The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Backsplash Trends, 2024

Bring your kitchen into the new year with a backsplash that delivers a daily dose of design dopamine. Whether you’re planning a new build or ready to break up with your bland backsplash of yesteryear, find the perfect inspiration in our ultimate guide to 2024’s kitchen backsplash trends.

With the amount of thought, time, and money involved in the average kitchen renovation, we’re sensitive to the fact that this isn’t a space that’s conducive to flash-in-the-pan trends–so we’re highlighting backsplash styles that are both on-trend and timeless.

From refreshed traditional to completely customized, we’ve pulled together ten of the most popular kitchen backsplash trends emerging this year with major staying power. Remember, if you see a look you like in this roundup you can bring home up to five free color samples when you chat with a rep to try it out in your own kitchen. Now let’s dive in!

1. Add a Touch of Sophistication with Texture

More and more, we’re seeing texture step into the spotlight and we predict that this kitchen trend is here to stay. Texture can be added to your backsplash through the finish of ceramic tiles or the many grout lines of mosaics, but the most common way to add texture is with Glazed Thin Brick. Our brick’s glaze-coated surface brings an interactive dimension to everyday spaces, adding visual depth and a tactile experience to kitchen designs.

In designer Jessica Davis’s kitchen above, the dimensional play of light and shadow across the black brick surface brings a dynamic vitality that’s both seen and felt. “I love texture on backsplashes,” the founder of Atelier Davis shares. It’s no wonder that her incredible midcentury modern home features brick on not one, but two kitchen backsplashes.

2. Square Tile: A Contemporary Classic

Square tile is leaving its mark on kitchen interior design trends, offering a blend of the traditional and the contemporary. Jessica confirms: “I’m seeing a lot more square format backsplash tiles.” The geometric simplicity of a grid pattern becomes a canvas for creativity, whether in the monochromatic grace of a white kitchen or a playful pattern like checkerboard.

It’s no secret that checkered patterns made a huge comeback in the past few years, and we’re seeing designers and homeowners choose square tiles in unconventional colors to freshen up this timeless look. We love the pink and white take in the space above, infusing the space with a refreshed nostalgic feel. With 100+ colors and six sizes of Ceramic Tile to choose from, square tiles are a trend that pairs well with every vision.

3. Embrace Warm, Modern Neutrals

The quiet luxury trend seamlessly transfers over to kitchens with warm, modern neutrals. Our creamy neutral glazes, including Ivory Gloss and Sand Dune, are exploding in popularity, and ready to add warmth to your 2024 kitchen now and for decades to come. The high gloss finishes of these glazes provide a beautiful contrast to wood kitchen cabinets, cocooning your kitchen in an inviting glow.

The beauty of warm neutrals is their versatility–they can create a sense of serenity or act as a statement of understated elegance. If your kitchen is bright and open, a warm neutral backsplash can anchor the space with an earthy depth. We love how our Wind River Brick not only adds visual interest but also infuses the kitchen above the a welcoming warmth that’s both modern and timeless.

4. Make a Statement with a Fully Tiled Kitchen

Think beyond the backsplash for this look, enveloping other design elements of your kitchen in the same tile you use on your backsplash. One option that’s gaining more and more popularity is a statement range hood, like the Scandi-inspired space above. Adorning the hood with the same tile as your backsplash creates a unique immersive experience unbroken by the typical stainless steel, wood, or glass of a range hood.

This experience extends beyond range hoods, as well. With the color-drenching trend in full force, floor-to-ceiling tiled accent walls, nooks, bar backsplashes, and more are gaining traction, creating cohesion around your whole kitchen with a fearless and functional design approach.

5. Try Mixed Materials

If you love a two-toned look, this year may be the year for you to try mixing materials on your backsplash. We’re seeing bisected backsplashes with tile juxtaposed by different materials more and more, including marble, wood, wallpaper, and even complementing paint colors.

Designer Sara Simon of Handsome Salt complemented the classic Ivory Tile backsplash with floral wallpaper at boutique hotel Noble + Proper. “I think today more people are taking a risk and getting more edgy with the use of a simple tile design and fun wallpaper pattern,” Sara states. “No risk, no fun.”

