I’m positive I have told you before what an online real estate junkie I am.

I love browsing through homes for sale online and seeing how various homes have been decorated. There is nothing more lovely than a good cup of coffee, my iPad and my realtor.ca app!

After viewing so many homes I see an important design element that you may or may not have in your own home. Put down the paper right now, go into your kitchen and look at your backsplash. If you are already in your kitchen, perfect – just look up! What do you see? Is your backsplash beautiful, breathtaking and a pleasure to behold?

Excuse me? You don’t have any tile on your backsplash? Exactly! I see dozens and dozens of homes with no tile on their kitchen or bathroom splash and it makes me so sad! I want to go to their homes and show them every beautiful tile possibility that is available.

The exciting news is that the cost for this type of upgrade is minimal.

Most kitchen splashes do not exceed 30 sq. ft. If you are thinking about installing wall tile you can expect to pay about $10 to $30 per sq. ft. for even the most glamorous wall tile.

Most mosaics, stone and glass are tricky to cut so some people find the assistance of a professional tile installer helpful which will raise your cost to $30 to $50 per sq. ft. On average a backsplash that has no tile on it will start at about $1,000 installed.

Backsplash tile is not only beautiful, it is also functional. Tile protects your walls from soiling and staining, after all who hasn’t had spaghetti sauce burp all over your kitchen?

Tile or glass has a glazed, smooth non porous surface which is easily wiped clean if any disasters occur. The fantastic news is that if your walls behind your stove are damaged and stained, tile can effectively cover it up.

Tile style has made a rapid evolution in the past decade; it is the product in which we have seen the most change. Gone are the 6×6 white glazed tiles with stamped border patterns and we welcome a wide variety of mosaics and large format glass and stone – yes, even for walls.

Colour has deepened and has been overlaid with the delicate shimmer of metallic or opalescence. Technology allows us to print tile patterns creating the most realistic faux stone; you will not believe your eyes.

The possibilities for style and pattern are endless and when you add this spectacular element to your kitchen it will show (if you are selling) very well or if you are not in the real estate market it will surely impress your friends. It is the perfect design element to add the wow factor, the ‘Je ne sais quois’, the ooooh la la – you get the picture.

“Small changes, big results,” is a catch phrase used by many in the diet and fitness world. Oprah has quoted this in her magazine promising that tiny but powerful life tweaks will make you healthier and happier. This small design change will certainly make you happier and cause you to look at your kitchen in a bright, gleaming new light. That small change could be the next mosaic you fall in love with!

Kim Meckler is an interior designer in Red Deer with Carpet Colour Centre.