# Kitchen Back Splash - Are 4 inch tiles a thing of the past?



## CitadelBlue (May 23, 2013)

Having a tough time finding a nice 4 inch by 4 inch porcelain wall tile to sit on the diagonal for my kitchen back splash. HD has some really 'rough' looking one. The other store seems to be phasing them out ....... We like this style and texture .... Del Conca 4-in x 4-in Agora Almond Thru Body Porcelain Wall Tile http://www.lowes.com/pd_160701-3469...+porcelain+wall+tile&productId=1038603&rpp=48 Who has a source .....


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Go to a real tile store.
Whatever looks good to you is the right look.
I hardly think anyone's going to be phasing out 4 X 4 tiles.


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

As Joe suggested, go to a full line tile store--the selections available at the big box stores is very limited----


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Since box stores give nothing back to the communities in which they do business, I would have no qualms about going around them to internet sources if you have no tile supplier near you. 

And while there may be a trend to smaller glass tiles for backsplashes I think it will be short lived. Classic 4x4 tiles stills look great if the right color and material. Subway tiles in rectangular shapes can be nice for backsplashes too. 

Get what you want. Home Desperate and Blowe's do not get to make mass design decisions for us unless we let them get away with it.


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## CitadelBlue (May 23, 2013)

And the post below is asking questions about accent tile ...... I do like the larger accent piece ...... 2x3 maybe?


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

sdsester said:


> ...box stores give nothing back to the communities in which they do business,


Except for plenty of sales tax, of course.

Also check the box stores websites. I've noticed they seem to be stocking more and more "online only - ship to store" materials.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

hyunelan2 said:


> Except for plenty of sales tax, of course.


Which is good if your state or municipality charges sales tax because most cut deals so they do not pay their fair share of property taxes. And states need the extra money for public health systems that pick up the load when box stores offer minimal health insurance to employees and none to their families. Got to love those 30 hour/week part-time employees. 10 more per week and the box stores might have to treat them like the small businesses that hired them previously did before forced out of business.


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

sdsester said:


> Which is good if your state or municipality charges sales tax because most cut deals so they do not pay their fair share of property taxes.


Sales tax >>>>>> than any property tax. Even at low sales tax percentages. Looking at The Home Depot, for example (since they are public and their financials are available). If you do some rounding and assumptions to make this easy, on average each of their stores do about $33m in sales per year (again, all stores averaged). A 1% sales tax, like Naperville has, would bring the city $330K a year. Joliet's local 1.75% is $580K. 

That's why cities like Bolingbrook have gone and actually built stores for retailers (Bass Pro Shops at I-355, for example). The city owns the store, and Bass Pro leases it from them. Bass Pro wins by having a landlord that doesn't have to pay property tax (public building) so their rent is lower, and Bolingbrook benefits by collecting sales tax on all sales and collecting the rent to pay whatever bonds they probably issued to build the thing.


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