How to Choose a Kitchen Backsplash That Works With Your Countertops

Choose your countertop first, then pick a backsplash that lets it lead. A busy granite with lots of movement needs a quiet backsplash: a solid tile in one color pulled from the stone. A calm countertop, like a solid or lightly veined quartz, can handle a backsplash with more pattern or texture. For most Yakima kitchens, glazed ceramic or porcelain tile is the easiest backsplash to live with, because grease and splatter wipe right off.

Floors, countertops and backsplashes are what we do, and the backsplash is usually the last decision in a remodel.

Should you choose the countertop or the backsplash first?

The countertop. A slab is the bigger investment and the harder thing to change, and every slab has its own color and movement. Tile comes in far more colors and shapes than any stone line, so it is easier to find a tile for your slab than the reverse.

Once the slab is picked, bring a sample or a clear photo of it when you shop for tile. Holding the two side by side settles more questions than an hour of scrolling. If you are still deciding on the stone itself, start with our guide on how to choose a countertop color.

What backsplash goes with busy granite?

A simple backsplash in one color pulled from the stone. Heavy speckling and veining already do a lot of visual work, and a patterned tile fights for attention. Look for the quietest color in the slab, often a cream, gray or soft tan, and match a solid tile to it. Let the shape add the interest:

• Subway tile in a classic offset or a stacked layout keeps lines clean.
• Large format tile means fewer grout lines and a calmer wall.
• A subtle texture or gloss catches light without adding pattern.

What backsplash goes with quartz?

Solid and lightly veined quartz gives you room to use pattern, color or texture on the wall. Patterned tile, herringbone, handmade-look tile or a deeper color all work well. Marble-look quartz with bold veining is the exception. Treat it like busy granite and keep the tile quiet, or consider a matching stone backsplash. Running the same material up the wall gives the cleanest, most continuous look. For a deeper comparison of the two stones, read our granite vs quartz guide.

What is the best backsplash material for a kitchen?

Glazed ceramic or porcelain tile is the best all-around choice. It does not absorb grease or water and it comes in nearly every color, size and shape. Here is how the common options compare:

• Ceramic and porcelain tile is easy to clean and the most practical choice behind a cooktop.
• Glass tile brightens a dark kitchen by reflecting light, but it shows water spots and fingerprints.
• Natural stone tile is one of a kind, but it is porous, so it needs sealing to resist stains from cooking oil and sauce.
• Stone slab is the same granite or quartz as your countertop running up the wall. No grout lines at all makes it the easiest surface to wipe down.

How high should a kitchen backsplash go?

Most kitchens run the backsplash from the countertop up to the bottom of the upper cabinets. A short 4-inch stone splash is the budget option and protects the wall where water hits, but it leaves painted drywall exposed above, where splatter tends to land.

Behind the range, consider taking the tile all the way up to the hood. That wall takes the most grease and heat, and it makes a natural focal point. On walls with open shelving instead of upper cabinets, tile to the ceiling or to a clean stopping line, like the top of a window.

Does grout color matter?

Yes, it changes the whole look. Grout that matches the tile makes the wall read as one calm surface. Contrasting grout outlines every tile, which suits subway and herringbone layouts but makes busy walls feel busier. Bright white grout behind a range darkens over time, while grout a shade or two darker than the tile hides cooking splatter better.

How to choose a backsplash, step by step

• Finalize the countertop and get a sample or photo of the slab.
• Decide who leads: busy stone, quiet tile.
• Pull one tone from the slab, or a neutral next to it.
• Choose a shape and layout.
• Pick the grout, a shade darker near the range.
• Check it in your own light, morning and evening.

Why it helps to have one team do both

The countertop goes in first so the backsplash can sit directly on top of it with a clean joint, so the two jobs depend on each other. With different companies, you coordinate two schedules and hope the tile setter's start date lines up with the countertop install.

We fabricate granite and quartz in our own shop, and every installer works directly for our store. We never use subcontractors, so it is one company, one schedule and one person to call. It starts with a free in-home measurement.

The honest part: what a backsplash cannot fix

A backsplash can tie a kitchen together, but it cannot rescue a countertop that clashes with the cabinets. If they already fight, the right backsplash is usually the plainest one. Adding a bold tile to bridge the gap almost always makes it worse. Trends are the other trap, since a tile you love on a social media feed this year can date a kitchen quickly. If you want something bold, put it behind the range and keep the rest simple.

See tile and stone side by side in Yakima

The fastest way to choose is to hold your countertop sample next to real tile. Visit our showroom at 713 South 1st Street in Yakima, Monday through Friday 9 to 5 and Saturday 9 to 4, or call to schedule a free in-home measurement. We install backsplashes, countertops and floors across the Yakima Valley and Ellensburg.