Kitchen Splashback Ideas 2025
DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN
Designing a beautiful and functional kitchen can feel overwhelming, as there are so many decisions to make, from appliances and cabinetry to lighting and hardware. Kitchen Splashback Ideas 2025 can help One of the most fun decisions, though, is choosing a kitchen backsplash. Whether you have a small kitchen or a large one, a modern kitchen or one with more of a rustic or cottage feel, a white kitchen or a kitchen with color, backsplashes—which cover a portion of or all of kitchen walls—are an ideal spot for adding or defining personality in the kitchen.
Traditionally, kitchen backsplashes were made of tile and covered just the portion of kitchen walls between the countertops and upper cabinets. However, as kitchen design and cabinetry preferences have evolved to include open shelves or even no upper storage, backsplashes and tile designs for kitchens have changed as well. Today many designers, including Waterworks cofounder and author Barbara Sallick, are favoring "tile envelopes" in which backsplash tile covers the entire wall surface. Designers are also favoring riffs on classic designs, such as subway tile, with either a larger or more slender scale and in different finishes, like colorful glazes or reflective mirror. Some designers are even utilizing wallpaper as a backsplash material (don't miss slide three).
As you cull through all the kitchen decor ideas out there, be sure to carefully consider your backsplash material and design, whether or not you opt for classic tile. Here, discover 30 beautiful kitchen backsplash ideas that are sure to infuse your kitchen with dazzling style.
ANNIE SCHLECHTER
Checkerboard Tile
At this Bronxville, New York, home designed by Carrier and Company, the kitchen’s chic checkerboard backsplash, fashioned out of glazed terra-cotta tile (Ann Sacks), energizes the space. Perimeter countertops, Caesarstone. Sink fixtures, Waterworks
MALI AZIMA
Arched Windows
For an airy twist on the backsplash, designer Melanie Turner and architect Yong Pak placed the range in this Atlanta home in front of windows with a graceful arch that echo the tiled arcs in the barrel-vaulted ceiling. Encaustic cement tiles (Mosaic House) infuse the kitchen with the spirit of a French bistro.
THOMAS LOOF
Hand-painted Wallpaper
Talk about bringing the outside in: at this Naples, Florida, home, designer Summer Thornton clad the kitchen backsplash with a hand-painted tropical wallpaper (de Gournay). To protect the wallpaper backsplash, Thornton covered it with a thin glass pane. The range is Lacanche; the leather stool upholstery is Moore & Giles.
JOSHUA MCHUGH
Lively Pattern
For a small dose of pattern, designer Philip Gorrivan clad the backsplash of this Connecticut colonial with colorful Moroccan tile (Exquisite Surfaces), a graphic contrast to the kitchen's rustic maple butcher block and honed granite counters.
THOMAS LOOF
Subway to the Ceiling
In the kitchen of this Connecticut home designed by Ashley Whittaker, a subway tile backsplash extends to the ceiling on the wall behind the range. A duo of disarming patterns (checkerboard flooring and a geo-floral seating fabric by Raoul) enlivens warm shades of white in counters, cabinetry, and subway tile. Counter stools, Palecek. Range, Viking. Pendant lighting,
BOHDAN DUHA
A sustainable alternative to natural stone, featuring high-resolution textures printed on heat-resistant glass. Bohdan Duha has designed this innovative solution, making luxury backlit surfaces accessible to many. It has amazed designers with its flawless illumination, durability, and ability to replicate the beauty of onyx, marble, and granite—without the environmental impact. You are looking at "Lemurian Blue"
ZACH & BUJ
Mosaic Wainscoting
In the kitchen of this Sea Island home designed by Sara Gilbane, shimmering mosaic tile (Mosaic House) envelops the room. Addison Mizner–inspired beams and hand-forged iron bell-jar lighting by Formations lend rustic contrast. Counter tops, Caesarstone
DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN
Glazed Moroccan Tile
At this Dallas home designed by Meredith McBrearty, glazed Moroccan tile (Clé tile) infuse the modern kitchen with hand-crafted texture. Blown-glass pendants by MoMA alum Alison Berger turn over-island lighting into modern art while quilted leather stools (Studio Piet Boon) and leathered quartzite counters add warmth. Range, Wolf.