The most common way to achieve this look is by bridging the two materials with shallow open shelves. Adding the buffer of open shelving between the mixed materials not only emphasizes the visual break, it also creates space for decor or kitchen necessities that can help tie the elements together and bring always-needed functionality into your kitchen.

6. Bold & Beautiful Rich, Saturated Hues

Modern traditional kitchens are having a major moment, and with that regenesis comes a palette of saturated colors that breathe life and energy into the heart of the home including rich reds, midnight blues, and olive greens. At Fireclay, you can find a beautiful assortment of hand-mixed glazes within this palette to craft your own vibrant backsplash with any of our materials from Ceramic to Brick to Glass.

Although this palette may have been inspired by traditional design style, it certainly isn’t contained to traditional kitchens. These colors add personality to any design style from Scandi to midcentury to eclectic–for example, a warm red brick backsplash in the otherwise modern kitchen above effortlessly enhances the space with its layers of warmth and texture.

7. Make Trim a Focal Point

Trim is moving away from being a finishing touch and into a main character role on backsplashes these days with contrasting colored accents and dynamic fluted texture. Designer Emily Vallely-Pertzborn concurs: “Trim shouldn’t be an afterthought. I highly recommend looking at reference photos and planning out the size, shape, and color of your trim with the same attention as the rest of your tile choices.” With a multitude of handcrafted trim available, from standard flat or round liners to elegant architectural moldings, now is a better time than ever to bring trim to the forefront of your design.

Emily followed her own advice when designing the Foxcroft Estate, her one-of-a-kind rental home featuring intentional trim in several spaces including the tiki bar above. “The tiki bar at Foxcroft Estate is so fun and colorful so I knew I wanted to go with an accent trim on the backsplash to tie in the floor color,” she discloses. “I think it’s a bit unexpected, and I’m so pleased with how it turned out!”

8. The Charm of Perfectly Imperfect Handmade Tile

As a company that’s been handcrafting our tile since 1986, we couldn’t be happier to see the beauty of artisan tile being embraced on a larger scale. There’s truly something special about bringing tile into your home that’s been made with care and intention by people who love clay, honoring the individuality of each tile in which subtle differences in size, color, and texture contribute to an overall zellige tile-like effect that is both personal and beautifully nuanced.

Homeowners and designers alike are turning toward the beauty of the organic in kitchens these days as a nod to authenticity and the time-honored techniques of tile-making. “I am really loving tile that feels imperfect,” Jessica Davis shares. “Whether that is a pock-marked glaze or a crackle or edges that don’t feel like they’re cut by a machine.” We couldn’t agree more!

9. Mosaics: Tiny Tiles, Big Impact

Mosaics in the kitchen have stood the test of time, and in 2024 they continue to be a popular choice for those looking to inject a sense of intricacy and individuality into their kitchen space. With limitless design possibilities, from budget-friendly in-stock mosaics to fully customized mural options, mosaics offer a unique way to add personality to your culinary space.

Whatever your design style, mosaics lend your kitchen an artisanal touch by transforming your backsplash into a work of art. Our mosaic tile comes in 10 handcrafted sizes ranging from specialty shapes like diamonds to petite squares to rectangular mosaics like the 1x6 Feldspar Gloss shown above–and each shape is delivered to you pre-sheeted to ensure a seamless and stunning installation that you’ll enjoy for years to come.

10. Create Your Happy Place with Dopamine Decor

As we place more value on authenticity, dopamine decor seems to be a trend that’s here to stay. Often eclectic and always unique, this design philosophy harnesses the power of visual elements to evoke positive emotions, utilizing playful or bold colors, patterns, and textures that make the heart sing. Sara Simon puts it this way: “I think patterns and not playing it safe is where the magic happens. I always gravitate towards what I am currently feeling and roll with it. It’s not always for everyone, and that’s ok.”

We’re commonly seeing this trend play out in kitchen backsplashes through unexpected color combinations and/or Handpainted Tile.

The beauty of our Handpainted Tile is that each piece is painted by hand, so it’s incredibly customizable–making it an ideal vessel to carry out your personal flavor of dopamine decor. Fully embrace this trend with tile that’s tailored to stir happiness and create a space that’s as good for your soul as it is for your eyes.