Kitchen Tile Backsplash Ideas for the Ultimate Accent Wall

Ready for a kitchen refresh? You don’t have to put a sledgehammer through the wall to give your space a new look. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of adding?tiles?and a fresh coat of paint, et voilà! And when it comes to home improvements, nothing makes a?kitchen?stand out quite like a backsplash. Whether it’s a cheeky?patterned inlay, an unexpected?metallic backdrop, antique ceramic gems, or classic white subway tiles, the perfect kitchen backsplash can be the final touch that brings your design scheme together for the?cooking space of your dreams.

“Tile is design eye candy,” says Anna Lood with?Clay Imports. “It is such an effective way to bring texture, movement, and life into a space.” When selecting the right tile for your kitchen, Lood recommends thinking outside the box, while staying true to the space. “Why not take it all the way up to the ceiling or create an unexpected statement wall? One-of-a-kind patterns, clever layouts, or playful shapes are an easy way to create an intriguing ‘stop and stare’ moment.”

Wherever you fall on the chef spectrum (no judgment, HelloFreshers), here are 80 inspiring ideas from designer spaces that will make the hub of the home the heart of your home.

BRUTALIST BACKSPLASH

The cooking space of this low-key?Toronto home?features a custom backsplash that nearly steals the show. The wall is ornamented in Brutalist-inspired tiles by local artist Catherine Carroll of?Black Rock Tile Studio. A shelf, illuminated by vintage Charlotte Perriand sconces, showcases a bevy of vintage vessels. Who needs wall space for art?

CHIPPED CHARM

Designer?Jana Roach?can’t stop gushing about her four-inch?Riad Snow zellige?tile backsplash—and we can’t blame her when it looks this good. “I adore zellige tile,” she tells ELLE DECOR. “It transcends trends and decor styles. It has the best texture, and the natural variation in color adds so much depth and character to my kitchen.” If you look closely, no tiles are exactly the same, with their individual pits, cracks, and chipped edges. For Roach, that adds to its charm. “It gives my space a one-of-a-kind, handmade feel that perfectly complements my preference for old furniture and natural materials.”

STREAMLINED STYLE

Interior designer?Madison Lussier?had her work cut out for her before she renovated the kitchen in this?Santa Barbara, California, home. “Originally there was a very heavy-feeling hood with molding that had carved grapevines in it, and the cream crackle subway tile that’s in the rest of the kitchen was behind the range as well,” Lussier explains. She replaced the hood with a much simpler look that matched the cabinetry and framed it all out in a more rustic wood. “I really love the way it turned out,” she adds. “I think it complements and draws attention to the stunning LaCanche range so much more than the original design.”

CHECKERED BACKSPLASH

In this large kitchen, design duo?Jesse Carrier and Mara Miller?kept the cabinet color neutral to soften the graphic, checkered zellige backsplash. “We selected this hand-glazed, terra-cotta backsplash because it added visual interest and charm,” says Miller. “It’s playful yet historically appropriate to this 1920s Tudor.”

AGED FINISHES

When selecting the tile for her kitchen renovation project,?Farmer’s Daughter Interiors’?Kelsey Grose?says these?aged gray porcelain tiles?caught her eye. “I loved the variation in this particular tile and that it could handle being installed all the way to the ceiling without feeling too boring or too busy,” she explains. “A stacked layout brings a subtle midcentury feel to this farmhouse kitchen, and the rough-around-the-edges feel gave the room that extra bit of warmth I was looking for.” Paired with her own?shop’s?light fixture, this wall adds a modern, almost urban touch to a rustic farmhouse-style space.

PENNY FOR YOUR WALL

Sometimes the best design ideas evolve from the smallest, most mundane items. In this?Manhattan crash pad, designer Ariel Ashe and architect Reinaldo Leandro had the idea to create a counter-to-ceiling backsplash made entirely of round white pennies. “I was pretty nervous, because I really am not that into round things,” the client says, laughing. “But they were completely right.” The resulting look will make anyone second-guess the worth of a simple penny.

TEXTURED TOUCH

The subtle, organic texture of these rectangular tiles adds just the right touch to this Denver basement renovation. “I instantly fell in love with the natural undulation and imperfections in this tile that give it a handmade appearance,” designer?Jenny Murphy?says. She was aiming to give the basement bar a simple and contemporary look, while also adding an element that creates visual interest. “This tile was exactly what we were looking for,” she adds. “And it complements the soapstone countertops gracefully without detracting from them.”

BESPOKE BACKSPLASH

This geometric backsplash moment is giving us all the reasons to depart from the standard lines of classic subway tilesDesigners Jess and Jonathan Taylor of?Taylor + Taylor?took the possibilities of custom tiles to a whole other level. “Working in Los Angeles, we often have to find ways to blend old and new,” Jonathan explains. “In this home we were looking for ways to play with pattern and variation in an old Hollywood home. This tile maker offered these custom tiles such that we could specify every detail of color and line, which offered us a path to this playful but sophisticated backsplash.

GAINFUL GROUT

The kitchen in this Hamptons home is a lesson in the power of contrasts, created by this ingenius hack: Use a contrasting tile grout to create a juxtaposition between the subway tiles and grout. Here, crisp white subway tiles are bordered by contrasting black grout that makes a statement in all the right ways.