THOMAS LOOF
Rustic Painted Tile
At this Windsor, Florida, cottage, designer Alessandra Branca packed a powerful style punch with the blue-and-white Casa Branca tile backsplash, which stands in colorful contrast to a sleek, lacquered SieMatic island. The Palecek stools are covered in a Kravet fabric with Samuel & Sons trim. Fittings, Kohler. Pendants, Circa Lighting
WILLIAM ABRANOWICZ
Extra-Large Subway Tile
For her kitchen bar in Connecticut, Waterworks cofounder and author of The Perfect Kitchen (Rizzoli, 2020) Barbara Sallick clad the walls with 4-by-8-inch subway tiles, which she took all the way up to the ceiling. "I love the grid they create, I love the materials, and I love the scale of the larger-size tile," Sallick says.
STEPHEN KARLISCH
Painted Mirror
At the 2020 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas, designer Chad Dorsey wowed his stunning kitchen design that centered on a dramatic backsplash made of a Chinoiserie-painted antique mirror by artist James Mobley on Industry Glass. The painted glass is inset into a Cambria stone-clad cased opening.
MAX KIM-BEE
Glossy Squares
This Nashville, Tennessee, kitchen designed by Richard Hallberg features a backsplash "wall" made of square Belgian tile with a hig-gloss glaze that extends up to the ceiling. The glossy finish on the tile lends dynamic contrast to the rustic ceiling beams. Louis XIII reproduction stools (Dennis & Leen) are upholstered in a textural, raffia-style woven fabric (Opuzen). Cabinetry paint color, Egret by Sherwin-Williams
ERIC PIASECKI
Quilt Motifs
At this Utah mountain retreat designed by Tony Baratta, geometric pattern reigns in the kitchen, from the oversize checkerboard floor to the backsplash and wall tile, from Solar Antique Tiles, painted with quilt motifs. The pendants are from Dessin Fournir, and the range is Viking.
COURTESY OF CRAVOTTA INTERIORS
Handmade Abstract Waves
Austin, Texas-based designer Mark Cravotta has predicted the resurgence of craftsmanship in kitchen design in 2021, and we couldn't be more excited about that. "In the kitchen, there are so many more options now that are better than polished granite," Cravotta says. Backsplashes are ideal places to showcase craftsmanship and artisanry, as these handmade tiles illustrate.
ZEKE RUELAS
Gray Marble
In this kitchen, designer and Veranda Next Legend Jason Arnold took the countertop material—marble with gray veining—onto the walls as a backsplash for a seamless look.
AMY NEUNSINGER
Classic Blue and White
At this California home designed by Mark D. Sikes, blue-and-white tile with an antiqued finish, along with creamy white cabinetry (White Tie, Farrow & Ball) and oil-rubbed bronze hardware (Rejuvenation), give the kitchen a warm, aged appearance. Sink and fixtures, Rohl
EMILY J FOLLOWILL
Dramatic Soapstone
This galley kitchen on Brays Island, South Carolina, designed by Beth Webb, features a soapstone backsplash and countertops, which stand in dark contrast to the rift-cut white oak cabinetry. Range, Bertazzoni. Sink fixtures in unlacquered brass, Waterworks
FRANCESCO LAGNESE
Charcoal Herringbone Tile
At this Montana home designed by Palmer Weiss, the kitchen features a backsplash comprising rectangular tile laid out in a herringbone pattern, which adds depth to the moody, monochromatic space. Cabinetry and ebony finish, Provincial Store Fixtures. Silicon bronze brushed pulls, Rocky Mountain Hardware. Dual fuel range, Wolf
JEFF HERR
Slender Subway Tile
In this Georgia kitchen, designer James Farmer created a backsplash with slender, glazed subway tile to infuse pattern and texture into an otherwise neutral space. The kitchen is also featured in Farmer's most recent book, Arriving Home (Gibbs Smith, 2020).
