Backsplash tile — fantastic, affordable, new old stock vintage — from World of Tile

Update: World of Tile has now closed. I’ll leave this story up, for a while at least, to show some of the cool stuff they had.

World of Tile “withdrawal” symptoms: Has anyone else been having them? I have. So, I went back to my hundreds of photos from my two visits last summer and found some more great, New Old Stock (NOS) vintage tile and other WOT delights to spotlight this week. Let’s start with: Backsplash tiles — complete sets of decorative tiles that can be put together to form a backsplash for a stove and/or along the entire kitchen backsplash.

I think that in today’s *mainstream* design world, these matchy matchy tile sets — which look to be from the 1970s or 1980s — would be considered too *sentimental*. But hey, I am working to stay one … or 10 … steps ahead of what’s *out* today that will be *in* tomorrow, once the requisite 50 years of perspective that it takes to decide what was *fabulous* versus *hideous* about the 70s or 80s (etc.) is behind us.

In general, I declare that sentimental, decorative 1970s and 1980s kitchen backsplashes — especially of the quality you see at World of Tile — are, can and will be big retro delights. Continue for more photos, along with thoughts about some of the designs I spotted still available from sale at World of Tile.

Farm animals — especially cute chickens — will never go out of style. And again, let me emphasize: These are exceptionally well made tiles. They are artist pieces, and quite generally, they come at phenomenal prices — they are vintage NOS.

The one above, for a wet bar maybe?

The designs in the tiles shown on the upper right wore sort of carved out and enameled with color within the carved out part. Lovely. The beige + yellow + red/orange + brown/black = gorgeous color combo.

Very sentimental. At first, I was not warming to these. But I stared and stared and ultimately though: Yes, if I had the right house! Like, a romantic revival Hansel & Gretel cottage… a storybook ranch with a knotty pine kitchen… a rustic cabin on a lake or in the woods. Oh my gosh, I need to design a mood board around these tiles!

Possibilities everywhere. As Jana wrote in response to one of my many, previous World of Tile stories:

World of Tile, World of Tile
Offers tile by the mile,
Now it has
elements of ’80?s style.
Lights, sconces, soap dishes
For the “’80?s phile”….
World of Tile, World of Tile,
The store that keeps on giving
Regardless of decade style!
World of Tile, World of Tile,
The store that still holds surprises
Regardless of decades of the style!
World of Tile, World of Tile,
We love you more,
Because of your
Never ending style.

Amen, Jana. Where to buy: World of Tile, Springfield, New Jersey