Sounds like a really nice kitchen. Everything is a matter of taste, but backsplashes are very popular now. You can easily achieve the look you want with simple single colored tiles. I sort of agree that since backsplashes are popular when we look at a kitchen (especially all of us who are KO) is does feel like there is something missing.

My former kitchen in a previous home had no backsplash, other than four inches of the granite. It was brand new, done by the builder and we just never bothered. We didn't find it all that hard to keep clean, but the stove top was on an open peninsula with no backsplash behind. That is the real place walls can get messy, behind the stove top.

The kitchen we are nearly finished with now only has a 2 inch granite back splash and is painted, only because we have not decided on the back splash. I actually like the look of no backsplash, it seems like an older almost "farmhouse look." If you have a beautiful paint color complimentary to your counter and cabinet it might look great. The wall color I have does not compliment the counters - so we will either put in a backsplash or repaint :)

I have seen others put in a sheet of glass to protect the painted wall and give a little contemporary edge. People also use sheets of stainless steel or copper - either for the whole back splash or just behind the stove. I have also seen kitchen with a few inches of tile backsplash (not all the way up) then fully put in tile behind the stove for clean up.

No way is wrong. Look through the FKB and see what you like. Good luck.

Perhaps this backsplash giveaway suitable for a casual style kitchen might be useful if the timing is right.

Here is a link that might be useful: giveaway info

I don't have a backsplash of any kind. Just paint. It's easier for me either to wipe off any dirt or paint (eggshell) when it gets really bad. The range is on a peninsula so a backsplash is not an issue. I didn't want a backsplash because I'd lose the ~1" of counter space. I'm a plain person.
A KD explained the reason for a backsplash(e.g., the 4" kind)was to prevent spills from leaking between the counter top and the wall. Such as kids spilling milk. I just caulked at the juncture.
However, if your range is against a wall, you may need the backsplash to serve as a firewall (non-combustible surface). That's a code issue.

I don't care for the busy back splashes either, I think it takes away from the beauty of the cabinets and countertops.

I am going to have a 6" granite backsplash and then beadboard above that.

thanks everyone. I feel like every decision for the kitchen has been easy compared to trying to decide on a backsplash....I just don't have an eye for it at all, so maybe I like the paint only as an easy way out :-)

Would love to see pics of a busy granite with a plain one color backsplash if anyone can share.

thanks.

Try the FKB to see backsplashes. There is also a thread currently with many pix ("show us your bs for a good cause", or like that in the title).

I think large format single color tiles could be lovely. Maybe a diamond pattern or just a running brick. There is a recent finished kitchen with large tiles that looks really good, but the name escapes me. I think it is one of the early ones in the recent bs thread.

We don't have a backplash and don't miss it. It's always something you can add later.

There is absolutely no functional or even code reason to have a backsplash, past caulking the joint between the countertop and sheetrock, and then painting the sheetrock. This is why I've recommended to many of my own customers-- let the backsplash go for a while. It's not necessary, and you can allow your bank account to "heal" from the damage you've done with the renovations, and save for what you want, rather than settling for what you can afford.

In your case, it's not a matter of what you want, but rather just keeping it simple for the time being, and there's not a problem in the world with that.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate everyone's feedback. I really think this is such a difficult decision b/c I feel the BS can make or break the look of a kitchen.

Not at all. We rented a house in Grand Cayman recently for a scuba trip with friends. The house was new. Had black granite countertops. Since it was an island location the entire house was painted this lovely turquoise color. That came right down to the granite. No 4" granite splash either. Just right down to the countertop level with this lovely paint. It was clean, even after lots of renters. It looked great. The granite had been very neatly installed so there was no gap to make up. It looked great and REALLY made me think twice about a backsplash of any kind.

I didn't put a backsplash in my kitchen and, after 3+ years, still don't miss having one.

Here is a link that might be useful: My

We have never had a backsplash...in 14 years we have lived in 9 different homes and not a single one had a backsplash. I like the idea of painting so when one tires of the color, a gallon of paint will do the trick! Backsplashes are beautiful but I totally understand the simplicity.

Live with your new kitchen a while and you will know if you want one or not. No one "needs" a backsplash, but they can be pretty and really a nice design element.
I would never go into debt in order to have one and think it is up to the individual whether to put one in or not.
I happen to wear earrings everyday and feel naked without them, but do not use nail polish on my fingers and do not miss it. Now, my toes are always polished (by me) and I would not go out with naked toenails in sandals. To each his own....

Thanks Robin - your kitchen looks great.
And Dianalo - I'm with you, my toes always need to be polished even in the winter, where my nails sometimes go polish free.
:-)

I don't have a backsplash other than a short (maybe 3" or so) run of the countertop formica. There is nothing but paint behind the stove. My hood is just a little builder GE hood that is not vented to the outside and does little to suck up the smoke and vapor. Not having a backsplash behind the stove is a problem--a big problem. That part of the wall is not as clean as I would like and there's not much I can do about it as I wash paint off of it every time I clean it (which is often). I would urge you to put something behind your stove if only to make clean-up easier.

I have only a 4 inch row of Sonoma Tantrum tiles that are the same color as my granite. That sounds wierd, and when I post my photo I don't get a lot of complements but in real life, its what I like for my Sweeby test. And I do get a lot of complements on it in real life. I have artwork behind the cooktop. I just wipe it clean, and I do touch up paint on the wall if I feel like it once a year or so if I have the paint out.

