Kitchen Backsplash Guide: Top 3 Things to Consider When Designing Your Kitchen Remodel

Choosing the perfect backsplash can feel overwhelming in today's ever-expanding market. This guide will help you navigate the selection process by focusing on the top 3 things to consider: durability, style, and budget. After all, your kitchen backsplash must withstand daily life while reflecting your unique taste, all within your financial comfort zone. We'll also explore popular options that consistently impress our clients, giving you a springboard for your design journey.

#1: Functionality 

A beautiful backsplash is the icing on the cake in your kitchen remodel, but before you get swept away by stunning designs, it's crucial to consider functionality. Your backsplash actually has a very strategic purpose—it stands between your culinary creations and the vulnerable walls behind them.

Your kitchen backsplash is a protective shield for your walls, taking the brunt of splatters, spills, and everyday wear and tear. Here's how a well-chosen backsplash safeguards your kitchen:

• Easy Cleaning: Kitchen messes are inevitable, and your backsplash should be your ally in conquering them. Look for materials that are easy to wipe down and resistant to stains, making post-cooking cleanup a breeze.

• Moisture Barrier: Water is the enemy of drywall. When liquids seep behind your cabinets, they can cause the drywall to rot, crumble, and even develop a musty odor. A backsplash creates a watertight barrier, protecting your walls from moisture damage and ensuring a healthy kitchen environment.

• Heat Resistance: The area around your stovetop is a zone of constant heat. A good backsplash can withstand the heat radiating from your stovetop, preventing damage to your walls and keeping your kitchen safe.

#2: Design Style: Pattern & Texture

Beyond its practical role, your backsplash offers a fantastic opportunity to express your unique design style. The design of the backsplash is the finishing touch that elevates your kitchen's aesthetic and defines its overall feel. Here's how to leverage this design element.

Backsplash Pattern & Layout

How you arrange your backsplash tiles can significantly impact the style of your kitchen and can even become the space’s main focal point. Let's explore some popular kitchen backsplash ideas:

• Herringbone and Chevron: These dynamic patterns create a sense of movement. Herringbone's V-shaped stacks add a touch of sophistication, while chevron (essentially a herringbone with blunt edges) injects a modern edge.
  
  Pro-tip: Achieving a perfect chevron pattern can be tricky. Here's a handy tip to save time, money, and frustration: opt for pre-cut chevron tiles. These tiles come ready to install, minimizing wasted materials and ensuring a flawless, professional look.
  
  
  
  
• Geometric Patterns: Geometric arrangements allow homeowners to get creative with their kitchen backsplash tile designs. Hexagon, arabesque, circles, and classic terracotta star-and-cross patterns can add a unique and stunning visual element. This approach works particularly well in contemporary kitchens.
  
  Pro-tip: If you are planning a DIY backsplash installation, be mindful of the tile material. While cutting tiles might seem straightforward, delicate materials like glazed or glass tiles can easily chip or crack. For a smoother (and less stressful) experience, stick with tiles that are easier to cut or hire a professional for installation.
  
  
• Brick Layout: The "brick layout" is a classic choice for backsplashes, offering timeless appeal and surprising versatility. It comes in various forms, including standard brick placement, half-brick layouts, and staggered patterns. Subway tile backsplash is a classic brick layout variation. Many homeowners choose subway tile for its simplicity and versatility, making it a timeless design. 
  
  The way you stack your kitchen tiles can significantly influence the overall style of your space:
  
  • Vertical Stacking: Creates a modern, transitional, or even mid-century modern feel.
  • Horizontal Stacking: Evokes a traditional, farmhouse, or transitional ambiance.
  • Larger Formats: Opt for larger subway tiles, such as 4x8, for a more contemporary look.
    
    

Mosaic Wall Tile

Mosaic tiles are a unique blend of smaller pieces arranged in a pattern attached to a mesh backing. Mosaic backsplash tiles come in many materials, colors, and designs, making them a popular choice for kitchens.

While mosaic tiles are generally affordable, some budget-friendly options come on backings with slightly uneven tile spacing. If not installed by a skilled professional with a keen eye, this can lead to a less consistent pattern. Working with a trusted tile installer can ensure a flawless application, even with these budget-conscious choices. They'll have the experience and expertise to create a beautiful, cohesive backsplash that reflects your vision.

Fluted & Textured Tiles For Dimension

Fluted tiles can be crafted from ceramic or stone and boast shallow, undulating grooves or ridges that can be arranged in beautiful patterns. Their textural dimension and movement add a captivating interior design to any space. However, due to their grooves or ridges, fluted tiles can be more difficult to clean.

Slab Backsplashes

For a sleek and sophisticated look, consider a slab backsplash. This option utilizes the same material as your countertop (marble, granite, quartz, Carrara, etc.), creating a clean and seamless visual flow. Because slab backsplashes have little to no grout lines, one of the biggest advantages is that they are easy to clean.

However, slab backsplashes are typically more expensive due to the additional material required compared to tiles. They can be a great way to add drama or simplicity to a space, working well in both small and large kitchens.

#3: Materials Matter

Now that we've explored functionality and design style, let's explore backsplash materials. Choosing the right material is crucial for creating a beautiful, durable, and easy-to-maintain backsplash. Here's a breakdown of some popular options:

Ceramic & Porcelain Tiles

Ceramic and porcelain tiles are kitchen backsplash workhorses. They're budget-friendly, readily available, and come in a vast array of colors, patterns, and shapes to suit any kitchen design aesthetic. Plus, they offer good durability, making them a popular choice.

Pro tip: Ceramic tiles typically have a glazed surface. If chipped, the underlying material (which will be a different color than the ceramic tile) will be exposed. Ensure your tiler uses a high-quality, sharp blade to minimize chipping during installation.

