30 Modern Vertical Tile Subway Backsplash Ideas

Flip the traditional on its side–literally–with a beautiful vertical tile subway backsplash. The elegance of subway tile often lies in its simplicity, but the orientation can turn it into a striking design statement. This design choice offers a sleek, elongated look that draws the eye upward and breathes new life into any space.

We’ve rounded up 30 of our favorite vertically installed tile backsplashes that prove that sometimes a simple turn can lead to a major transformation–but first, we’re answering some common questions about vertical subway tile.

FAQs About Vertical Subway Tile

Can You Put Subway Tile Vertically?

Absolutely! Subway tile can be installed vertically, offering a twist on the traditional horizontal layout. This approach is often used in modern design and allows for a wide range of creative expression through tile.

Does Vertical Tile Make a Room Look Taller?

Yes, installing tiles vertically can visually enhance the height of a room. This effect is achieved by drawing the eye upward along the lines of the tile, creating an illusion of elevated ceilings and making any room feel more expansive and airy.

Is Vertical Subway Tile Too Trendy?

Definitely not. Vertical subway tile has stood the test of time, proving to be a classic element in tile design. Its recent popularity does not diminish its long-standing status as a versatile and enduring choice.

With these questions answered, let’s get to the design inspiration!

1. Modern Dusty Purple

This pristine kitchen breaks up the light, white color story with a backsplash of our Dust Storm tile in an attractive vertical offset pattern. Both the color and pattern choice give an unexpected and undeniably cool edge to the space designed by therapist-turned-interior-designer Anita Yokota.

2. Vintage Vibes, Fresh Feel

Outlined in bright contrasting white grout, this eye-catching backsplash comes courtesy of our beloved yellow-green Mustard Seed glaze. Uniformly stacked tiles allow the bestselling glaze color to be the star of the show, swimming in a sea of symmetry.

3. A Wainscot with Dimension

Talk about making your design choices functional–this gorgeous bathroom turned an aesthetically pleasing wainscot into a practical shelf, all clad with the matte finish of our muted blue-grey Flagstone Tile.

4. Clean Rustic Lines

Modern meets rustic thanks to our bestselling Glazed Thin Brick. Warm, glossy Columbia Plateau Bruck imbues a polished yet textured feel into this modern space in a neat straight-set pattern.

5. Retro Confetti Pops

Artist Racheal Jackson of Banyan Bridges knows a thing or two about creating an unforgettable tile project (see her infamous colorful bathroom here), and that process translated nicely to her retro kitchen renovation. A soothing blue-green backsplash is interspersed with pops of matte white tile for a look that’s at once beautifully familiar and sweetly unexpected.

6. Contemporary Pink Glass

Talk about a modern install! Tile in clean vertical lines with the sleek radiance of our high-quality Glass creates an almost futuristic look in this stunning bathroom that’s pretty in a whisper of pink.

7. Nuanced Neutrals

From the subtle crackle detail and noticeable color variation of the Sand Dune tile to the coordinating round liner trim, this bathroom’s wainscot backsplash is all about elegant details.

8. An Organic Touch

Between white base cabinets and carefully considered open shelving, 2x6 Ceramic Tile in our bestselling Rosemary shade offers soothing relief. Bright white grout shows off the tile’s stellar installation while ensuring the green fits right into the otherwise neutral space.

9. Glass Gradient

Shades of sunny yellow dance with the daylight at Sunflour Bakeshop. Our dazzling Glass Tile, arranged in a modern, 3-dimensional gradient pattern, turns every visit into a bright experience as delightful as the bakery’s confections.

10. Elegant Restraint

This modern kitchen gets a moody boost from the backsplash of our 2x8 Ceramic Tile in dark blue-green Flagstone, while the matte finish and tonal grout infuse an elevated feel throughout the open space.

11. Confetti Bathroom Tile

We love it when designers have fun with our tile, and Mandy Riggar’s poolside bathroom is an excellent example. She took a classic white vertically stacked backsplash and made it one-of-a-kind by sprinkling in cute pops of color.

12. Rich & Serene Green

Deep green immediately draws the eye in this otherwise light and bright kitchen, with tonal grout emphasizing the gorgeously rich tones of our Hunter Green tile.