I think that for photographs, it might present better to have the tile, and in some kitchens it would be great to have tile. However, its on a case by case basis. One of the kitchens posted on this thread looks great because it has a big beautiful window. My kitchen is too asymetrical and I'd have to tile the entire kitchen or not do any.

I have been going back and forth about what to do in my kitchen. Long story short, I think we are going to get granite countertops when we can afford them and no backsplash.

I like one blacksplash and one backsplash only. White subway tile. Everything else isn't my taste, feels too trendy, or looks too busy - for my house and my kitchen. But I'm not sure if white subway tile will compliment my cabinets and the style of my kitchen. I actually think if we replace our counters and keep the wall painted it would look the best.

I don't think you need a backsplash. However if you have a very large kitchen it might feel like something is missing. In a smaller sized kitchen like mine I don't think a backsplash would be missed at all. Like chinchette said, it's case by case. I think my kitchen will look best without one when I finish it and get my counters LOL!

Enjoy your new kitchen :)

I think a backsplash choice is a function of what else is going on in the kitchen. Some kitchens cry out for one, as the cabinets/countertops/flooring choices need a coordinating element or one that provides that extra punch that makes the kitchen look polished. It's not that the rooms would be incomplete without, just that the backsplash is that extra accent, the jewelry, that makes the room come together.

OTOH, I've seen some great kitchens where the individual elements are so strong and beg to be noticed, a backsplash would be overkill. I'm thinking of a very contemporary, stark Italian-style kitchen....or a country kitchen with chicken-wire glass and and funky cookie jars and crockware on display...or an Old World Kitchen with elaborate moldings and corbels and woodwork detail.

My current inspiration kitchen mixes yellow and green-blue cabinets with wood floors, wood island and copper sinks. No backsplash needed or wanted.

I lived without a backsplash for several years and because I am a messy cook and have 3 kids, the walls were looking pretty bad after awhile. But the star of my kitchen is the cabients and I didn't want to choose a backsplash that would take away from that. When I finally did a backsplash, I chose tiles that were about the same color as the cabients, milkpaint yellow. I still had a design and several of the tiles have different textures but because it melted in with the color of the cabinets, it doesn't stand out. i love it. Sorry no pictures

My kitchen has been "done" for 3 years...no backsplash. I WANT a backsplash, but never found anything that I love!
It has never been a priority because the painted surface is very easy to keep clean.
I'm in love with crackle subway tiles, but can't find a color to compliment uba tuba and med cherry cabs...

For the first time it seems, I am starting to get an idea here that will not cost me extra, lol.
We switched out our choice on counters recently to going with laminate with metal edgebanding. There is the option of a 3 inch chrome accent strip where the counter meets the wall.
The backsplash is something I picked out first and designed the kitchen around, yet I have been wondering lately if I should do a laminate backsplash and save the color for the wall that I would have done in tile.
I am still thinking and mulling the change. I have worked so hard to find the right combo for the bs and am not quite there about giving it up. Sigh....
Here is someone else's kitchen that is totally not like ours will be (we are doing white cabs with a gray and white laminate counter), but the setup of the chrome is similar...just swap black for the red accent stripes.
{{!gwi}}

When I was idea hunting, a surprising high proportion of my inspiration photos didn't have a backsplash beyond the 4" of counter material. Just paint. I've realized that I just don't love tile, which makes me a bit of an oddity here on the Kitchens Forum. My dream backsplash would be back-painted glass--Something very uniform, without many seams. But paint is much cheaper!

I have been living with my 'new' kitchen for 2 years. It is complete excpet for the backsplash. In the meanwhile, the backsplash area is just painted the same color at the rest of the walls.

I like how it looks, but it does look a bit unfinished to me so what we have finally decided to do (after 2 years) is to install beadboard that we will paint the same color as the walls. So, it will look almost the same except for the added texture.

The key will be to use good quality paint. We currently have Behr semi gloss on the wall and we will NOT be repainting with that. It is not very scurbbable - despite how well Consumer Reports rated it. I will take a sample to Benjamin Moore and have them replicate the color (which I love).

so I think I will live with no BS for awhile until I really have lived in the kitchen. While I know I will have a very difficult time picking out BS, I do think my kitchen looks a little unfinished with just the paint. And this weekend, I went to a friends house with a very big kitchen, no BS just paint, and I kept on thinking her kitchen looked unfinished....well maybe unfinished is not the right word. I don't want to insult anyone's kitchen b/c I have seen some beautiful ones with no BS.....but I think the BS puts the finishing touches on a kitchen. Ok, so I am rambling on now....need to go to bed :-)

i agree that a busy BS can take away from the beauty of cabinets and granite. We went with 18" travertine and love it. Simple and clean looking.

Obviously a tiled BS is not necessary but so is half the finishes that go into a new kitchen. The point isn't so much necessity if you find a tile you like you use it if not you use whatever else you like.

Someone said they felt angry that they were expected to put up a tile backsplash. I'm not sure in what world anyone is pressuring anyone to tile their backsplash. I certainly didn't feel any pressure to tile my backsplash. I was open to every option and picked what I loved the most that complimented my kitchen.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of tiles out there you can't really make general statements about what they do to a kitchen. Again, my point is backsplash is kitchen jewelry but half the finishes and details in a new kitchen is jewelry and aren't necessary for the kitchen to function.