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full backsplash: tile or granite? love it or hate it?

13 years ago

Hi,

I am planning a remodel and can't decide if I want tile backsplash or granite backsplash. I love the look of a travertine design backsplash but is wondering if it would be hard to maintain and or clean the area behind the stove? Will the grout become darken over time in that area?

Do you find it difficult to clean the grease off even if they are sealed? Do you regret putting tile on and wish you had gotten full granite backsplash instead?

Why do you love it or hate it?

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Comments (5)

ccoombs1
13 years ago
I have a full travertine backsplash and I really love it. I have no regrets at all. It's tumbled, so it's a little glossy but not as much as granite is. It's easy to keep clean. I would have loved a full granite backsplash but it was not in my budget and they didn't have enough matching slabs to do it anyway. But given a choice, I could have loved it. A full granite back splash can be VERY dramatic though, so you will have an entirely different look than the calmness of travertine.
shannonplus2
13 years ago
Do both! I have a tile backsplash, which I love. Except for the tile behind the range. The grout there gets grease splatters (and I have a powerful hood exhaust) or tomato splatters. I have to take a toothbrush with Oxyclean to get that out. If I had to do it again, I would have tile backsplash everywhere, but do a granite slab just behind the range. Several on this forum have done that, and it always looks great. One that I love is Daki's Kitchen, which I will link below. Of course, you don't have to be as elaborate as Daki's granite slab, with its wood surround, but you'll get the idea.

Here is a link that might be useful: Daki's Kitchen with Granite Slab behind Cooktop
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From what I can tell, full tile backsplashes in kitchens are a fairly recent trend (with some exceptions -- see the 1928 bungalow thread -- though that was more a tiled room than a backsplash per se). When your corners aren't quite square, it makes countertop installation easier if there is a 1" thick backsplash to cover any gap between the countertop and wall. That said, I agree with the pp's that the short backsplash currently looks a bit dated. That might change in time. After all, I don't know anyone in real life who has put in a new kitchen with no backsplash at all, but I have seen some beautiful no-backsplash kitchens on this forum... maybe that will be the next trend. [grin] I haven't decided about the backsplash for when/if we redo our kitchen. We are old enough and have been in our house long enough to take the long view, so probably we will do something that's either relatively timeless (i.e. white tile) or easily changed.
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We also have a wine cellar Crystal so I tend to stand and look at the view and drink wine :oP That's the cartoon version of our view, but if you look at the pic with the stove, on the right is the side of that window and you can see it's pretty much the same view. We're about three stories up above the lake, but the house is right on the lake (it's a five level townhouse). We have that view from two sides of the place. That view is really how I got myself into this remodel mess LOL The place was a vintage cheap 1980's townhouse...and I'm turning it into something else I hope..just because of that stupid view we HAD to have! So this thread now comes into play as we continue...I'm thinking of doing a full marble backsplash in the bathroom after seeing a couple of them here. Some of the lovely curved transitions from short backsplash to high are pretty fabulous.
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I can't tell you, GW community, how helpful these responses are! Let me clarify: we've just about decided on a plain, quiet black granite for the perimeter counters. Thus around clean-up sink, cooktop, in baking center: granite. The island will have a prep sink and will be partly butcher block; it's where I'll do all or most of the daily food prep, chopping, etc., really close to cooktop and ovens. So in my blue/white/yellow kitchen I was longing for blue granite for the island, as sort of the showpiece of the kitchen. BUT all the blues that I truly love, even for a relatively small area, are just beyond our budget. Or at least they seem to DH and me to be more costly than is justified. So then we thought about tiling that one area. But all the caveats against it--I am paying close attention to them, believe me. One posting here that intrigues me is the one about butcher block counters. Now THAT is an idea for that island, though I worry about the prep sink but I must go look for that thread with the pix of the bb counters. Actually, DH last night even mentioned that possibility. Then I could put some blue in the back splash tiles which hopefully would satisfy my blue need. And of course, I will continue looking for an affordable blue granite. We have been to stone yards in a big city nearby and to the ONE here in our local community. Found blues in the big city, but too pricey. Thanks for great, great and most helpful responses! Ali
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Gray would never go with that stone and those cabinets. The aqua really doesn't work either. You'd need to paint the cabinets, or change the counters to go with all of those cold tones. Your bones are warm tones. You need warm toned choices. Look at removing the 4" splash and going with a warm cream tile. Maybe an interesting shape, since the stone is so regular in appearance. You could do a warm green with lots of gray tones in it for the wall, or take that turquoise and add more green and gray to it, to a more teal gray color.
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susanka
13 years ago
We really like our travertine backsplash. Urethane grout (hard to install, be sure your installer knows what he's doing) keeps it looking great even behind the range.(Don't look at the canisters; I'm planning to replace them with something more contemporary.)
pinch_me
13 years ago
On the back cover of Old House Journal this month is a full color ad for Crownpoint cabinets. Guess what's missing........backsplash. None. Just that 3 or 4 inch piece that matches the counter. Paint the rest of the way. Thank goodness I decided not to backsplash:-) It would have been SO 2010!
doraville
13 years ago
The backsplash is the hardest decision to make and an important one. I think it is the one decision that most folks make a mistake on. So think about it. If you are not sure wait. I don't think I would do a short piece, but maybe one about 8" or a full backsplash. Personally, I don't like the same backsplash as the countertop, but many folks do like.

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