Right. A backsplash is there to do one of two things-- either be sublime so it gives a nice finished look while not taking attention away from the accents you want to show off, OR, being the accent itself. With subway tile, you can do either or, depending on the grout color you use, any accents you might add tot he subway tile, etc.. As for whether it's classic or dated, how about BOTH? :-) If you want to do something that's different, what about mixing patterns? Do a classic subway tile border, and outline panels on each wall with a soft colored rope trim, or some other outline, and then inside the panel, do something like, say, a diagonal herringbone with the same tile? Use a light grey (or even pastel color) grout, to show off the pattern changes, but not TOO dark a color, so it doesn't overpower the whole thing.

So funny, Bill, my thought was the same; it's both!

My twist is, if your house would have been built when it was most popular ( I am thinking early 1900s Hygienic period, but may be wrong). or if you are mimicking that style, then white subway (flat not billowy) with very thin but fairly dark grout is the thing.

But the current pared down aesthetic with neutrals and "classic" simple lines has made subway tile very much a stamp of the '00s. Used that way, it is a trend.

For example, consider 6" square tile. Until very recently, seeing that would have immediately dated something to say the 70s or 80s. So do not underestimate the power of a shape. You can alter how you lay it, alter size or proportions, and that might time stamp you a bit less.

I put in white subway last year, I personally think of it as timeless. After seeing so many busy backsplashes that seem to compete with countertop and cabinets I chose simple. Yes, I wish I had put in a very light grey grout instead of white to make it pop just a bit more but when I had my kitchen shown on a kitchen tour many people commented that they loved it and never would have thought to use it. This was a surprise to me, as I kind of felt I was playing it "safe". One woman is a top designer in the area and made a point to find me to say how much she loved it.

Bill V if you check back on this post, how hard would it be to change to light grey?? Thanks CJC

I appreciate all your feedback! If you're like me, your kittens woke you up an hour early, as if the time hadn't changed. :)

Right now, I can't get rid of my 1991 6" counter tile fast enough. It will be a while before I welcome it back into my kitchen or anywhere else. Probably a contrasting grout color and/or some accent tiles will be the most daring thing I do.

As the othes have said, it's BOTH. If you use it as the foundation of a simple pattern, like herringbone, or a linear stack instead of brick, or mix it with maybe 6x6's and 3x3's then you would be putting your own personal stamp on it that wouldn't be either classic or dated. It's the twist in how you use "expected" materials that give them design longevity.

Classic is only just a marketing word. The "classic" black dress of 1980s is now dated even tho black dresses are still "classic". The white kitchens with subway tile that are prevalent today will be dated in a matter of time even if some of their elements are deemed classic. Subway tiles have come in and out of favor since the beginning of the turn of last century just as have the 6" square tiles which are presently seen as so 1990s.Thus, the white subways tiles used today will in the not so far future be seen as so 2010, sorry. Live for today not tomorrow because we can not keep ourselves or our kitchens forever young or new. Everything ages and changes.

It's so hard choosing things isn't it? Because I think that regardless of what any of us choose today, it will be out of style in 15 years anyway. OR if you pick something "different" today perhaps in 5 years it will be "in" and then 15 years later again it will be dated. I think the best any of us can do is choose something we love today (for whichever reason) and enjoy it :)

If it's a trend, it's a really long trend.
Subway tiles have been around since 1904.

It's neither. It's a forever style of tile (see above) and just depends on whether or not it is the "flavour" of the year. I put it in and I know that I do not regret it and never will. It will always be for sale and it will always be used.

I think the shape is classic. The material it's made from, how it's made, and the layout will give it a date stamp.

I used it because I love it. I love the feeling I have when I walk through a NY subway station and see all the gorgeous restored tile work. I made sure to design my cabinets and woodwork to compliment it.

If it works with what you've already committed to, and if you love it, then why worry too much if it will be dated or classic?