Stacked Stone

Stone backsplashes, often featuring natural stones like slate, limestone, quartzite, and more, introduce a dramatic, rustic, or organic element to your kitchen. Stone tiles add texture and visual dimension that you won’t get with other materials, but their texture can also make them trickier to clean. Stone backsplashes are naturally porous and require sealing to prevent moisture absorption.

Brick

Do you like a rustic or historic aesthetic? Stacked brick backsplashes are a great option. Consider using a brick veneer or "thin brick" for a simpler installation compared to traditional bricks. These lightweight options offer the classic brick look without the weight, space requirements, or lengthy installation time.

Like natural stone backsplashes, brick is a porous material that requires sealing to prevent moisture absorption and potential staining. This is particularly important in kitchens, where frequent exposure to water and cooking oils can compromise the integrity of the material. While brick's textured surface adds undeniable visual appeal, it can also present challenges when it comes to cleaning. Grout lines between the bricks can trap grease and grime, requiring a more meticulous cleaning than smoother surfaces.

Terracotta & Glazed Terracotta (Zellige)

Terracotta backsplashes, available in unglazed and glazed (Zellige) varieties, add warmth, texture, and dimension to your kitchen. Terracotta’s natural beauty comes in a wide array of colors and slight variations, ensuring a one-of-a-kind aesthetic. These tiles are also surprisingly durable and resistant to heat, making them ideal for the kitchen environment.

However, due to the natural, textured surface, cleaning can be more challenging depending on the chosen grout line pattern. Their uneven surfaces can make installation a meticulous process best left to professionals, and the material's porous nature necessitates regular sealing to prevent staining.

Marble Backsplash

Marble offers a timeless elegance unmatched by other materials. Each slab uniquely showcases white, cream, gray, or even gold veins. Marble's light color palette, particularly sought-after white varieties, stands out amongst natural stones.

• Texture: When it comes to marble backsplashes, you have two main texture choices to consider: polished and honed. Polished marble boasts a reflective shine, perfect for those who love a touch of glamour in their kitchen. Honed marble, on the other hand, offers a luxurious matte finish that exudes a more subdued elegance.
• Tiles or Slabs? The beauty of marble backsplashes extends to their design possibilities. You can choose from classic marble mosaic tiles for a timeless look, grand slabs for a truly luxurious statement, or even individual large-format tiles for a modern aesthetic.
• Maintenance: While undeniably stunning, marble requires extra care to maintain its brilliance. Marble is susceptible to staining, so regular sealing is crucial. Spills and acidic foods are marble's enemies, so be sure to clean them up promptly. Remember, gentle is key – avoid harsh chemicals, abrasive cleaners, and sharp objects that can damage the surface. Unsealed marble can even discolor from everyday cooking fumes, so proper sealing is essential.
• Cost Considerations: Marble backsplashes are an investment in beauty. High-quality marble can be on the higher end of the price spectrum, and professional installation requires careful attention to detail, adding to the overall cost. However, marble's timeless elegance and natural variation can truly elevate your kitchen into a masterpiece.
  

Terrazzo

Terrazzo is a composite material that is handcrafted by combining marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other material chips with a binder. This unique material offers a bold and customizable aesthetic with a wide variety of colors, patterns, and finishes. This material is known for being incredibly strong and long-lasting, ideal for busy kitchens, as they resist scratches and heat, and are relatively easy to clean thanks to their non-porous surface. As an added bonus, terrazzo is often crafted from recycled materials, making it an eco-friendly choice for design-conscious homeowners.

While undeniably beautiful, terrazzo backsplashes come with a hefty price tag due to their handcrafted nature and complex installation (depending on whether you use terrazzo tiles or slabs). Skilled labor is required, as the uneven surface makes cutting and laying the tiles a challenge. Regular sealing is also recommended to maintain the backsplash's beauty and stain resistance.

Encaustic Tiles

Encaustic cement tiles offer an eye-catching element to any space. These unique tiles are made of cement and feature a painted surface. Many online retailers even allow for complete customization of colors and patterns.

Encaustic tiles are particularly effective when paired with simpler cabinetry, allowing the tiles to take center stage. If you're drawn to encaustic tiles but are concerned they might overpower your space, consider using them as an accent wall above the cooktop only.

Encaustic tiles are undeniably beautiful but can be difficult to cut uniformly and install with perfectly aligned patterns. We highly recommend using a skilled tile installer to ensure a professional, flawless look.

Glass Backsplash

Glass backsplashes offer an array of design possibilities. From bold, multi-color palettes to mesmerizing iridescent finishes, glass tiles present a veritable kaleidoscope of options to elevate your kitchen's aesthetic. Glass backsplash can be crafted as individual slivers of glass or pre-arranged in mosaic patterns, creating a backsplash that dances with light, is easy to clean, and is stain-resistant.

While undeniably beautiful, glass tiles are more expensive than other backsplash options due to the delicate nature of the material. Installation is best left to a skilled professional.

Beyond Aesthetics: A Backsplash that Reflects Your Lifestyle

While selecting a backsplash may seem like just one detail in your kitchen remodel, it plays a significant role in both form and function. This guide has explored the key considerations of functionality, design style, and material selection. Remember, a well-chosen backsplash should enhance your kitchen's aesthetics and endure the daily wear and tear of cooking.

Partnering with an experienced design-build company is crucial to ensure a seamless and successful outcome. These professionals will ask insightful questions to understand your lifestyle and design preferences, ultimately guiding you toward the perfect backsplash that elevates your kitchen's beauty and functionality for years to come.

Read the eBook "Elevate Your Everyday: The Kitchen Remodel Guide for Style and Function" to begin planning your dream kitchen remodel.