22 Beautiful Kitchen Backsplash Ideas That Will Add Personality to the Entire Room

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. 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 co-founder 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.

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 22 beautiful kitchen backsplash ideas that are sure to infuse your kitchen with dazzling style.

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.

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.

At the 2020 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas, designed 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.

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.

At this Utah mountain retreat designed by Tony Baratta, geometric pattern reigns in the kitchen, from the oversized 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.

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.

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.

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.

This galley kitchen on Brays Island, South Carolina, designed by Beth Webb features a soapstone backsplash and countertops, which stands in dark contrast to the rift cut white oak cabinetry. Range, Bertazzoni. Sink fixtures in unlacquered brass, Waterworks.

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, WolfF

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).

In the bar of her Mountain Brook, Alabama, home, designer Caroline Gidiere complemented cabinetry made of antique glass and Chippendale fretwork with an 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. Backsplash,

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

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.

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.

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

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.

In this Lowcountry 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

This Los Angeles kitchen features a tile backsplash with a diamond and star pattern (Solar Antique Tiles) in an inky blue and crips white palette that complements the wood grain cabinetry and mind green island top and chairs.

At this Palm Beach home designed by Phoebe Howard, the home bar features blue walls and cabinetry, painted Van Deusen Blue by Benjamin Moore, accented by a backsplash comprising smoky mirror subway tile. The woven barstools from Walters Wicker with cushions upholstered in a Ralph Lauren Home stripe.

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.

Blue and white glazed Moroccan tiles (Moorish Architectural Design) lenda 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.