You sound like you are having the same discussion about backsplashes as me. I am trying to make that decision myself. A friend of mine who has the 4 inch BS said that it is too "standard contractor" looking. She said she did it because she hadn't thought that there might be other choices and she regrets her decision. I am looking forward to reading your other responses.

I absolutely HATE my 4" backsplash. The wall between the wall cabinet and base cabinet is in orange peel. Sometimes my kids help me cook and bake. If I use my mixer with the kids' help, I run into the problem of them having the mixer food fly on the wall. If I'm cooking something like hamburgers, the grease will splash onto the wall. No matter how much I clean the wall it still has grease spots. I only wish that the previous owners would have put in a backsplash that was easy to clean. I also sometimes splash the wall with water from my pull out spout faucet which has spewed everywhere when the head came out of the pull out line. I think I would just prefer tile than having no backsplash.

I have tile down to my countertops in most of my kitchen, so no 4 inch backsplash. I sooo want to redoo my countertops and backsplash and hopefully I will soon.

The backsplash tiles are the cheap 4x4 white ceramic tiles that you can get at any big box store (builder installed). They have held up pretty well, but the grout is starting to get a bit hard to clean (it looks kind of dingy) and the silicone between the countertop and the end of the tile is cracked across the whole length of my counter. It doesn't look like there's any water damage there yet (especially behind the sink), but I think it's just a matter of time.

There is one small corner of my kitchen where the builder did put the 4 inch backsplash, probably as an afterthought as it is a separate piece of laminate attached to the counter. I hate that backsplash! It gets dusty and takes up uneccessary space.

I also think the no backsplash look is a much cleaner, neater look.

Hi imlebby..

My previous kitchen had a 4 inch matching backsplash, which was my Corian counter. It was not too exciting...as you can see in the picture...(I'm all about visuals.) I guess you could say it held up to water wear...

Now I have a marble tiled backsplash that I find visually appealing. I suppose behind my faucet there may be an issue with water after some time. I dry that area after use, usually...so I hope that the caulking will last long. I believe that it can be re-caulked down the road. Everywhere else in the kitchen is bone dry. Here's the area that is prone to water wear...

If you like the looks of a matching backsplash, then by all means, go for it...I just don't think you need to base that choice on what will hold up better. I think that both ways are fine.

KA:)

I put up tile about 6 months after our kitchen was finished, becuase I couldn't decide what to do. It has been 7 years now and it has held up great. We ended up using some left over 6 inch floor tile and some expensive edge tile that dresses it up. I would take a picture, but the kitchen is a mess.

I just put in granite countertops and did a 3 inch granite backsplash. The 4-5 inch backsplashes took away from the look of the countertop, in my opinion. With the 3 inch backsplash, I can leave it and paint above it or someday put tile above it. A friend is having a 2 inch granite backsplash done. The 2-3 inch granite backsplashes just don't seem so overpowering to me.

I really disliked having that 4" backsplash. It was a good place to collect dust. Then I'd wipe it with my sponge and wipe the dust into the paint.

Mine looks a lot like kitchenaddicts. I love it - i can always recaulk if it separates at all (and it will here in earthquake country).

My counter is white Corian and the backsplash is white Corian too - from the bottom of the cabinets to the counter. I am fond of cooking big pots of stuff (many are red) and that Corian has saved me hundreds of times from stuff bubbling out of pots . My last "disaster" was over the holidays. I was in a rush and tried to deglaze a pan that was too hot. Grease spattered everywhere. A little comet on a sponge - everything was clean again. Robyn

12 years ago we put in Corian counters with white tile up to the cabinets. It's only now looking like the caulk could stand to be redone. The look has been great. In my last house I had the laminate counters and backsplash, caulked at the top. That area always grabbed dirt off the sponge and looked yucky. Never liked it at all. This time it'll be granite and tile. Worked for me. Jusy my take on it. Choose what speaks to you.