Feature article
Four Stunning Splashback Ideas to Modernise Your Kitchen
Explore four stunning splashback ideas to modernise your kitchen with stylish and functional design options.
27 June 2024
Most design experts agree, we should look at remodelling our kitchens every 10–15 years. One of the obvious reasons for this is that our kitchens are the hardest working rooms in our homes and general wear and tear can definitely take its toll over that time.
Another, more aesthetic reason, is that tastes can change markedly over the same period of time and what was ‘de rigueur’ one decade will definitely not be the next. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should completely gut your kitchen every single time you want to freshen up the look.
Simple cosmetic changes may be enough to give your kitchen the zhuzh it needs. New cabinet faces and hardware will really go a long way to achieving an updated look. As will giving your splashback a refresh.
Defining the focal point of your kitchen
As with any interior design scheme, each room should have a focal point that draws the eye and cements the design. In the kitchen, that focal point is typically the splashback. Your splashback performs a pretty major function — to protect the walls within the cooking zone of your kitchen from heat, moisture and spills — but that doesn’t mean it can’t look good doing so.
Four kitchen splashback ideas for the modern home
1. Freemans Bay Kitchen by Shane George
Traditionally, tiles are the ‘go to’ material for splashbacks and they continue to be a popular choice. With advances in manufacturing, your choice for tiling options has grown exponentially.
When it comes to choosing the right tile for your design scheme, size really doesn’t matter. Finger tiles are proving popular at the moment and can be laid either vertically or horizontally. Available in a wide variety of colours and styles, finger tiles may be small but they provide a big impact.
At the other end of the scale are large-format porcelain tiles, which can be as large as 1600x3200mm. As well as providing a seamless look, large-format tiles can be printed in just about any pattern you can think of, giving them immense flexibility in terms of design.
These Clemantine B&W tiles from Ceramica Fioranese play up the 1970s architecture of this Auckland home, in this kitchen by Shane George, Kitchens by Design.
2. A Relaxed, High End Holiday Home Kitchen Design by Bossley Architects
Glass is a very practical choice when it comes to kitchen splashbacks because it’s non-porous and easy to keep clean. There are three options to choose from when it comes to glass – mirrored, coloured or textured. Coloured glass can include back-painted splashbacks, which can feature a solid, block colour right through to a screen-printed photograph or even graffiti art. An alternative to glass is a back-painted sheet of acrylic.
Back-painted glass in a solid block colour was chosen for this high-end yet relaxed holiday home by Bossley Architects. Image: Simon Devitt
3. A Family Kitchen Design With Stainless Steel As the Hero
A mainstay of industrial kitchens, stainless steel is another worthy consideration for its ease of maintenance and ability to be produced in large-format sizes. Stainless steel is also recyclable at its end of life and comes in an impressive array of finishes from mirror-like through to bead-blasted. Through a process known as Physical Vapour Deposition, stainless steel kitchen splashbacks can also be colourised to match your design scheme.
The stainless steel cabinetry and splashback have been used in this kitchen as a counterpoint to the large macrocarpa kitchen island, in this design by Bergendy Cooke. Image: Paul McCredie
4. Spirit Island: A Luxe Kitchen of Corian and Brass by Melanie Craig
First manufactured in the late 1960s, man-made solid-surface materials are ideal for kitchen splashbacks as they are extremely durable and are non-porous. Comprising a base material that is mixed with resin for strength, these materials come in a vast array of colours and styles and, because of their malleability during manufacturing, can be formed into a variety of shapes and curves.
Drama and luxury abound in this kitchen by Melanie Craig, which features a Corian splashback as well as benchtops. Image: Jamie Cobel
Choosing a suitable kitchen splashback will ultimately come down to whichever look you’re wanting to achieve. The above materials provide you with the perfect mix of form and function and will be the enviable centrepiece to your kitchen makeover.
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