Beverley Leigh Binns, kitchen design specialist at Toronto's Binns Kitchen and Bath Design, offers the following suggestions for creating a beautiful backsplash.

1 Decide on the theme of your kitchen: country, traditional, contemporary or transitional (a blending of two styles).

2 Determine your budget.

3 Use more than one material to define specific work areas, for example, stainless steel behind the sinks and cook-top and tile in the remaining areas.

4 A current trend is to continue the counter material up the wall and use it as the backsplash material. This helps maintain the continuity of the design and keeps the number of material choices in the kitchen to a minimum.

5 The backsplash is often the last decision to be made during a kitchen renovation or redesign, but because it's at eye level, it should be given the same attention as the cabinetry, hardware and counter material choices.

6 If you have budget restrictions, consider creating a focal point using a more expensive material over the cooking area or sink, and then doing a paint technique such as Venetian Plaster in the remaining areas.

7 Look at a large variety of materials before deciding -- choices include laminates, glass, ceramics, metal and solid surface materials (either natural or man-made).

8 A neutral colour palette is still the most requested, but consider adding impact with colours in a border or interspersed in a decorative pattern.

9 Don't be afraid to include tiles collected from your travels in your backsplash -- they add interest and re-create fond memories.

10 There are many choices and deciding can seem overwhelming, so don't be afraid to seek professional advice. Spending a little at the planning stage can be less costly in the long run.