The previous owners of our Spanish-style house chose to embrace the Mediterranean theme with gusto, tiling everything in sight, installing decorative Greek columns, and so on. Our approach has been to lean in the opposite direction, choosing modern touches to provide contrast and give our Spanish house a little edge. The kickboards of our interior stairs, for example, are tiled with a very classic blue-and-white design, and while it's pretty, we daydream about re-tiling with something more modern...

Examples of tiled stairs with a modern edge are few and far between, as it turns out, but here's what we found:

• 1 This staircase from Cottage Living is a favorite. We love the beautiful treatment on the last two stairs, and the contrast between the chic Ann Sacks tile and the more traditional balustrade is striking.

• 2 Casa Sugar featured these mirrored stairs, and while they'd be a bit much in our house, we can imagine them being gorgeous in somebody's glam pad.

• 3 Love these tiled stairs too, with their playful French message: "I Climb, You Climb, He Climbs, We Climb." Also spotted on Casa Sugar, from stylist Laurence Pasquier.

• 4 Cottage Living's 2008 idea house featured this Spanish-style tiled staircase, but something about the choice of black and white and the particular patterns used make this feel more modern than your usual Spanish stairs. Designed by Jackie Terrell.

(Images: Cottage Living/Tria Giovan; Casa Sugar/Sarah Kaye Representation; Casa Sugar/Sarah Kaye Representation; Cottage Living)