Recently one of my friends asked me, “what are the latest kitchen backsplash trends for this year”? So I decided to write a post about it.
We each have a dream kitchen, whether it’s a roomy farmhouse kitchen where you can bake with your kids or a sleek, modern chef’s fantasy.
Every element of the kitchen adds to the dream room, including flooring, appliances, and fixtures, let alone patterns, colors, and textures.
The backsplash has always been a functional item guarding against, well, splashes, but the newest designs may surprise you. Let’s look at the latest trends in kitchen backsplash.
The kitchen backsplash trends for 2024 are using sustainable materials (wood), statement backsplash (stone slabs), vintage inspiration (terrazzo and wallpaper), and colors like green, terracotta, and black. Materials are often playfully combined or used as a statement backsplash feature.
Transforming your kitchen is always challenging: it disrupts the household with dust and noise and requires deep pockets. The temptation is to make it classic and timeless, which can mean boring and characterless.
Contemporary kitchen design calls for both the classic and the quirky, where your space can meet your unique needs. What are the kitchen trends for 2024, specifically backsplashes?
12 Trending Backsplash Ideas for the Kitchen in 2024
Sustainability
Ecological awareness is more than just a trend: caring for our environment has become part of our lives, from fashion to motor cars. Interior design is no different, with sustainability a central theme.
This trend is evident in eco-friendly design, particularly backsplash materials. Sustainable choices include ethically sourced stone, recycled glass, reused wood, and natural bamboo. Steel can also be reused, while industrial waste can be recycled as pigment for ceramic tiles.
#1. Mixed Materials
Recycling, reusing, and upcycling materials, furniture, and fixtures can result in designs celebrating a mix of materials and styles. Multi-material kitchens combine different kinds of wood, stone, ceramics, and metallics, creating unconventional yet beautiful kitchens.
Backsplash can be made of two complementary materials, such as ceramic tiles and brickwork, with interesting textural results.
A mixture of materials doesn’t equate to randomness. Excellent kitchen design uses the elements creatively, producing modern, stylish kitchens with sleek backsplash.
#2. Bricks
Reusing brick or sourcing local brick is an ideal example of sustainability. Create an industrial-style kitchen but with the homely warmth that contemporary kitchens are looking for. Black cupboards are on-trend.
#3. Wooden Backsplash
Another sustainable choice is to prioritize excellent craftsmanship over passing trends. This means investing in timeless items that will last and age beautifully.
An example is the creation of wooden backsplash using natural, durable wood, such as walnut, cherry, and oak. Wood brings nature indoors, adding rich texture to consciously sustainable spaces.
Designing a kitchen with sustainability in mind tends to result in peaceful, deceptively simple spaces with color coming from wood’s natural grain or stunningly veined stone. These kitchens can be rustic, with elements of the outdoors, but also almost spa-like in their elegance.
Statement Backsplash
The humble backsplash has been thrust into the spotlight with sustainably sourced materials and timeless artistry combining to produce dramatic and unusual designs.
No other backsplash trend since subway tiles has had as much impact as the use of stone slabs, although mosaic and copper tiles are also having a renaissance.
#4. The Countersplash
This first example of statement backsplash concerns construction rather than materials. High-end designers love using the same lush material for countertops and backsplash, sometimes wrapping it across walls and islands.
One trending material is magnificently colored natural stone, which becomes the kitchen’s focus, creating sleek continuity and dramatic statement.
#5. Stone Slab Backsplash
Marble and quartz slabs – the genuine item, not faux – can be seen everywhere in luxury kitchens, from countertops to islands and, of course, to backsplashes.
Both are easier to clean than ceramic tiles, but they’re not being chosen only for functionality. Natural stone adds drama and personality and is available in several colors, ranging from rich purple Calcatta Viola to vividly veined Breccia marble.
With the stone’s immediate textural and visual impact, the rest of the kitchen can be calm and neutral, a minimalist’s dream.
This feel is typical of the Japandi aesthetic, which combines Japanese design’s subtle elegance with Scandinavia’s laid-back comfort. But forget about keeping the kitchen all-white – that’s no longer fashionable.
#6. Mosaic Backsplashes
Mosaic tiles are a staple of bathroom design and are back in vogue in kitchens. Tesserae are in bold colors and unusual textures.
