The Gorgeous Tile Backsplash HGTV's Erin Napier Pairs With Light Kitchen Cabinets

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Colorful trends may have dominated kitchen interiors for the last couple of years, but there are certain white kitchen designs that will never go out of style. The color is elegant, timeless, and contrary to popular belief, doesn't have to be boring. HGTV's Erin Napier, who is a known champion of bold, characterful kitchens, knows exactly how to make an all-white kitchen warmer and more interesting. 

In Season 1, Episode 6 of "Home Town", the celebrity interior designer revealed how to use an ever-reliable subway tile backsplash to add texture to a kitchen composed of clean-lined ivory cabinets and subtly-speckled white marble countertops. Instead of opting for simple, crisp white tiles, Napier went for something a little more weathered, describing the material as "looking almost handmade, with a terracotta imperfect edge." The darkened, uneven edges on these tiles contrasted with the otherwise pristine look of the kitchen, bringing out the veining in the marble, and directly referencing the exposed brick accent wall on the other side of the room. 

Erin Napier's unique spin on this kitchen backsplash brings all the charm and can be replicated with readily available materials. While there's no denying the appeal of pairing light cabinetry with a classic white subway tile backsplash for a crisp, elegant look, you can follow the designer's lead and introduce some texture with handmade ceramic tiles. This is a choice that Napier frequently makes in her designs, including in her own home. 

A recurrent option to nail the perfectly imperfect look is zellige tile. These glazed, clay-based, handmade tiles are originally from Morocco, but their popularity has made them a staple in the catalog of most tile manufacturers around the world. Though shiny, their bumpy surfaces create shifting patterns of light and shadow, and their clay composition often reveals the same terracotta tones Napier described. 

While they're most often used in a square shape and installed flush together without visible grout lines, much like the designer did in her Mississippi kitchen, they work just as well framed by grout lines, in horizontal, vertical, or herringbone patterns. Home Depot's Jeffrey Court Rhythm White Ceramic Wall Tile, for example, is a great match to recreate this "Home Town" backsplash.