Before and After: 6 Kitchens With Geometric Backsplashes
Bold wall tiles add pattern and panache in these remodeled spaces
The wall space between your kitchen countertop and ceiling presents an opportunity to add color, pattern or texture — or all of the above. In these makeovers, pros used repeated geometric tile designs to create kitchen backsplashes that range from subtle to bold and classic to modern. Take a gander to get inspired!
After: The major appliance locations stayed put, but Kandrac and Kole replaced the outdated cabinetry with new, harder-working cabinets. The doors hide divided tray storage over the ovens, trash pullouts next to the sink, storage on both sides of the island, deep drawers for more ergonomic storage and customized inserts for utensils and spices.
Bianco Drift by Caesarstone with a 6-centimeter-thick profile tops the island, giving it a commanding presence. The perimeter counters are the standard 3 centimeters.
The designers also installed new hardwood flooring matched to recently installed hardwood floors in an adjacent room.
Paint: Agreeable Gray (walls), City Loft (cabinets) and Mega Greige (island), Sherwin-Williams
Shop for tile on Houzz
Bianco Drift by Caesarstone with a 6-centimeter-thick profile tops the island, giving it a commanding presence. The perimeter counters are the standard 3 centimeters.
The designers also installed new hardwood flooring matched to recently installed hardwood floors in an adjacent room.
Paint: Agreeable Gray (walls), City Loft (cabinets) and Mega Greige (island), Sherwin-Williams
Shop for tile on Houzz
A marble mosaic tile that extends to the ceiling sets the tone and color palette for the room’s transitional style and echoes the leaded glass transom above the door to the hallway. The cabinets are a light warm gray that reads white in these photos, and the walls are a few shades darker for contrast.
Black, white and brass pendant lights replaced the previous pendants above the island for a sophisticated touch that ties in with the graphic tile and the dark cabinet hardware.
Tile: New Era Carrara long hexagon with Lagos, Soho Studio; cabinet hardware: Ascendra collection, Top Knobs
Read more about this kitchen remodel
Black, white and brass pendant lights replaced the previous pendants above the island for a sophisticated touch that ties in with the graphic tile and the dark cabinet hardware.
Tile: New Era Carrara long hexagon with Lagos, Soho Studio; cabinet hardware: Ascendra collection, Top Knobs
Read more about this kitchen remodel
“After” photos by Olga Soboleva of Rave Photo
2. Petal Power
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two kids
Location: Piedmont, California
Size: 185 square feet (17 square meters)
Designer: Nadja Pentic of Knocknock
Before: This California kitchen’s cabinets were literally falling off their hinges, and its vintage stove was starting to fail. An existing beam and fireplace, partially visible at left, couldn’t be moved, so designer Nadja Pentic, whom the homeowners hired to make over the kitchen, had to work within the room’s existing footprint.
2. Petal Power
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two kids
Location: Piedmont, California
Size: 185 square feet (17 square meters)
Designer: Nadja Pentic of Knocknock
Before: This California kitchen’s cabinets were literally falling off their hinges, and its vintage stove was starting to fail. An existing beam and fireplace, partially visible at left, couldn’t be moved, so designer Nadja Pentic, whom the homeowners hired to make over the kitchen, had to work within the room’s existing footprint.
After: Pentic enlarged the window over the sink to let in more light and added recessed LED ceiling lights. The walls, ceiling and trim were painted Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore, and the perimeter cabinets were topped with marble-look quartz.
Channeling midcentury modern style, Pentic paired flat-panel white upper cabinets with lower cabinets and drawers in a walnut veneer. She preserved the peninsula’s dark gray quartz countertop, which provides contrast to all the white.
Channeling midcentury modern style, Pentic paired flat-panel white upper cabinets with lower cabinets and drawers in a walnut veneer. She preserved the peninsula’s dark gray quartz countertop, which provides contrast to all the white.
Pentic replaced the old stove with a 36-inch stainless steel freestanding dual-fuel range and wall-mounted hood, and behind it she installed a backsplash of polished Calacatta Gold marble and rich black polished Nero Marquina marble in a modern geometric floral pattern.
