comes to intricate tile shapes, the arabesque is a showstopper. It adds flair to your kitchen, whether you go with an all-white look, or mix it up with accent colors and contrasting materials.

For a powerful look, use a contrasting grout color to emphasize the shape. You can cover the whole backsplash with an arabesque mosaic if you want, or you can tone it down some by framing an accent section right above the sink or the stovetop.

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Linear Tile

Linear mosaic tile is especially popular for high-contrast backsplashes. Designers are using this style to combine glass, stone, and even metal in eye-catching patterns.

Another really popular trend involves arranging the tile into abstract images, like waterfall linear tile backsplashes as well as bamboo tile backsplashes. With the right color combinations, you can create the abstract look of bamboo or water cascading over your backsplash.

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Fan Tile

Fan mosaic tile is by far one of the hottest trends in backsplash tile right now, especially in bathrooms.

You can make it an understated white, or go all-in with bold colors and a contrasting grout to really make the look pop. It’s fun and playful and might be exactly what your kitchen needs to bring some new life into the space.

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Leaf Tile

Similar to arabesques, leaf-patterned mosaic tiles are all about delicate, curving lines. They’re named for their leaf-like appearance, but don’t think this tile pattern is only suitable for rustic, nature-filled kitchens. In fact, it’s more likely you’ll find leaf mosaic tiles in a modern styled kitchen.

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Trending Backsplash Tile Layouts and Patterns

If you want a more traditional tile shape like a rectangle or square, you still have the opportunity to get more creative with the tile layout itself.

Herringbone Tile

The herringbone pattern is one of the most popular tile patterns for backsplashes and beyond. Often the herringbone pattern is paired with subway tile, but it also works with large format tile and small mosaic tile, too.

It’s simple yet bold, especially if you go for a contrasting grout color.

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Chevron Tile

The chevron is similar to herringbone in that they both have a v-shaped or arrow-shaped design. However, chevrons are cut at an angle to get a cleaner look. 

The sharp, clean lines and angles of chevron tiles are trendy and timeless all at once. Contrasting colors easily create a dramatic look.

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Grid Tile

Simplistic and minimalist, grid tile lets you focus less on the pattern and more on the beauty of the tile itself. 

The great thing about a grid is that you can use square or rectangular tiles, and you can orient them either vertically or horizontally. While a horizontal grid is more common, stacking rectangular tiles vertically can emphasize the height of a space and make it feel roomier.

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Conclusion

There are a lot of trends in the backsplash and wall tile industry right now. If you’re looking to get started with new trendy tile backsplashes, you can start with free samples!

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