Tell me about your kitchen backsplash

[hellokitty]

Since so many of you have awesome looking kitchens, I need some advice. I notice most ppl have tile backsplashes. Do you find these to be a total PITA to clean? I ask, b/c I hate tile, I ripped out the previous tile backsplash (it was the teeny tile, and the idiots used MAROON tile with MAROON grout to go with dark cherry stained cabients!), but it looks like our kitchen is missing something now, although it is a huge improvement that we ripped out the former backsplash. My biggest issue is around the sink and stove area. I cook a lot and so our kitchen DOES get messy with splatters and such. What backsplash would work best for a kitchen that gets messy? We already have quartz counter tops with a std backsplash molding, so doing quartz all the way up to the cabinets is out of the question, since this was done 7 yrs ago. I was thinking of doing stainless steel around the stove area and maybe tile for the other parts of the kitchen. Would that look weird? Really, I'm just not sure what ppl are doing about backsplashes these days. I don't want to get anything too trendy, although the stainless steel behind the stove would go well, since we have a very nice stainless steel electrolux stove and appliances.

[HIU8]

Mine is a 6 inch granite backsplash all over the kitchen. We didn't do it up to the cabinets b/c honestly it was overwhelming (it would have been on 3 walls).

[Pinky]

Our previous house had the little 1" tiles going all the way up to the cabinets... they were slate but we put several coats of sealant on them and then wiped right up. I loved the backsplash and am thinking of doing it in the new house too.

[bubbaray]

We have a tile backsplash, I just wipe it to clean. I did seal the grout before we moved in, but that was 12 yrs ago, LOL.

[kristenk]

I've been trying to figure out what to do for our backsplash when we remodel the kitchen. Someone posted the site www.houzz.com in the kitchen thread and it has some great pictures. I love the backsplash in this picture: http://www.houzz.com/photos/29853/Vallejo-Street-contemporary-kitchen-san-francisco

I wouldn't choose the colors, necessarily, but I really like how smooth it looks. It looks like it would be fairly easy to clean (at least in my imagination!).

[g-mama]

We have subway tiles in our kitchen backsplash. The color is a light sage green. I love how they really brighten up the kitchen b/c there is a gloss to them that just pops.

As far as cleaning, I find it MUCH easier to clean splashes on the tile than it was on the painted walls before we had the backsplash put in. Grease splatters are far less visible than they were on the walls, too.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Am I old school? Mine is just silestone - same as the counter. It's 4" or so.

[daniele_ut]

My backsplash is made up of tumbled travertine subway tiles and a mosaic panel over the sink. It's been there for 2 years and I still need to seal it, but it has stayed remarkably clean. These pics are from right after it was finished, with no countertop clutter!:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/daniele_ut/Murray%20house/DSC02959.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/daniele_ut/Murray%20house/DSC02958.jpg

[happymom]

We have small travertine-like subway tiles- they're probably 1"x2" each- so it looks like small bricks. We have small square glass and stone tiles as deco. The backsplash is my favorite part of our kitchen. I know we had it sealed, but I can't really say how easy it would be too clean. We haven't had it all that long, and somehow I've managed to avoid getting it too dirty. I have wiped off one or two small splatters without a problem.

I think glass subway tiles might be an easy to clean option- they often have 12x12 sheets of them at Home Depot in different colors. Inexpensive, pretty, and there's something calm and cool about them IMO.

[happymomma]

When we renovated our kitchen, I wanted to have a simple backsplash. I love our backsplash and it is so easy to maintain. We bought 6" tiles and had crushed glass tiles made that matched the granite. It was 4 different colors. I love that extra splash of color and it is so easy to maintain. We had a design made for the area above the stove. Then carried the design thorughout the rest of the counter.

http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af320/carolynchou/kitchenbacksplash.jpg

http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af320/carolynchou/Kitchen%202011/IMG_4283.jpg

[jammytoast]

No Backsplash in my kitchen--just a short 3" rise up from the counters. (laminate and/or corian depending on the counter) Wall is scrubbable paint and just do that.

Of a ll I lust after in a kitchen backspalsh isn't one. I'd personally put money in layout or lighting or appliances.


That said, there are some pretty ones out there!!!

[GvilleGirl]

I'd be a happymomma to if I had your kitchen!!!! I love it! Ours is original 70s. Ugh! Our backsplash is sheet formica glued to the wall. It is on the project list right after such fun things as roof, furnace, and windows. Its functional just not pretty.

[happymomma]

I'd be a happymomma to if I had your kitchen!!!! I love it! Ours is original 70s. Ugh! Our backsplash is sheet formica glued to the wall. It is on the project list right after such fun things as roof, furnace, and windows. Its functional just not pretty.

Thanks so much! We waited a year after buying to renovate the kitchen. It was such a great idea because once I had been using the kitchen for awhile, I knew exactly what it was that I needed. If I had done the kitchen before then, I wouldn't have known what changes I would like to make.

[hellokitty]

Thanks everyone, I will have to revisit the idea of tile. I just HATE grout, so maybe sealing the tile/grout is key.

[Twoboos]

Happymomma, from this thread and the kitchen one, I have to say I LOVE your kitchen!! I may keep these photos for when/if we do a kitchen remodel!!

Back to the OP, our backsplash has like 3in of granite and then paint. Never phased me. I have 4 decorative tiles above the stove though, it was a little boring there without them. THey are just stuck on with the removable velcro thingies, not grouted on.