Tile We Meet Again: Our Favorite RI Floors and Backsplashes Right Now

A photograph from a real KBD client's finished kitchen.

There's a moment in the showroom — you're standing in front of a tile sample board, afternoon light coming in at a low angle — and something just clicks. Not the one you came in for. Not the safe choice. The one that makes you stop mid-sentence and say, oh, that's it.

Summer 2026 has been full of those moments for us. Kitchen backsplash tile trends have shifted somewhere warmer and more expressive this year — less cold white, more character. Here are the three styles and combinations we can't stop pulling out for clients right now.

Sage Green (Still Going, and Here's Why)

Yes, it's been having a moment. No, the moment isn't over. But what's changed is how it's being used.

Rhyme & Reason Artichoke Marazzi Tile

Earlier takes on sage green leaned muted, almost gray. What Ragno's ceramic offerings bring to it is more depth — a richness that reads herbal and alive rather than washed out. We've been pairing it with natural wood tones and matte black hardware for clients who want color without going bold. Five years from now it'll read like a considered choice, not a trend. That's the goal.

The Terracotta Floor (Yes, We Said Floor)

We've been seeing terracotta on backsplashes for two years. This summer we're putting it underfoot. Specifically: a warm terracotta-look porcelain — the kind Marazzi does well — in an entryway, mudroom, or open-concept kitchen flowing into a dining area. It introduces warmth without adding visual noise, and it looks like it was always supposed to be there.

Rhode Island's older homes — the Colonials, the Capes, the converted mill condos — often have a natural earthiness that terracotta honors rather than fights. It's the rare trend that actually works better in an older house.

These are the combinations we're genuinely excited about right now — the ones clients keep gravitating toward once they see them in context, in real light, next to the other finishes they're considering. Which, coincidentally, is exactly what the Johnston showroom is for.

What tile style are you leaning toward this summer?

Browse our tile brands — Ragno, Anatolia, Marazzi, and more — or see how tile fits into the bigger material picture in our post on how texture impacts your design.