15 Creative Backsplashes Full of Character

A distinct backsplash can bring so much to a kitchen. In addition to its primary function of protecting a wall from kitchen splatters, a backsplash can reinforce a great focal point; add an interesting texture, color or pattern to a minimalist design, and show the character and handiwork of creative homeowners and artisans. Here are 15 great examples from our My Houzz series.

Related: How to Add a Kitchen Backsplash

Pickup-truck style in the basement. Most of Cheryl and Nick Grant’s Boston-area saltbox house has sophisticated transitional style, but its man cave is a place for getting a little rowdy. Accordingly, the backsplash is made of a flea market Ford pickup-truck panel.

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Handcrafted in Haarlem. World travelers Matt Steinglass and Pauline Oosterhof have imported many handmade global goods to their home in the Netherlands, from art to the dining table. It’s fitting that their backsplash has handmade texture and lots of color variation. The tiles’ imperfections are a wonderful contrast to all of the precise lines provided by the counter, appliances, cabinetry and vent hood.

Tiles: Zellige in Blue Ciel, Design Tegels

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Even a grill can use a backsplash sometimes. Terry and Jo Vaughan crafted a unique and colorful mosaic backsplash from broken Fiestaware and other ceramic fragments. Little handles jut out of the mosaic, begging to be touched. The grill sits outside their abode, a former pretzel factory in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania.

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Pegging it in Dallas. Utilitarian pieces rule in the home of interior designer Adrienne Sam and her husband, David. For example, the back of the island is corrugated metal, the cabinet hardware is composed of garage door pulls, and the backsplash is pegboard. The result is like an episode of Top Chef featuring a challenge in a tool shop. (As far as I know, that episode didn’t actually happen, but now that I’ve seen this kitchen, I’d like to submit the idea to Padma and Tom.)

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Tying it all together in Newfoundland. In the home of woodworker Jeff Parsons and his wife, Ellie Brennan, a ceramic mosaic tile backsplash accented with a red-brown glass band picks up on all the colors elsewhere in their stunning kitchen.

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Balancing the budget. Steve and Meg Gardner made careful decisions about where to splurge and where to save in their Toronto kitchen. Ikea cabinets get a lift from marble and Ceasarstone cabinetry, and 3D tiles draw the eye to the backsplash. The white keeps the backsplash from overwhelming the minimalist space.

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Maximizing style in a minimalist space. In minimalist homes, especially those with a very limited material palette, the backsplash packs a huge design punch. In Gino and Mali Torriero’s modernist home in Pennsylvania, a unique glass basket-weave tile stuns. Up close you can see the intricate, subtle pattern.




The backsplash provides the only man-made pattern in sight here. The rest are seen in larger-scale wood grain and concrete.

A lot of us clamored for the source of this tile after a feature about the house appeared on the Houzz homepage. The homeowners obtained it through an Amazon seller, MC Glass, which still has similar tiles in stock.

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Reflection in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Faux pressed-tin tiles add a splash of silver to the kitchen walls in Jen and AJ Migonis’ Massachusetts home. The pattern and style add a throwback touch, while the finish ties in with the modern stainless steel appliances.

Backsplash: 309 Lacquer Finish Steel, Shanko


Zooming out, we can see how effectively the tiles bounce light around the room.

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Taking notes in New South Wales. In Rob and Beth Macdonald’s Australian home, the backsplash is frosted glass. Accentuated with artwork from their daughters, it also serves as a message station. They can scribble notes right on it, whether it’s a grocery list or a telephone message. While this kitchen is the family-friendly version, one can also imagine how well this simple relfective surface would work in a minimalist design.

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Back to the basics in Santa Cruz. California homeowner Scarlett Fiona Reed wasn’t wild about the modern granite backsplash with her more primitive kitchen aesthetic, so she simply covered it up with linen.


Reed also added an antiqued mirror between the countertop and the upper cabinets.

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Pieced together. Homeowner Deborah Call and a ceramicist friend, Susie Ketchum, composed this unique mosaic backsplash in Call’s Dana Point, California, cottage. Mosaic animals enliven the sea-inspired aqua tiles.

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Equestrian-inspired in Oregon. A range of rustic textures gives horse lover Marian Weidow’s Portland kitchen casual character. However, the execution is elegant, like the design you’d see in a beautiful stable. The roughness of the stone backsplash keeps its creamy white tones from being too stark. Meanwhile, copper artisan tiles play off the vent hood and reinforce the area as a focal point.


Weidow’s kitchen designer, Lori Brock, swears the tiles are not hard to keep clean, thanks to the way they are sealed.

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Worth repeating in Portland. This tile so special, it pops up all over the house. Perhaps it’s because Oregon homeowner Stephanie Dyer designed it herself (it’s part of the Topo Collection for Clayhaus Ceramics). While it adds texture and some creamy calm to this kitchen, it also livens up …


… the staircase risers …


… and the fireplace surround. It also makes an appearance in the bathroom.

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Not exactly portion-control size (but everything’s bigger in Texas, right?). Greg and Holly Homer, homeowners and parents, made things playful throughout their Flower Mound, Texas, house, and the kitchen is no exception. Large subway tile exaggerated by a deep beveling is the right backdrop for lively checkerboard and red and white striped patterns.

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A couple gets crafty in a Craftsman. Chelsea and Kiel Mohrman, avid DIYers, tackled their kitchen remodel on their own. Their bright backsplash adds something new and something blue to the eclectic mix in their kitchen. Its simple pattern lends order to the collections on display in the open shelving, and polish to the assemblage of vintage pieces.

Backsplash tile: Hamilton Parker

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My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.

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