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Please reassure me re: tile behind the range

14 years ago

Perhaps I have traumatic grout syndrome, but after living with my current kitchen, which has 2" tile on all the counters and 3" tile on the floor, I have been anxious about deciding what to put behind the range in my upcoming remodel. I never feel like my floor or counter look really clean (it is gray grout, thank heavens, not white, but still..) and am worried that splashes from things like tomato sauce will make for a funky looking wall. Not exactly the focal point I want! Yet I love the look of tile behind the range and it seems to be a popular choice. All of my inspiration photos show tile behind the range.

Could some of you who have lived with tile behind the range or cooktop for a while reassure me that it can stay looking nice, or give me pointers for choices that are likely to hold up best? I'm thinking a simple look here...but are light colored subway tiles inviting exactly the problem I want to avoid?

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Comments (2)

Fori
14 years ago
Modern grout is great. Doesn't stain. Tiles themselves are easy clean. Don't be afraid!
rhome410
14 years ago
I would think light colored subways, especially glossy ones, would be quite easy to clean, being so smooth and flat, and with the glaze to protect the tile. I am an easy-clean fan, too, and made probably one of the 'worst' choices in terms of cleaning...Rough-faced slate (or quartzite). Anyway, it's rugged and light colored, and likely somewhat porous...and has large grout lines. But I sealed it and it's not that much trouble to wipe down. It helps that we bumped out our rangetop a few inches, but we're not careful about it, and it's a big, Wolf gas rangetop, so if a backsplash is going to take a beating, it should be in this situation. It's been up about 20 months and isn't discolored or stained. I think you'll be fine!

If something is seen in magazines/inspiration kitchens that is really a poor functional idea, people on this forum will talk about it, but not do it for themselves. The fact that so many have tile backsplashes here says to me that it's a workable idea.

If it were me, I'd stick to a grout color that will take some spotting without showing it off (gray or tan instead of white)...Just in case. :-)
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