13. Salton Sea Goes Scandi

With simple clean lines and a nature-inspired hue, this backsplash of 2x8 Ceramic Tile in Salton Sea checks the boxes of Scandinavian design in this marvelously minimalist kitchen.

14. Transitional Simplicity

Like perfectly executed mise en place, this transitional Chicago kitchen has everything in its place with an impeccably installed warm white tile backsplash tucked under open shelving.

15. Sunny Wainscot Backsplash

Designed with eternal summer in mind, LaTonya Yvette’s 173-year-old colonial-style rental home features a sunny primary bathroom that shines like a jewel box thanks to warm yellow Glass Tile wainscoting.

16. A Niche Look

Build in convenience with a tiled niche, as this petite powder room did. With limited square footage, the designers carved out a storage space that fit nicely into the soft grey subway tile backsplash.

17. Moody Beauty

The Brownstone Boys imbued the perfect touch of moody drama in this brownstone kitchen renovation with a dark backsplash of 2x8 Ceramic Tile in matte-black Raven Matte complemented by wood accents.

18. Two-Toned Powder Room

An intentional use of color and sizes does wonders in this pretty powder room. Shadowy charcoal grey Timberline tile is topped with mosaic squares of light grey, elevating the space with a sophisticated palette and visual interest.

Sample This Look

19. Embracing Color Variation

Natural color variation in our hand-mixed, lead-free glazes creates a tonal patchwork in this transitional kitchen. Our top-selling Salton Sea is rated V3 on our 4-tier scale, for a deliberate look that’s distinctively unique.

20. Farmhouse Goes Pink

Step inside Hoopes Vineyard’s guest house in the heart of bucolic Napa Valley. The old farmhouse kitchen got a rosy glow-up courtesy of handmade 2x8 Ceramic Tile in Tumbleweed.

21. Organic Modern

Nobody pulls off a perfectly restrained tile installation quite like Sarah Sherman Samuel. In this modern organic kitchen, Sarah used 2x8 Ceramic Tile in warm white Feldspar to complement the inviting earth tones in the space.

22. Pops of Electric Blue

Black and white and blue all over, this bold kids’ bathroom by Jessica Davis features a unique pattern made all the more unforgettable by pops of our brilliant blue Aegean Sea.

23. Offset Grey

Look up! A vertically offset pattern of our 2x8 Ceramic Tile in cloudy grey Mist gives the illusion of height in this clean, modern kitchen–and if you look closely, you’ll notice the artisan crackle detail on the tile.

24. Budget-Friendly Backsplash

Green sets a soothing tone in this organic modern bathroom. Designer Rae Rockwell chose our popular Manzanita shade from our budget-friendly Essentials Collection, and for good reason: this tile is just $12/SqFt and ships in 5 days or less.

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25. Vintage-Inspired Sweetness

There are so many ways to express your personal style with a tile backsplash, and we love how Samantha Klein of Samswhurld made a distinct statement with a simple, vintage-inspired color palette in her kitchen.

26. Show Your Stripes

Want to really accentuate your vertical tile subway backsplash? Try alternating colors, as Becki Owens did with our soft green and white Essentials Tile. The cherry on top of this look: both of these budget-friendly colors ship in 5 days or less!

Sample This Look

27. Blended White

Take the classic white backsplash up a notch with a blend of multiple whites. In this modern kitchen, the slightly shifting shades and sheens create gorgeous visual interest and a neat vertically straight set pattern allows the color blending to take center stage.

28. Bryce Canyon in the Cabin

Burnt orange tile fits right into this cozy cabin setting, drawing the eye with both its saturated color and offset pattern. Another benefit to this pattern is the vertically elongating effect it adds to any space it inhabits.

29. Moody & Modern

With clean lines and classic colors, this bathroom encapsulates modern design beautifully. We love how our understated blue-green Temptest glaze adds a dose of moody serenity in a clean straight-set.

30. Midcentury Vibrance

We love so much about midcentury modern design, but its embrace of vivid colors like chartreuse has to be one of the top reasons. David Quarles IV chose a deceptively simple vertically stacked pattern in his midcentury-inspired kitchen to show off Palm Tree’s rich green-yellow hue.