A Buyer’s Guide To Kitchen Backsplashes For Your Next Renovation Project

We all want the perfect home. When the time comes to finally start renovating some areas of the house, it’s understandable that you’d want the best of what you can do without compromising design, personal style, quality, and your budget. When renovating or remodeling a kitchen, backsplashes are now a popular inclusion because they can be the focal point of the area rather than just protecting your wall from splatters and splashes. Here’s a guide to kitchen backsplashes for your next renovation project:

1. Choose the best materials

There are various materials for kitchen backsplashes that differ according to how they’re installed and their costs. Choose materials that don’t go out of style after several months. You have to be up to the challenge of maintaining your backsplash regardless of the material you end up choosing. Here are a few of the popular ones:

• Natural stone – Natural stone could be marble, limestone, quartz, granite, sandstone, slate and onyx, among others. While they can be more expensive than ceramic or other materials, it creates a timeless and elegant look for your kitchen. Euro Marble provides quality stones for your kitchen backsplash needs.
• Metal – Metal backsplash materials can vary from stainless steel, copper, and tin. They vary greatly but to give ideas:
• Stainless steel – cleans easily, won’t rust or corrode, scratch-resistant.
• Copper – adds a rustic vibe to your space, easy to clean, needs to be polished regularly, may damage easily.
• Tin – less expensive than stainless steel, heat-resistant, and may dent because of how soft the metal is.
• Glass – Glass is also a durable and timeless material for backsplashes.
• Ceramic and Porcelain – Ceramic is popular for its durability and low-maintenance. Porcelain can be a good choice if you like to have mosaic tiles.
• Wood – Wood backsplashes are recently on the rise because of the variance in texture and its ability to complement numerous design schemes.

2. Mix and match, and add some magic too

Having a lot of tiles to choose from can make it challenging to decide which to use. While you can definitely mix and match textures and patterns, there’s a formula to ensure your backsplash isn’t too dull, or too eccentric: your floor, countertop, and backsplash must work together. Don’t treat your backsplash as a distinct entity in your space. If you can pull off mixing up patterns and textures in your backsplash while considering the countertop and the floor, you create a balanced look for your kitchen. You can seek professional help if you aren’t sure how to proceed. Don’t worry, renovating or remodeling your kitchen will surely pay-off, especially if you’re open to the idea of putting your house on the market in the coming years.

3. Be conscious of your budget

You’ve probably heard stories of how your friends told you how expensive their kitchen renovation cost them and you’re worried that you’re going to break the bank. Being budget savvy in your kitchen renovation, including your backsplash choice, is surely possible, and many homeowners have been able to do so without costing them an arm and a leg. Here are budget-friendly suggestions:

• Avoid trendy tiles. While they might be in demand now, they could go out of style very quickly. Trendy tiles tend to be more expensive than classic-looking ones.
• Seek professional help for installation. You can definitely install your kitchen backsplash tiles on your own, and many opt to do so. However, if you aren’t familiar with the material of the process, then it’s better to hire someone than do it wrong. An entirely new backsplash due to the faulty installation will cost you more.
• Be flexible. What are you willing to compromise if you can’t get an exact texture or tile size? Think of what your priorities are and decide based on that.

4. Be wary of common mistakes

Not all of us are kitchen experts and we could be making mistakes. However, doing so may cost us more or delay our timelines. Common backsplash mistakes are:

• Not asking if the tile you want is available beforehand. A lot of factors can influence how much your chosen supplier stocks the tile you want. To avoid extra costs or to be able to stick to a budget projection, reach out to them before you begin renovating.
• Having a primary tile thinner than the decorative tile. Your primary tiles need to be thicker to avoid spending more money on trying to get them even with the few decorative tiles.
• Choosing appearance more than functionality. Don’t forget that the primary purpose of your backsplash is to protect your wall from steam, grease, fingerprints, etc. Don’t opt for a decorative backsplash if you won’t be willing to maintain it regularly because it absorbs all the cooking dirt.
• Ditching the backsplash entirely. You might think this is all too difficult and opt to leave the backsplash out. Remember that it’s not just to make your kitchen look pretty, it keeps your kitchen wall clean and protects your walls. A backsplash is definitely cheaper than having to replace nearby kitchen walls.

Renovating your kitchen is both an exciting but challenging task. You can stick to plain kitchen backsplashes or decide to get creative. Whatever you end up choosing, make sure that you won’t forget the tips we’ve included in this guide.