Choose

Here is cjc's kitchen album if you'd like to see the pics. LOVELY kitchen!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: cjc's kitchen

Subway tiles are not "always." They began going out of fashion during the decline of the hygienic movement in the mid- to late 1920s, and were not really popular again until sometime around the turn of the last century. Yes, you may indeed live to turn on HGTV someday and watch homeowners gleefully smashing off "so dated" subways with a hammer.

So what?

My opinion is they are a current trend and classic in an older home. I saw a lot of them in touring "Castle in the Sky" which was turn of the century. They will always be classic in an old home like that. It doesn't matter that they are a trend right now.

When I started reading this forum, people asked the same thing about tumbled travertine backsplashes. People who wanted to do them said they are classic. Then after a while, they were not liked as much. But its just a backsplash. If you get 5 or 10 years out of it, maybe that's enough. And subways are not always that expensive compared to other materials.

In my neighorhood, a lot of the bathrooms have one inch mosaic tiles in cobalt blue. They were built 25 or 26 years ago. They seem in style to me. You just never know.

I think the word we should aim for is "pleasing". Will it look good in 5 -15 years? If the answer is yes, then the heck with worrying about dated.
There are some things that are "dated" that I did not like the first time around such as stucco interior walls (the pointy kind) and red laminate counters. I can't imagine ever having liked avocado appliances, but harvest gold was not too bad. Yet, I see some styles from years ago that I can see their appeal at the time and they still look good now. I tend to like things that are considered "vintage" yet the line between vintage and dated can be thin.

Some of the ugliest bathrooms have ugly tile and it is very true that the uglier the tile, the more surface area it covers. The worst pattern of tile I saw was on the entire ceiling as well as the walls and floors. The worst wallpaper usually is used to cover the switchplates and is on the back of the door.
Case in point... was this ever really "in" or was this in poor taste even then?

Thanks guys. I like it now and that's all I know. I'll deal with not liking it if/when I stop liking it.

And dianalo? That bathroom is both hideous and hysterical.

It was not an easy job putting the wall paper on the drawer and cabinet fronts. who'd thunk of putting wall paper on the cabints? Maybe it was the thing to do at the time...

There is nothing wrong with being dated. Almost all remodels, kitchens and decors are dated as soon as you put it up because it wears the stamp of that era/time. It is nearly impossible not to wear that date.

I, too, struggled with whether to go with subway tile or not in our new kitchen for the backsplash. Demolition will begin at the end of November. I looked EVERYWHERE, but ended up going with the Daltile "Glass Reflections" in color "White Ice," 3"x6". They are clear glass (without the greenish tint.)

Right, everything will become dated. So, to me, that means just get what you think looks best to you. You must love it. I have always loved subway...I had it installed in '04 in my old kitchen, and never grew tired of it. I loved it so much I put it in my new build kitchen as well. It suits me and my style....I really don't care about it being out of date.

Subway tile is a classic and there are various ways to put it up. I don't see it as trendy since it's as basic a tile shape as squares, penny rounds or hexagons.

But I want to say, once again, that it's not "only a backsplash." IMO that real estate is often the most valuable and most visible in the kitchen. It deserves to be considered as part of the overall kitchen plan, right up there along with the granite and cabinet color.

I don't understand why people leave tile until last then often make do with such a prominent space. I start a kitchen with tile. It's the first thing I pick because it sets the tone, the style and the overall color. It adds surface texture and it also serves a function. It's not simply a decorative afterthought.

I want to also add that there are people who specialize in tile design which can be highly complex. Not everyone gets it and, in the same way that all tile installers are not equally skilled, not everyone who picks tile for the first, or even for the second time, can whip up a decorative treatment.

It's difficult to pick for most people because it is so specialized. And it deserves way more respect and consideration than it gets.

I'm now stepping off my tile box.

No, that bathroom was never in good taste, it may have been an extreme of trendy or popular taste, but it was never in good taste. Not all trends are in good taste.

