kitchen inspiration

the holy grail of kitchens, which belongs to alison cayne of haven’s kitchen.

recently, i read a post on food52 that proclaimed that subway tile was soo over. the market was over saturated, the blog posts overdone, pinterest ready to explode and vomit subway tile all over everyone and everything. and in typical new homeowner fashion, i felt a slight chill creep up my back. was i about to make the biggest mistake of my life?

was i about to use a tile that was soooo over in my kitchen?! 

i’ve been reading interior design blogs, and buying interior design books (shoutout to my two faves, erin gates and emily henderson!) for YEARS, now. like, almost a decade. and if there’s anything i’ve learned from them, anything can be trendy, and any trend can be overdone. but not everything can be a classic. and a classic, well, it never goes out of style.

today, riding the 6 train uptown, we stopped at 23rd street, and i meandered toward the exit, eying the walls in front of me. they were, of course, my beloved white subway tile. and as i looked at them, i thought to myself, screw you, food52.* subway tile is a CLASSIC. it CAN’T ever be over!

and then i went back to pinteresting the hell out of subway tiled kitchens. here are a few i’m using as inspiration for my own.

this kitchen belongs to michelle adams, formerly of domino. adams recently bought and renovated an adorable little house in michigan (you can follow along on her instagram account). her kitchen is the perfect example of classic done right: hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, marble counters, white cabinets, and white subway tile backsplash.

another look at adams’ kitchen. i’d like to do some open shelving, but i think i’ll go natural wood instead of white to warm things up a bit.

you know, like this.

or this.

or this (sans children, for now, of course).

this pantry gives me heart palpitations (the good kind).

white grout or black grout? HELP ME DECIDE, tile gods.

this looks more like light gray grout. a compromise! i love everything about this, and i already have mostly white dishes, so i could make this happen.

hiii, farmhouse sink. i love you. those brass accents ain’t too shabby either.

small but mighty. i will thankfully have a good deal more space than this –  but it’s proof that if i need to go budget and try butcher block countertops, it won’t be the end of the world.

can you imagine coming home to this beauty every night? who wants to pack me into a suitcase and take me to morocco so i can bring home ALL THE AMAZING RUGS?!

so. what say you? subway tiles: yay or nay?

*food52, i actually adore you, and respect your opinion greatly.