“This backsplash was a huge project,” Pentic says. “The tiles came cut along the petals, which meant we had to painstakingly match them. Our contractor built a template of the wall in his garage to make sure everything would fit.”
The backsplash’s black, white and gray tones tie together the kitchen’s contrasting finishes.
Backsplash tile: Acadie Nero Marquina and Calacatta marble, Ivy Hill Tile
Read more about this kitchen remodel
“This backsplash was a huge project,” Pentic says. “The tiles came cut along the petals, which meant we had to painstakingly match them. Our contractor built a template of the wall in his garage to make sure everything would fit.”
The backsplash’s black, white and gray tones tie together the kitchen’s contrasting finishes.
Backsplash tile: Acadie Nero Marquina and Calacatta marble, Ivy Hill Tile
Read more about this kitchen remodel
Photos by Ryan Theede Photography
3. Mid Mod Masterpiece
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two dogs
Location: Hendersonville, North Carolina
Size: 700 square feet (65 square meters)
Designers: Dawn Driskill and Betsy Edwards of The Design Gallery
Contractor: Chandler Ward of Paramount Building Services
Before: The existing kitchen in this 1990s-era North Carolina Deck House had stylistic roots dating back to the midcentury. But the kitchen’s tile countertop, old range and grooved cabinet doors lacked that cool vibe. And its design failed to maximize incoming light, connections to the rest of the home and views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
3. Mid Mod Masterpiece
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two dogs
Location: Hendersonville, North Carolina
Size: 700 square feet (65 square meters)
Designers: Dawn Driskill and Betsy Edwards of The Design Gallery
Contractor: Chandler Ward of Paramount Building Services
Before: The existing kitchen in this 1990s-era North Carolina Deck House had stylistic roots dating back to the midcentury. But the kitchen’s tile countertop, old range and grooved cabinet doors lacked that cool vibe. And its design failed to maximize incoming light, connections to the rest of the home and views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
After: Designers Dawn Driskill and Betsy Edwards preserved the kitchen’s posts and beams, mahogany windows, tongue-and-groove ceiling and recessed lights on top of the trim moldings, all of which are signature Deck House architectural elements. They also kept the original hardwood floors and the island’s size and location.
But they opened the kitchen up to adjacent rooms and added more streamlined track lighting, alder cabinetry stained to resemble walnut (a wood commonly used in midcentury cabinetry and furniture), quartz countertops in place of the tile, and drawers and cabinets fitted with inserts and pullouts.
But they opened the kitchen up to adjacent rooms and added more streamlined track lighting, alder cabinetry stained to resemble walnut (a wood commonly used in midcentury cabinetry and furniture), quartz countertops in place of the tile, and drawers and cabinets fitted with inserts and pullouts.
They also installed a second prep sink near the wall ovens and a coffee bar at the end of the room, seen here.
A backsplash composed of handmade dimensional ceramic tile with a funky, 1960s-inspired pattern circles the room.
“We kept referring to this house as the Mod Squad house and to this tile as the Mod Squad tile,” Driskill says — a fitting tribute to the home’s architectural heritage.
Backsplash tile: Galactica Mosaic, Walker Zanger
Read more about this kitchen remodel
A backsplash composed of handmade dimensional ceramic tile with a funky, 1960s-inspired pattern circles the room.
“We kept referring to this house as the Mod Squad house and to this tile as the Mod Squad tile,” Driskill says — a fitting tribute to the home’s architectural heritage.
Backsplash tile: Galactica Mosaic, Walker Zanger
Read more about this kitchen remodel
“After” photos by John Merkl Photography
4. Over the Moon
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: San Francisco
Size: 230 square feet (21 square meters)
Designer: Christine Lin of Form + Field
Before: The owners of this San Francisco kitchen had recently upgraded many of their appliances, but they disliked their kitchen’s generic style. Its U-shaped layout was also problematic because it closed the space off from the dining room on the other side of the oven wall, and the stainless steel refrigerator stuck out, impeding traffic flow.
