Five Tips to Choosing the Right Back-splash

Kitchen back-splash with quartz counter-top

One of our most common questions we get from customers walking through our door for the first time is “do you sell back-splash tile here”?  The easy answer is we do!  The difficult part for a customer though is often finding the perfect tile for their kitchen.

Besides functionality, your kitchen back-splash tile will usually serves one of two purposes:

-          Adding personality to your kitchen by creating a focal point

-          Serving it’s surroundings by drawing the attention to the cabinets and counter top

So how do you figure out what back-splash is right for your kitchen and for you?  Here are 5 tips to choosing the right one!

1.       Determine your personal style.  Do you like keeping up with the latest trends, or do you prefer a more traditional timeless look?  Design tools like Houzz and Pinterest offer you endless pictures of back splash combinations to browse through. Take notes of what appeals to you and what does not.

2.       Your kitchen will dictate your back-splash. It is important for all aspects of the kitchen to work in harmony. Bring a sample of your counter-top, flooring and cabinet colour along with you when visiting suppliers

3.       Play with textures. People often consider colour and pattern when picking out a back-splash while forgetting to consider texture.  If you have a shiny counter top and satin finish cabinet doors, considering a tumbled or matte finish back splash to offset the polished finishes with a surface that is coarse.

4.       A busy counter-top needs a simple back-splash.  With beautiful natural stones being a popular counter-top choice, it’s important to pick a back splash that highlights the stone, not take away from it

5.       Consider Maintenance. How much maintenance are you willing to handle?  Natural stones must be sealed periodically. Grout can be prone to staining. Discuss with your sales person the best choice of material for you and your lifestyle.

Remember, you aren’t just picking a back-splash, you are adding to the overall look of your kitchen. All the materials need to work together to contribute to the overall look you are trying achieve.  At Tops to Floors your sales person is there to help you pick out the best back-splash tile for your kitchen.