This Crackle Glaze Tile Trend Is Taking Over the Kitchen and Bath — Kitchen Design

#Ihavethisthingwithtiles, and it's sort of unfortunate because I've never actually picked any of my own. I fell in love with subway tiles nearly a decade ago, and I was crushing hard on those matte patterned cement tiles that popped up a couple years ago. I'm even into faux "wood" larger scale ceramic tiles and teeny tiny, mesh-backed penny tiles. And I'm not mad at a fish scale or arabesque shape either. So right now, I'm thinking it's not such a bad thing that I don't have a tile decision — or three — to make. Because honestly what would I choose? That's a lot of pressure.

Lately though, I've been gravitating towards field tiles in all shapes, sizes, and colors that look almost ombre — darker around the edges, lighter in the middle, and on further inspection, slightly mottled in appearance as opposed to perfectly smooth. It's the crackle glaze, people, and it's popping up on kitchen backsplashes, shower and tub surrounds, and bathroom walls and floors everywhere.

This new trend is definitely a take on "old world" style. By definition, the "crackle" finish is a glass glaze on a ceramic tile, fired at a specific temperature to create an antiqued crackled finish on the surface. It can be pronounced or subtle, and all the "it" designers and tile makers are definitely up on this game.

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