4. Over the Moon
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: San Francisco
Size: 230 square feet (21 square meters)
Designer: Christine Lin of Form + Field
Before: The owners of this San Francisco kitchen had recently upgraded many of their appliances, but they disliked their kitchen’s generic style. Its U-shaped layout was also problematic because it closed the space off from the dining room on the other side of the oven wall, and the stainless steel refrigerator stuck out, impeding traffic flow.
After: Designer Christine Lin eliminated the wall that held the ovens and for support added a ceiling beam, visible when comparing this image and the previous one, which were taken from the same vantage point. She moved the wall ovens and cooktop to the left wall and added a large island in the center of the new, more open L-shape layout.
She also positioned a new sink directly below the window and relocated the existing dishwasher and refrigerator to its right.
Pendant lights: Woven Solo in Solid Natural, Pigeon Toe Ceramics; wall and ceiling paint: Chantilly Lace, Benjamin Moore
She also positioned a new sink directly below the window and relocated the existing dishwasher and refrigerator to its right.
Pendant lights: Woven Solo in Solid Natural, Pigeon Toe Ceramics; wall and ceiling paint: Chantilly Lace, Benjamin Moore
In addition to improving the room’s flow, Lin gave it a warm, contemporary style and upgraded its stark gray-and-white scheme to a more soothing palette of white, rift-cut white oak and soft blue.
Set in putty-colored grout, ceramic tiles with a ribbed and curved moon design rise above the Blanco Zeus Silestone perimeter countertop.
“[The tiles] give the kitchen a more playful, organic character, and they juxtapose against the straight lines of the cabinetry,” Lin says.
Tile: Modern field tile, Ribbed Moon in Blue Mist, Ann Sacks
Read more about this kitchen remodel
Set in putty-colored grout, ceramic tiles with a ribbed and curved moon design rise above the Blanco Zeus Silestone perimeter countertop.
“[The tiles] give the kitchen a more playful, organic character, and they juxtapose against the straight lines of the cabinetry,” Lin says.
Tile: Modern field tile, Ribbed Moon in Blue Mist, Ann Sacks
Read more about this kitchen remodel
“After” photos by Kristyna Saja of Designer Appliances
5. Farmhouse Refresh
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two sons
Location: Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Size: 343 square feet (32 square meters)
Designer: Carly Gockeler of KraftMaster Renovations
Before: As this couple’s kids entered their teenage years, the family’s 173-square-foot kitchen felt too small to accommodate everyone, and the adjacent playroom (at the back of this photo, behind the microwave) saw dwindling use. So the couple looked at inspiration photos on Houzz and hired designer Carly Gockeler to help them open up the space and give it a more welcoming style.
5. Farmhouse Refresh
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two sons
Location: Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Size: 343 square feet (32 square meters)
Designer: Carly Gockeler of KraftMaster Renovations
Before: As this couple’s kids entered their teenage years, the family’s 173-square-foot kitchen felt too small to accommodate everyone, and the adjacent playroom (at the back of this photo, behind the microwave) saw dwindling use. So the couple looked at inspiration photos on Houzz and hired designer Carly Gockeler to help them open up the space and give it a more welcoming style.
After: Eliminating the wall between the kitchen and playroom doubled the kitchen’s size, which allowed Gockeler to add a built-in breakfast nook in the back of the space and a narrow island that serves as the kitchen’s main work area. She also pushed the refrigerator wall into the living room about 2 feet to widen the long room, which eased traffic flow around the new island.
The kitchen got a new farmhouse-inspired style with matte oak floors, a rustic alder island base, a weathered spruce shiplap range hood and soft gray cabinets (Repose Gray by Sherwin-Williams) with an X detail on some of the inset Shaker-style fronts.
The kitchen got a new farmhouse-inspired style with matte oak floors, a rustic alder island base, a weathered spruce shiplap range hood and soft gray cabinets (Repose Gray by Sherwin-Williams) with an X detail on some of the inset Shaker-style fronts.
The backsplash’s off-white porcelain tiles with a subtle greige pattern resemble weathered European dyed-cement floor tiles.
