Kitchen Backsplash Tiles – Why it is Necessary & What is its Role

Refer to our guide to understand what backsplash tile is about and the important factors to be taken into consideration for making these choices.

So you just heard about the kitchen backsplash tiles and can’t figure out what is it. We are here to help. It mainly protects the walls from liquids, usually water. It also acts as a base for your decor. Or like a focal point. It defines how you want your kitchen area to look, radiates your personality, and reflectsWhite backsplash tiles the mood and feel of your cooking space.

From clean, super clean, and minimalistic to a vintage feel, all sorts of styles and designs can be adopted.

Featuring a few important types of backsplash materials with their haves and have notes.

1. Ceramic and Porcelain Tiles

They are favored for their versatility, shapes, colors, and ranges of price. Ceramic, porcelain, glass tiles are heat and moisture resistant and easy to clean because of their glossy surface.

2. Glass Panels

This is back painted glass with paint on the side next to the wall. This kind of backsplash is streamlined, modern, and easy to clean. Its lack of grout lines allows a continuous surface and prevents stuff from clinging to the surface. The reflective property of glass means that light will bounce around the space more. There is great variety in color and enhances natural light.

3. Natural Stone Slabs

Natural stone has a unique cardinal beauty. Some people use the same stone for backsplash and countertop. Natural stones like marble, granite, soapstone creates a very dramatic, cohesive look in the space, reducing grout lines to the minimum.

4. Exposed Brick

This is suited to older buildings. It is not only appealing and textural. It is also full of character, bringing a touch of history and a fine, rustic sensibility though it needs a lot of care.

If you are exposing a brick wall with its masonry make sure it’s kept very clean and sealed with a sealant and in good condition enough to be exposed.

5. Most Unusual as Backsplash but very effective

You need to seal or treat the wood against water and other liquids. It is not good for areas that remain wet most of the time like behind the sink.

6. Metal Tiles and Panels

This is good for industrial kitchens, hotel kitchens. These are reflective and light-giving. They also look sleek and smooth. You could combine these with a stone countertop.

So how do you choose a backsplash for your very elegant kitchen?

Cost: One major factor is cost. If you are on a tight budget use porcelain or ceramic tiles. If you can afford to spend a little more use stone or glass.

Tile Design: Another factor to be considered is tile design. These can come in diagonal cuts giving your backsplash a unique look but tend to cost more.
Then there are lesser cut tiles. These are cut by laser technology. Different pieces are cut using laser technology and joined like a jigsaw puzzle creating an elegantly designed splash for you. It is though quite expensive.
Then there are subway tiles called as they are spotted quite commonly in subways. They create a classic and clean look. Other sorts are hand-painted tiles and mosaic tiles.

Mixing and Matching: An achievement in harmony is one of your major concerns with a backsplash for your kitchen. You have to see how it fits in with the other elements in your kitchen viz. the countertop, floor texture and color, the walls, and the cabinets. For instance, a colored kitchen splash is very common with white cabinets. Blue tiled backsplash goes very well with grey cabinets. A white tiled backsplash goes very well with a black countertop. You could match the various colors of the various elements or put them in contrasting shades.

kitchen Backsplash Height: The height could be countertop to cabinet or a full height from the floor to the ceiling.

Installing Kitchen Backsplash Tiles: You can install yourself too. This would involve cutting, putting adhesive, and fixing according to your need.