Instead of the matt surfaces we’ve seen recently, metallic tiles, such as gorgeous mirrored copper, are on-trend. Mix warm metallics to reflect glowing light around the kitchen, making it look more spacious.
If you do not like the earthy colors in vogue, embrace the dark side. Instead of bright white kitchens, darker shades, even black, are entering kitchens and backsplashes.
Tiles don’t need to be square: colorful mosaics of hexagonal tiles add textural interest.
Retro And Vintage Style
Sustainability includes reusing and upcycling older materials, fixtures, and furniture. This trend creates a retro or vintage feel, which you can develop as a theme for your kitchen, starting with the backsplash.
#7. Wallpaper Backsplashes
Wallpaper has always been a no-no for kitchens, with the steam, splashes, and smells of cooking abound. However, the advent of heat and moisture-resistant, washable wallpaper means you have a surprising option for backsplashes.
This choice is less permanent than stone or ceramic tiles, so you can enjoy a design change without the commitment. Experiment with an Art Deco or Sixties print for a whimsical backsplash. Seal the wallpaper with a layer of water-based matt varnish for extra protection.
Extend your wallpaper backsplash across the kitchen, whether behind open shelving or across an entire wall. Custom wallpaper is personal, will complement your existing decor, and fills a minimalist kitchen with character. And they are one of the budget friendly ways to update your kitchen without remodeling.
#8. Patterned Tile Backsplashes
This season’s tile backsplashes are retro, yes. But we’re not bringing back the tiles with twee florals or bunches of fruit that dominated kitchen backsplashes for years. Steer clear, too, of subway and herringbone tiles.
Instead, choose retro-style tiles with a contemporary twist that add a glorious splash of color.
Art Deco-inspired geometric tiles are another option if you prefer more muted shades.
Go for Sixties organic designs for more recent retro vibes. Green is one of the newest interior shades, drawing on nature’s endless bounty of inspiration. Add plants to your kitchen to echo the tiles.
A playful patchwork-tiled backsplash is an easy way to add color to an all-white kitchen – and 2023’s kitchens are all about color. Whimsical kitchens are replacing stark, sterile spaces, as the new (old) trend is to socialize with the chef in the kitchen, drawing in family and friends.
Patterned tiles are perfect for cottage or rustic aesthetics. A blue-and-white Delft-inspired backsplash adds vintage charm. Source tiles from a local pottery and make a feature of their uniquely imperfect edges and hand-painted patterns. Pairing handcrafted tiles with roughly plastered walls is all part of the new aesthetic.
Reusing tiles or using up scraps of tiles is both sustainable and whimsical. Backsplashes need not go far up the wall – the edge is a feature.
Even flawed and tiles of different shapes, colors, and sizes are usable, following the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, finding beauty in imperfection.
#9. Terrazzo Backsplash
Terrazzo is also making a reappearance in kitchens. This eco-friendly, versatile product reuses building scraps, like tile, glass, and marble chips, so each tile is unique. Choose a color to match your kitchen, and add crazy paving for a homely, retro floor.
Color
The all-white kitchen doesn’t work with trends towards sustainable, natural materials and the nostalgic family vibe. Instead, kitchens are embracing all shades of color.
#10. Green
Whether it’s the bright color of spring leaves or the dusty texture of sage, green is moving into our homes. You’ll see green cabinets, green walls, and green curtains. And, of course, green backsplashes.
Green works well with other trends, particularly vintage-look kitchens with wallpaper.
#11. Warm Colors
Spicy shades of red, yellow, and orange are filling kitchens with Mediterranean flair and warmth. Earthy textures work well with this color trend, making rough stone backsplashes or terracotta tiles good options.
#12. Black
With beautiful slate, marble, and obsidian stone backsplashes, black kitchens are in. Let their dark warmth cocoon you when nurturing a roast or simmering a soup.
Final Thoughts
While you may spend more time selecting kitchen fittings like taps or a new refrigerator, backsplashes are a great way to add color and interest.
This year’s trends include using sustainable materials, often to create dramatic statement backsplashes out of enormous stone slabs. Retro and vintage tiles and wallpaper are also trending, with the use of terrazzo revived.
