Wondering what to put on a wall behind the cooker? You’re not alone. Your cooker is one of the focal points in your kitchen that can instantly catch someone’s eye when they enter. If the wall behind your cooker is a blank space, you could be missing out on an excellent opportunity to make your kitchen look incredible.
It’s not just your cupboards or the colours of paint that brighten things up. The splashback for your oven and sink can also make a difference to the kitchen style.
When it comes to kitchen splashback ideas, UK homeowners have no shortage of options to consider. There are plenty of great splashbacks for cookers, from glass designs that open up the room to rustic creations with exposed brick.
Today, we’re going to be looking at some of the top cooker splashback ideas you can consider if you’re trying to upgrade your hob backsplash and revive your kitchen.
What Do You Put on the Wall Behind a Cooker?
The space on the wall behind your cooker is usually reserved for the “kitchen splashback”. This feature plays an important role in making your kitchen look incredible. Not only does a kitchen splashback made with tiles, toughened glass or metal protect your kitchen wall from splashes from your food, but it also looks great too.
Splashbacks offer a combination of practicality and aesthetic appeal when it comes to designing your kitchen walls, but they’re often overlooked. People tend to stick with the same metro tiles for years at a time, not realising they could do something even more exciting with their kitchen space.
Some great ways to make your splashback look more impressive include:
Pattern Kitchen Tiles
Using pattern kitchen tiles on your backsplash is a great way to create an impressive design. You can even use patterned tiles with bare plaster and crumbling walls – a design that has become popular among those looking for a rustic finish to their kitchens. Since you need a smaller number of tiles for this rustic look, you can also save some cash on reviving your kitchen too.
Add Wallpaper or Paint
If you don’t like the idea of an exposed backsplash, you could consider using wallpaper or moisture-resistant paint in a contrasting colour to the rest of your kitchen. Paint with a high gloss finish should be able to wipe clean quite easily.
Try a Floating Shelf
If you’ve got a lot of extra wall space behind your oven, you could always consider adding a floating shelf. This is ideal if you need extra storage space for pots, pans, and other cooking accessories you’re going to be using around the kitchen.
Create a Blackboard
Plan your meals days in advance with a blackboard you can draw on with chalk. This is a great way to combine the appeal of traditional kitchens while making your splashback more fun. You can use special colour paint like Annie Sloan chalk paint to create a unique effect.
Use Standard Tiles
Experiment with tiles in a range of pattern choices or the same shade as your wall to create a unique effect. Placing tiles behind the hob will give you a fantastic traditional splashback behind the cooker, which stays easy to clean year after year.
What Can I Use Instead of a Splashback?
While a backsplash isn’t always a necessary part of your kitchen, it’s a useful way to keep your kitchen walls in good condition. The good news is that you don’t have to stick with the traditional tiled splashback if you want to get creative.
Regardless of style, the most important thing to remember is that your backsplash behind an oven or sink needs to be heat and water-resistant.
There are tons of glass splashback ideas and small splashback designs created with ceramic, metal, and a range of tile alternatives. You can go for an ultra-modern luxurious look or stick to something unique and practical to suit your needs.
Traditional Splashback Alternatives
Instead of ceramic kitchen tiles, you can try:
- A glass window: Great for small kitchens that want to create the illusion of excess space, a glass splashback peering out into the world beyond can be a great source of inspiration when you cook. Moreover, because there are no grout lines on the glass, the window might be even easier to clean than the standard tile finish, and it lets light into the room.
- Mirrors: There are many splashbacks for cookers that use metal and steel to protect your kitchen walls from cooking splashes. Using a mirrored background isn’t much different. Mirrors are a great choice if you’re looking for cooker splashback ideas that protect your kitchen and open up your space.
- Pressed metal: pressed metal is a fantastic alternative to the standard tiled backsplash. You can match this design to a panel of pressed metal in your sink or behind your sink to make your design look even more modern. Try replacing traditional metal with smooth steel if you’re looking for an industrial chick look with your kitchen splashbacks. Alternatively, try copper if you want to add heat and warmth to our walls.
- Wood: Although you will need to coat the wood with a protective varnish to help defend it against the heat from your cooker, a wooden backsplash can look incredible. A clean singular block of wood is easy to clean after cooking, with no grout as you’d get from ceramic tiles. You can even match the colour of the wood to the wooden accents on your floors, cabinets, and accessories to create a rustic look.
- Marble: A marble splashback can add elegance to your whole kitchen. Like glass or varnished wood, a marble splashback will be easy to clean, and it can align perfectly with the style of your worktop. Marble can come in a range of colour options similar to tile, and it’s great for protecting against splashes. You can even match the marble colour on your worktop to the marble on your backsplash.
- Exposed brick: If you want to create a great area of visual interest in your kitchen, then the exposed brick option is ideal. Many people are now placing spaces of exposed brick behind ovens and sink to provide an industrial look. If you’re going to be using bricks instead of a tiled cooker splashback, make sure the grout is moisture resistant, and use multiple shades of brick colour to get a unique finished look.
Cooker Splashback Material Ideas
So, what is the best material for splashbacks? There are plenty of different kinds of materials you can use for your kitchen splashbacks these days. As kitchen design evolves, homeowners can choose mirrors to reflect light or stainless steel to achieve a unique industrial style. Patterned tiles and marble can help to make your kitchen brighter and add visual interest. Alternatively, you can look for a low-maintenance alternative to the tiled splashbacks most families are used to with a single block of varnished wood.
Tiled Splashbacks: Pros and Cons
While tiles are considered the traditional option when it comes to splashback ideas, they aren’t the only choice in ultra-modern kitchen design. Tiles are a natural pick because there are a lot of kitchen backsplash tile ideas out there made from porcelain and ceramic.
You can also experiment with backsplash ideas using tiles because they come in a range of shapes, sizes and colour options. Tiles can also be installed relatively quickly and easily on your kitchen walls and don’t take a lot of additional work.
However, the grouting between tiles can make it difficult to clean and less practical when in use than other kitchen splashback ideas. A tile effect backboard without the same grooves between each tile might be an ideal low-maintenance alternative when you’re kitchen planning.
It’s also worth noting that a tiled splashback comes with exposed corners that can easily be knocked and damaged. You may need to experiment with the best finish for a backsplash that withstands heat, protects your walls, and looks incredible.
Be Creative
Today’s kitchen designers are becoming more creative with their kitchen splashback ideas. Modern backsplash ideas leverage everything from toughened glass to ceramic in contrasting colour patterns. If you work with a designer with experience building professional kitchens or modern kitchens, they should be able to walk you through all of your options.
Whether you opt for a stainless steel splashback to match your stainless steel appliances or thin a toughened glass backsplash that reflects your ideal kitchen perfectly, there’s no shortage of options. You can even consider switching more common materials like stainless steel with acrylic in your kitchen design.
Although you’ll need to be careful with acrylic on your kitchen work surface, the glossy finish makes it ideal for wiping clean in the form of a splashback. Just make sure you follow the instructions provided for how far your style of acrylic should be kept away from the oven.
Kitchen Splashback Ideas You Should Try
By now, you should have a clear idea of what to put on a wall behind the cooker. From a toughened glass splashback to a marble or tile backsplash that matches the style of your worktop, there’s something for everyone. Today’s backsplash options come in a host of colours and materials, so they’re great for people who want to get creative. A backsplash is also a big part of your kitchen, so the next time you want to change things up, you could avoid spending a fortune on colours for your painted cabinets and look for inspiration for a backsplash instead.
If you come up with some good oven splashback ideas and use the right materials, you’ll have the perfect opportunity to add more light to your kitchen space and make the room look even bigger.
