Five Tiled Splashback Ideas For Your Kitchen Or Laundry

The splashback in a kitchen or laundry can completely transform the space's overall design. Being at eye level, the splashback is often one of the first things you notice and can set the scene for the rest of the design. Tiles are an incredibly popular choice for splashbacks due to the huge variety of options available for size, shape, colour and finish. Depending on the tiles chosen, they can also be a more budget-friendly option.

To get you thinking about splashback ideas, we have put together 5 types of tiles that can be used for your kitchen or laundry:

1 | Subway tiles

Subway tiles are a classic choice that never goes out of style. Subway tiles come in various rectangle sizes as well as many colours and finishes, allowing you to choose a style that suits your kitchen/laundry's aesthetic. There are also many ways to lay a subway tile from a timeless brick bond pattern, a stacked lay for a more contemporary look or in a herringbone or basket weave pattern for something a bit more interesting.

2 | Square tiles

Similar to subway tiles, square tiles are also very popular due to the large range of colours and finishes. Square tiles are usually between 100x100mm and 150x150mm, although smaller squares can be found in mosaic form. They can also be laid in a stacked or brick bond pattern or diagonally for more of a diamond-shaped pattern. If you're after more of a retro look, you can even combine two colours for a check pattern look.

3 | Mosaics

Mosaics are a great choice as their smaller size allows you to see the full effect of the mosaic pattern in a splashback. Mosaics can be made from many materials including glass, metal, tile and stone. They also come in a huge range of patterns such as squares, stacked rectangles (called kit-kat tiles), herringbone rectangles, hexagons, circles (called penny mosaics) and fish scales. Because of their smaller size, you will get a lot more grout than with other tile types. This means that extra care needs to be taken with cleaning, and also means that extra consideration needs to be taken when selecting the grout colour as this can change the way the mosaic tile looks.

4 | Large format tiles

Large format tiles (300x600, 600x600 or 1200x600) usually give more of a clean and contemporary look. You can select a fairly plain tile for a very minimal aesthetic or choose a stone, concrete or terrazzo pattern to add some interesting natural texture to the space. It's important to keep in mind that splashbacks will vary between 603mm & 650mm depending on appliance requirements, so a 600mm high tile will require a small grout/silicon line at the top and bottom of the tile or potentially a small piece of tile at the top.

5 | Patterned tiles

If you love pattern and colour but want to avoid the larger grout areas of mosaic and subway tiles, then a patterned tile could be the answer. These types of tiles are usually called encaustic-look tiles, due to the way they were originally made. They come in a range of classic patterns in both neutral and colourful combinations.