“The client found inspiration photos she really loved, and they all had handmade encaustic-look tiles, so we found some that would work with her budget,” Gockeler says. “The color palette is soft enough to not be too bold but still add character to the backsplash.”
Backsplash: Decora Redondo porcelain wall and floor tile, 8 by 8 inches, The Tile Shop
Read more about this kitchen remodel
“The client found inspiration photos she really loved, and they all had handmade encaustic-look tiles, so we found some that would work with her budget,” Gockeler says. “The color palette is soft enough to not be too bold but still add character to the backsplash.”
Backsplash: Decora Redondo porcelain wall and floor tile, 8 by 8 inches, The Tile Shop
Read more about this kitchen remodel
6. Avian Accents
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A single homeowner
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Size: 180 square feet (17 square meters); 12 by 15 feet
Designer: Studio Robert Jamieson
Contractor: Okin Pivot
Before: The existing kitchen in this 1968 home by architect Robert McElroy wasn’t taking advantage of the home’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls and exposed beams. In fact, it was all but closed off from the nearby dining room and wooded views. And its finishes looked decades old, but not in a good way. So the homeowner tapped designer Robert Jamieson to open up the kitchen and give it a fun, colorful, midcentury-modern-inspired look.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A single homeowner
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Size: 180 square feet (17 square meters); 12 by 15 feet
Designer: Studio Robert Jamieson
Contractor: Okin Pivot
Before: The existing kitchen in this 1968 home by architect Robert McElroy wasn’t taking advantage of the home’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls and exposed beams. In fact, it was all but closed off from the nearby dining room and wooded views. And its finishes looked decades old, but not in a good way. So the homeowner tapped designer Robert Jamieson to open up the kitchen and give it a fun, colorful, midcentury-modern-inspired look.
After: Jamieson took down a wall to open up the kitchen to the dining area and its wall of windows. Then he created a bank of tall, sleek, walnut-clad storage with an integrated refrigerator on one side. Between that bank and the cooking area on the other side is an island with matte white cabinet fronts and rounded open shelving for storage and display.
The pop of robin’s-egg blue is a Big Chill dishwasher loaded with midcentury style.
The pop of robin’s-egg blue is a Big Chill dishwasher loaded with midcentury style.
The cooking area has a matching Big Chill range and hood set into matte white cabinetry.
The owner asked Jamieson to pay homage to the wild birds that visit his property by incorporating birds into the kitchen design. The backsplash was the ideal canvas, but sourcing the right tile proved difficult, so Jamieson had to get creative.
“We ended up sourcing the 3-inch triangular gray field tiles from Fireclay Tile, and the tiles for the birds were ordered as 4-by-4-inch rectangular tiles from Artaic that were field-cut to size,” Jamieson says.
The resulting cardinal and blue jay evoke the graphic shapes of artist Charley Harper’s bird illustrations from the 1950s.
Read more about this kitchen remodel
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
The owner asked Jamieson to pay homage to the wild birds that visit his property by incorporating birds into the kitchen design. The backsplash was the ideal canvas, but sourcing the right tile proved difficult, so Jamieson had to get creative.
“We ended up sourcing the 3-inch triangular gray field tiles from Fireclay Tile, and the tiles for the birds were ordered as 4-by-4-inch rectangular tiles from Artaic that were field-cut to size,” Jamieson says.
The resulting cardinal and blue jay evoke the graphic shapes of artist Charley Harper’s bird illustrations from the 1950s.
Read more about this kitchen remodel
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
1. Black and White and Sophisticated All Over
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Atlanta
Size: 400 square feet (37 square meters)
Designers: Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole of Kandrac & Kole Interior Design
Contractor: Atlanta Remodeling & Construction
Cabinetry design and construction: Cabinet Resources
Before: This Atlanta kitchen’s owners, who love to cook, were content with the room’s basic layout, and they liked having the stovetop in the island. But the kitchen suffered from a cluttered countertop, an outdated cabinet design and a tired tile floor. So the owners hired interior designers Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole to help them with a down-to-the-studs renovation.
Find a kitchen designer in your area