BRIAN WOODCOCK
Geometric Wallpaper
In the bar of her Mountain Brook, Alabama, home, designer Caroline Gidiere complemented cabinetry made of antique glass and Chippendale fretwork with a historic wallpaper: Philadelphia Harlequin, which dates back to the beginning of the 19th century, from Adelphi Paper Hangings. The stained mahogany is framed in fiery orange trim (Lava by Porter’s Paints) and gold leaf ceiling paper (Phillip Jeffries). Pendant lighting, Visual Comfort & Co.
FRANCESCO LAGNESE
Antique Portuguese Tile
This Connecticut kitchen designed by David Netto boasts a global air thanks to Scandinavian bent birch plywood stools (Alvar Aalto), a collection of copper cookware, and 19th-century Portuguese tilework (Solar Antique Tiles). Dual-fuel range, Wolf
ANNIE SCHLECHTER
Wood Paneling
In designer Philip Mitchell's Nova Scotia home, the servery features vertical V-groove paneling as the backsplash. Heirloom Limoges fish sets hang on the painted paneled walls. Wall color, Gray by Benjamin Moore
DAVID TSAY
Timeless White Marble
For Ellen Pompeo's Hollywood home, designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard clad the counterops and backsplach with marble. Along with the terra-cotta tile floors and Pompeo's European range, the white marble backsplash complete's the kitchen's old-world style.
CHRISTOPH THEURER
Sophisticated Mirror
Soft, smoky tones lend a high-fashion, sophisticated touch to the alluring yet tiny galley kitchen of this 18th-century flat in Paris. The upper cabinets feature mirrored eglomise facings, which echo the mirror backsplash and “almost look like venetian blinds,” notes decorator Jean-Louis Deniot. The lower cabinetry paint color is Midnight Oil by Benjamin Moore. Range, La Cornue
JULIA LYNN
Zig-Zag Wallpaper
At this Austin, Texas, home designed by Angie Hranowski, colorful moths, which the owner refers to as her “barflies,” line up to form the bar’s groovy, zig-zag-striped wallpaper (Timorous Beasties). Cabinetry paint, Nocturnal Sea by Pratt & Lambert
HELEN NORMAN
Painted Square Tiles
In this Low Country home designed by Andrew Howard, the kitchen boasts an old-fashioned sensibility, thanks to the painted tile backsplash, brushed-brass-and-copper station lights (Ann-Morris), and a walnut island with baluster leg details. Stools, Serena & Lily. Counters, Caesarstone
ROGER DAVIES
Stars and Diamonds
This Los Angeles kitchen features a tile backsplash with a diamond and star pattern (Solar Antique Tiles) in an inky blue and crisp white palette that complements the wood grain cabinetry and green island top and chairs.
J. SAVAGE GIBSON
Smoky Mirror Subway Tile
At this Palm Beach home designed by Phoebe Howard, the bar features blue walls and cabinetry, painted Van Deusen Blue by Benjamin Moore, accented by a backsplash made up of smoky mirror subway tile. The woven barstools are from Walters Wicker with cushions upholstered in a Ralph Lauren Home stripe.
LUKE WHITE
Emerald Subway Tile
This stunning kitchen designed by Hubert Zandberg Interiors features a backsplash in emerald green subway tile, which also covers the cookspace's open shelving. The range and depth of color in the tile glaze makes it the focal point of the room.
M.K. SADLER
Glazed Moroccan Tile
Blue-and-white glazed Moroccan tiles (Moorish Architectural Design) lend a far-flung vibe to the rooftop outdoor kitchen at this Alys Beach, Florida, retreat designed by architectural firm Khoury & Vogt and Atlanta-based interior designer Shirlene Brooks. Fixtures, Kohler