The 8 Major Kitchen Backsplash Trends of 2024 – Plus 3 Picks to Avoid

In the grand scheme of kitchen design, choosing the kitchen backsplash trends to incorporate into your space might not be the biggest decision you’ll make, but it isn’t a minor one, either.

Your kitchen backsplash is both an important functional element, making it easier to wipe up splatters, as well as a choice that’ll impact the overall aesthetic of your kitchen. It can subtly tie a space together, make a bold statement, or almost anything in between. At the same time, choosing the wrong material or color can turn your backsplash into an eyesore, or leave you tearing it out for something new in a few years.

After writing about interior design for more than 12 years, I’ve seen all sorts of kitchen backsplash trends come and go. Some were awful from the start, and others I’ve loved for an entire decade.

To help you choose the best backsplash option for your kitchen, I’ve rounded up my favorite on-trend backsplash ideas for this year and beyond. I’ve also included some general tips for choosing a backsplash, plus some kitchen backsplash trends to avoid, and a couple of important considerations, below.

Kitchen backsplash trends

1. A Carrara or Calacatta marble slab backsplash

Slab-style stone backsplashes are the single biggest kitchen backsplash trend of 2024, and I suspect this will be the case for years. Every major kitchen designer has been doing slab backsplashes for a couple of years now, and I love this look!

Think of a marble slab backsplash as basically an extension of the countertop up the wall. I.e. the style seen above in the Blue Gray Gal and Studio McGee kitchens.

This is a luxurious, streamlined backsplash trend that’s become a huge kitchen design craze in the last few years. If you want a timeless, elegant look, choose a simple stone like Carrara marble, Calacatta marble, or even better, a Carrara-look quartz for added durability.

2. A Calacatta Viola or Arabescato Marble Backsplash

To pack two popular kitchen backsplash ideas into one, choose a Calacatta Viola or Arabescato marble for your slab backsplash. These statement-making marbles have large swaths of black, deep purple, or brown color that gives them a bolder, more graphic look than simple Carrara marble.

One thing to note about trends, though, is that the bolder they are, the quicker they tend to fade, so only choose this style if you’re sure you can love it long-term. Otherwise, stick to a more neutral slab like the options in #1.

3. The Partial-Slab Backsplash

Another take on the slab backsplash is choosing one that doesn’t go all the way up the wall. Instead, these backsplashes go a quarter or halfway up the wall, and typically have a small ledge or shelf on top.

The look is very English, which makes sense as all things English design are on-trend this year.

4. Beadboard blacksplashes

A beadboard backsplash brings a country or traditional farmhouse style to the kitchen. Think of it as the evolution of the shiplap trend, and in the kitchen.

To keep the look relevant and fresh, choose a wider beadboard and paint it the same color as your kitchen cabinets, like designer Julie Blanner did in her kitchen, above, or us a white beadboard against a colored cabinet. This backsplash idea is also inexpensive (yay!).

5. Subway tile

As far as kitchen tile trends go, this is one you’ll probably recognize. Yes, subway tile is still on a list of kitchen backsplash trends, even in 2023. Subway tile was THE trend about 10 years ago, and while it’s not quite as hot as it was at the height of the farmhouse trend craze, subway tile is a classic choice that’ll always look fresh.

If you want to make the look more unique, choose a handmade-look or Zellige tile, while will give your backsplash a more organic-modern feel.

Which brings me to…

6. Zellige tile

Zellige tile is not just a kitchen tile trend. This beautiful, slightly irregular handcrafted tile is being added to bathrooms, laundry rooms, and any place that needs an artisinal detail.

This pretty backsplash idea adds a warm, organic touch to the kitchen. It’s become a more bohemian, rustic alternative to subway tile. For a classic look, white is always a top choice, but if you’re looking for a bolder vibe, Zellige tile also comes in a wide range of shades including blues, taupes, greens, and terracottas.

7. Large-format Subway Tile

Versions of subway tile are also on trend this year (and have been for a number of years now). Extra large, matte porcelain tiles add beauty and depth to a space, while still feeling timeless.

8. A statement range backsplash

If you’re looking for a fun kitchen backsplash trend, I’ve seen more and more kitchens with mixed-media backsplashes, where most of the room has a simple, classic backsplash, and then the area around a stove, or in an alcove has a bolder tile choice. This almost accents like wallpaper on an accent wall and highlights key features of a room. It’s also a budget-friendly way to use a pricey tile, because you can use it for a smaller space and choose a less expensive tile for the larger area.

Kitchen backsplash trends to avoid

1. Subway tile with contrasting grout.

As I mentioned, subway tile is still a big kitchen backsplash trend, as long as you don’t grout it with a contrasting color This especially goes for white subway tile with a dark gray grout, since this look feels a bit stuck in the farmhouse trends of 2012.

If your subway tile backsplash is white or colored, choose white grout. If it’s black or gray, choose gray grout.

2. Tumbled travertine

Travertine as a whole is making a comeback in furniture design, but the travertine tile backsplash, which was popular in the late ’90s, is not. Skip this look.

3. Small glass mosaic tile backsplash

The small, multicolored mosaic glass backsplash was a big kitchen trend in the early 2010s (and a builder favorite), but the look now feels busy and dated. If you have your heart set on a colorful glass backsplash, choose a colored subway tile or Zellige tile (and use all one color).

What to consider when choosing a backsplash

There are two big things to consider when debating the kitchen backsplash trends that’ll work best for your space. They are:

The cost

Subway tile costs just a few dollars a square foot, while a marble slab can costs thousands. Budget can be an easy way to whittle down what’ll work for your home.

How hard it is to change

There are certain things in a kitchen that are really hard to change. Kitchen cabinets, layouts, and countertops being the biggest. A backsplash can also fall into that category, but it doesn’t have to.

A marble slab backsplash will be very hard to change and likely require a professional demo team. A tile backsplash can be quite easy to change, and can even be a DIY project with basic tiling skills. If you want to go bold with your backsplash now, and possibly change it out later, consider a tile backsplash.