Christina Haack Ditches Kitchen Window Treatments For A Tile Alternative

A kitchen backsplash using tile makes cleaning around your stove so much easier, and can add a pop of personality, but it's always difficult to know exactly where to stop. You can tile just behind your stovetop, or wrap a tile border around your entire kitchen. And then there is the problem of how tall your backsplash should be. Generally, the trend seems to be cutting the backsplash off right below your upper cabinets or just a couple of inches above your counters. However, Christina Haack shows that you can use tile to tie the kitchen together, by creating custom window casings with tile borders that match your backsplash or extending your tile backsplash to surround a nearby window.

Instead of standard trim, Christina Haack, on Season 4, Episode 6 of "Christina on the Coast," created window borders with decorative tile. Instead of adding decorative curtains to make your windows stand out, this technique brings in an existing material (the tile you used for your backsplash) to make the space more cohesive. Using tile to add texture can refresh your kitchen.

There are a lot of tile shapes and styles to try in your kitchen, and many of them will work around your window frames as well. Tile trim can create more dimension by adding some textural variation around your windows. Pick a color with a bit of contrast to the tile to draw the eye over to your window, or just to break up the color if you don't have a lot of upper cabinets, so your walls aren't all one shade. Bringing in shades from your cabinet color can bring additional continuity to the room.

Of course, though Haack ditched textile window treatments, that isn't to say you can't also add a practical shade or blind. While it's nice to let in a lot of light during the day, sometimes, at night, you want to be able to close your blinds and feel a little more enclosed in your home. However, instead of choosing any old window treatment, focus on finding one to highlight your tile and or go with a very minimal design. If you really want your windows to feel like art, the simple window treatment tip from the Property Brothers is to add a stained glass panel or decoration.