I wouldn't put wood back there. The arch, the nice design feature of that area will fade....I'd definitely paint it. I can't remember all the other walls of your kitchen, but having something coordinating seems like a great idea.

I like the idea of painting it in a color to make it snap out more. You could do the same with tile. I would choose not to use wood as firsthouse_mp is right you will lose the arched design feature of the hutch. Have you thought about adding a little built in light under the arch in th bottom of the last shelf to light that area. That would really make it pop!

Either paint or tile. I would start with paint - it's easy to change colors or go to tile later. Burgandy might be too close to the wood tile but you can try it since it's such a small area. I think you want some contrast to see the arch. White is a bit stark.

Hi, I have a similar wood hutch, althought a stand-alone, and I tiled the backsplash with the same tile as in the rest of my kitchen. I was going to use beadboard on the back but I thought it would be too much wood. Here's a pic:

{{!gwi}}

It really depends on the look you're going for. If you want it to look like a real hutch, you should install the wood back. Paint or a backsplash will make it look like the rest of the kitchen cabinets. Our wall isn't as wide as yours, but I really like the wood back on our hutch. We did the same in the mudroom.

rjr220, we are in the planning stage for a very similar wall unit.
What are your dimensions? What wood and finish?

My plans are to use back splash tile. I see the need to breakup all the wood and add some color.

I like the idea of wainscoting like in the picture at 9:50 (cheri127).

Mine is not a hutch, but area does involve a lot of wood. We went with beadboard.

I vote for the paint. I suspect that the piece will have a different function from the rest of the kitchen and it would be good to let it seem more like a furniture piece even if it obviously is not.

If that tile is an echo of other backsplash tile in the room, this piece just becomes a part of the larger kitchen and loses some of its distinction. Paint is good here! And yes, the arch is more prominent and logical with the paint.

Thanks to all for you input -- the beadboard is an interesting concept . . .

Wizardnm; the wood is birch, the stain is something the cabinet maker calls "wild cherry". I have 8 ft ceilings: the cab is 48 inches wide, the height of the base is 31.5", and there is 16.5" between the countertop and base of the hutch. I think this was a miscommunication b/t me and the cabinet maker -- I told him 18", but I think he did 18" without the counter. Oh, well -- I am not going to fuss at that. I asked for wide edges coming down from the top arch, as the electrician is going to put plugmold on each side -- this is where the phone and cell phones will be plugged in -- it's a mini message center as well.

Once again, thanks to all. Electrician comes this week -- let there be light! Then paint swatches go on the wall -- hopefully move stuff back in on Tuesday. Demo on 4/18, move back in 5/18 -- not bad. Not done, but functional.

Thanks, rjr. I like your idea with the plug mold. The whole set up looks awesome.

So the whole run is about 11 ft.? I've got about 11'9" to work with and I will be doing my fridg in the same place as yours. Your picture really helps. I'm not sure of my wood yet, either birch or maple.

Wizard;

If this helps, here is the elevation of that wall. The only change I made was to increase the frig opening by 2 inches and decrease the pantry by 2 inches. BTW, the pantry is 15" deep (thank's to GW folk), the hutch bottom is 15", and the top is 12" deep.

{{!gwi}}