As for subway, I think you need to look at it like this. Was this kitchen done in good taste 20 years ago? If so, it will look like a 20 year old kitchen but it still may be tasteful.

This kitchen, which I post occasionally, is 42 years old and has always looked this way except for the wallpaper which isn't the worst of 1980s period paper either. It has layout issues by the current standards of design but from an aesthetic standpoint it doesn't scream 1969, and it never did.

{{!gwi}}

Bill V if you check back on this post, how hard would it be to change to light grey??

Actually it wouldn't be too bad. Just use a product called "grout colorant". The product I've linked to below, as far as I'm concerned, is some of the best on the market. It's a one part epoxy based product that does well, and permanently seals the grout.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aquamix grout colorants

Yay! I'm glad Bill answered. Thank you.

I've wondered the same thing over the past year. I went with white, but think a grey might have been better. (I like the white, but....)

RE: the original post.... I feel that if you choose something very busy, it will be outdated faster. More neutral tiles that blend in and don't make a statement, to me, look better longer.

Dianalo,

OMG that is so bad, and yet eerily familiar! It took the french - Hermes - to make orange a color again.

I took that pic with my cell phone. Imagine if I could have used a wide angle lens or shown the other walls. This is subdued compared to IRL.

That bathroom would have made me use it more often than not.

Subway tile IS a classic: in subways. ;-)
--

lolauren, what do you envision when you say neutral? Do you mean white or creme or taupe, or just any monocolor without ornament?

Along the lines of a discussion going on in another thread, I'm curious what folks mean when they say "neutral" these days. (Not trying to single lolauren out here; anyone can answer.) Similar to my poor little brother, whose battle cry in an all-chocolate family became "vanilla is a flavor, too!", I guess I feel one could tire of white or beige as easily as any other color. White is a color, too!

Bill V
Thanks so very much!! Bookmarked and printed out! CJC

dianalo....and a realtor told us that our cream colored vinyl siding is outdated? I wonder what they would have said if they saw that bathroom.

Regarding the subway tiles, I think it's a good, safe, go-to tile. Personally, it doesn't make my heart sing. When we were considering this shape for our kitchen I was looking at some beveled edged ones, just to kick it up a notch. I'm not one to go for busy backsplashes either. Just by dumb luck I ended up with the beveled arabesques and I truly love them. They are simple, yet somehow due to their shape they give a little something extra to my space without taking away from my counters. I think I have to have them in the next kitchen.

-Bee

I think it's both - depends on how it is used or abused. I think Roc was the one that touched on that subject.

Circus -- As I said, neutral, in this instance, is something that blends in and doesn't make a statement. Something that would match most color schemes and not compete.

I wasn't necessarily saying neutral regarding the color... just the overall look. (For the record, in my home, neutral "color" throughout could be white, grey, black, beige, brown.... but probably not all those options for the backsplash.)

Anyway, that is just my opinion based off of visiting homes for sale.

I think subway tiles are a trend that will fade in popularity in a few years, similar to how granite countertops have lost their appeal to more updated and modern alternatives such as quartz, quartzite and marble. Sure, they will always have a nice look, but it will be one that can be dated (just as granite can be dated to the 1990s-2000s.)

Well, this is an old thread. It makes me laugh now because these types of questions get asked all the time and I confess to rolling my eyes.

So, I got a subway tile backsplash in my kitchen in 2012 and a subway tile tub/shower surround in my guest bath in 2014. I like them both, esp. in the shower. If I had to replace both right now, I'd be hard pressed to consider something else that wasn't subway. I like it because it's utilitarian.

Anyway, like most other things we fret over, you quickly stop even noticing.

I don't personally think granite is dated. Yes there are other materials, but I just can't get on board with quartz. I don't think putting granite & subway tiles in my new kitchen will look dated at all.

I have quartz counters in my kitchen and carrara in my bath. Pick what you like.

I just want to comment that this post, asking if subway tile backsplashes are outdated, is from 9 years ago. And people are still doing subway tile backsplashes in new builds and renovations.