Trending Now: Color and Pattern Make These Backsplashes Stand Out
Jazz up a white kitchen or enhance a dark wood one with a bold backsplash. These 10 trending kitchen photos offer ideas

Erin Carlyle
July 17, 2017
Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes to remodel. Former Forbes real estate reporter. Fascinated by cool homes, watching the bottom line.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes to... More
While the white kitchen seems to be a trend with staying power, we’ve noticed more homeowners choosing colorful tile backsplashes lately. That trend was evident in many of the most popular new kitchen photos added to Houzz from April through June, as measured by how many people saved them to their ideabooks during that period. Below are some of the standouts from new kitchen photos that made the top 40. Which backsplash style is your favorite?
Mosaic wall. A custom tile backsplash amps up the energy in this Seattle kitchen, which also features a chopping station. The first photo made the top 40 new kitchen photos; the second did not but shows a nice detail of the tile.
See more of this home
See more of this home
Party tile. Teardrop-shaped teal and white tiles evoke the bubbling top of a glass of Champagne in this Canadian kitchen backsplash. The inventive pattern is more lively than a full wall of the teal tiles would be. Also, fading to white as the backsplash goes higher gives the space a more airy, open feel.
Where Should You Start and Stop Your Backsplash?
Where Should You Start and Stop Your Backsplash?
Halfway up. This intricate backsplash in a kitchen in Moscow goes halfway up the wall — just the right amount so that the detailed pattern doesn’t overwhelm the eye. Capping the backsplash with a shelf adds to the kitchen’s storage and design.
Mezzanotte. This hand-painted ceramic tile brings an artisanal look to a traditional white kitchen. Geometric pottery and wooden salt and pepper containers underscore the handmade feel.
Countertop: Caesarstone 5133 Symphony Grey; Fatima hand-painted field tile in Mezzanotte finish from Walker Zanger’s Duquesa collection; see more tile styles
Countertop: Caesarstone 5133 Symphony Grey; Fatima hand-painted field tile in Mezzanotte finish from Walker Zanger’s Duquesa collection; see more tile styles
Here’s a pulled-back view of the backsplash against the surrounding white Shaker cabinetry. This photo was the fourth-most popular new kitchen photo added to Houzz from April through June of this year.
New This Week: These Graphic Backsplashes Pump Up White Cabinets
New This Week: These Graphic Backsplashes Pump Up White Cabinets
Happy pop. This kitchen features a neutral palette that gains visual interest from the sunflower-patterned mosaic tile, which adds an upbeat, energetic feel to the room.
Backsplash tile: Ann Sacks
Backsplash tile: Ann Sacks
A queen every day. This backsplash is a combination of geometric porcelain tile and wallpaper that features the likenesses of historic queens. The owner of this home — actually a houseboat in Sausalito, California, that belongs to an international lawyer — experimented with pattern and color for a truly unique floating residence.
Wallpaper: Trove; porcelain tile: Global Tile Design
Read more about this California houseboat
Wallpaper: Trove; porcelain tile: Global Tile Design
Read more about this California houseboat
Blue and sweet. This backsplash features hand-painted terra-cotta tile in cream with blue, black and rust accents, making for a unique color palette. This photo was the sixth-most popular new kitchen shot added to Houzz from April through June.
Backsplash tile: Tabarka Studio
Backsplash tile: Tabarka Studio
Chevron. The designer of this kitchen, the fifth-most popular new kitchen photo on Houzz from April through June, used a chevron pattern for the backsplash. Chevron is made up of continuous V shapes and is a close cousin of herringbone, a pattern frequently seen on wood floors that has a broken, or staggered, V pattern.
Find a kitchen designer near you
Find a kitchen designer near you
Double duty. Here’s a backsplash option: If you’ve got a gorgeous countertop, why not just continue it up the walls? These Chicago homeowners matched up the quartzite grain pattern beneath the range hood — it looks like an upside-down V — in their transitional-style kitchen.
Countertop and backsplash: Calacatta quartzite; floor: French White Oak stained dark gray; see more flooring
Countertop and backsplash: Calacatta quartzite; floor: French White Oak stained dark gray; see more flooring
Textural white. Unlike the rest of the kitchens in this story, this Atlanta space features a monochromatic backsplash. But its texture and unusual convex shape give the wall added oomph.
Tile: Convex Birch, Sobu
Learn more about this fixer-upper
More
Homeowner’s Workbook: How to Remodel Your Kitchen
How People Upgrade Their Kitchens and How Much They Spend
Dream to Done: How to Build a Renovation Plan to Match Your Budget
Tile: Convex Birch, Sobu
Learn more about this fixer-upper
More
Homeowner’s Workbook: How to Remodel Your Kitchen
How People Upgrade Their Kitchens and How Much They Spend
Dream to Done: How to Build a Renovation Plan to Match Your Budget
Related Stories
Kitchen Design
Behold These Bold Kitchen Backsplashes
By Erin Carlyle
See how these 62 backsplashes bring beauty, personality and style to their kitchens
Full Story
Kitchen Design
How to Add a Kitchen Backsplash
Great project: Install glass, tile or another decorative material for a gorgeous and protective backsplash
Full Story
Kitchen Design
8 Top Tile Types for Your Kitchen Backsplash
By Shane Inman
Backsplash designs don't have to be set in stone; glass, mirror and mosaic tiles can create kitchen beauty in a range of styles
Full Story
Kitchen Design
8 Statement-Making Kitchen Backsplashes Beyond Basic Tile
By Shane Inman
Look to metal, glass and even wooden crates for an attention-getting backsplash that might even save you some money
Full Story
Kitchen Countertops
10 Top Backsplashes to Pair With Soapstone Countertops
By Becky Harris
Simplify your decision-making process by checking out how these styles work with soapstone
Full Story
Kitchen Design
The Best Backsplashes to Pair With Wood Counters
By Becky Harris
Simplify your decision-making with these ideas for materials that work well with wood counters
Full Story
Kitchen Countertops
10 Top Backsplashes to Pair With Concrete Counters
By Becky Harris
Simplify your decision making with these ideas for materials that work well with concrete
Full Story
Kitchen Design
Super Backsplashes to Pair With Recycled-Paper Counters
By Becky Harris
Aesthetics and personal ethics come together for most folks who opt for this eco-friendly material
Full Story
New This Week
New This Week: 6 Stylish Kitchen Backsplash Ideas
Marble slab, pink ceramic tile, blue-green glass tile and other materials make bold statements
Full Story
Kitchen Design
Where to Start and Stop Your Backsplash
By Yanic Simard
Consider these designer tricks to work around cabinets, windows and more for a finished look in your kitchen
Full Story
I have lots of paperwork about warranties of the products which came from Direct Buy. By the way I don't work for them I am just passing along my experience. I left when to pull permits to my contractor. We pulled permits for a lot of electrical work which ended up getting a new electric box and moving the meter from one side of the house to the other because codes would not allow electric and gas meters to be on the same side of the house together. I hired an outside electrical company to do 98% of the electrical work. My experiences with contractors is they let "Jack of all Trades" do a lot of electrical work and I caught on right away I needed specialist. I also hired a local designer to help with colour choices and to pick out countertops and backslashes. I also did a master bath and put a wet bar in the sunroom. Now my attention goes to the outside
117 coledrive- Post photos! Sounds like a great project!
On this kitchen the client was putting this house up for sale and wanted to do a white kitchen but asked that it not be boring. You can use a fairly simple color palette of white and gray and not have it be boring. Pattern was the answer in this case.