Kitchen wall tiles: design ideas and where to buy them
While not all kitchens have kitchen wall tiles, they are a common feature, used as a backsplash behind sinks or cookers to protect the walls from unruly sauce splashes and washing up suds. Kitchen tiles can line the wall space between kitchen units and look excellent when used to make a stove a focal point. Below, we've answered your kitchen wall tile questions and provided inspiration from the House & Garden archive with ideas for where to buy similar tiles now.
How do you lay kitchen wall tiles?
Tiles need grout to be laid, and that's another choice you'll need to make. The standard grout colour is white or neutral, though there are now many more options and some people choose a red grout to pop against a white tile, as you'll see in the pantry of Matilda Goad's London house. The best way to lay tiles is to hire a professional as they'll have a tile cutter readily available to sort all the awkward corners where a full tile won't fit.
How many tiles do I need to order?
Tiles are bought in square metre quantities, so first, work out the size of the area you are covering in kitchen tiles and take it from there. Always order 10% more tiles than you need to account for any breakages.
Where should you buy kitchen tiles?
- Balineum - beautiful, hand-glazed tiles created by Sarah Watson in a dizzying array of marvellous designs.
- Topps Tiles - cheap, cheerful and with a wide range of smart options for any style of house.
- Emery & Cie - a French source beloved by interior designers for their classic zellige tiles.
- Dzek - striking tiles in inventive materials, including some amazing terrazzo designs.
- Mandarin Stone - stylish natural stone tiles from a producer with plenty of showrooms around the UK.
- Bert & May - handmade artisan tiles with lots of colour and shape options as well as graphic designs.
- Milagros – the name to know for Mexican tiles, whether patterned or plain.
- Johnson Tiles - a UK brand based in Stoke-on-Trent with a vast selection.
- Feild - a source of modern patterned tiles with a more minimal aesthetic.
- Fired Earth - one of the biggest and most trusted sources for tiles of all types.
- Maitland & Poate - a family-run business who started out sourcing reclaimed and antiques tiles and now also offer their own designs for encaustic cement tiles.
- Clé Tiles - one of the largest online tiles sellers, who frequently collaborate with artists.
- Bisazza - luxury tiles in mosaic and marble mostly.
- Popham Design - a customisable world of colours, shapes and patterns to play with.
- Claybrook - a one-stop-shop for all your tile needs in modern designs.
- Made a Mano - a Danish company that works exclusively with pure solid lava stone.
- Habibi Interiors - traditional Moroccan zellige tiles from a workshop in Fes.
- Mesguich Mosaik - the name to know for bespoke mosaics.
- Tile Mountain - an affordable source for classic tiles in a range of styles.
- Homebase - the DIY store has everything you need, including a good range of basic tiles.
- B&Q - a go-to when the budget is tight and you're after a classic look.
- Terrazzo Tiles - where to go for bespoke and handmade terrazzo tiles.
Kitchen wall tiles
Alexander James1/20The white kitchen of this Georgian townhouse in Ludlow has been decorated with a soft colour palette and elegant furnishings, creating a fresh country scheme. Large cabinets line the width of the space, complemented by a classic white Aga and blue tiling. For similar coloured tiles, try Topps Tiles.
Paul Massey2/20The marble wall tiles in decorator Irene Gunter's kitchen were laid in a herringbone pattern to match the parquet floor. Popham Design do a baguette tile that would easily replicate this look and comes in many colours.
Ngoc Minh Ngo3/20Open shelving and industrial tiling lend a thoroughly American feel to the kitchen of Jos and Annabel White's Manhattan home. This can easily be recreated with metro tiles – try Tiles Direct – and dark grout. If you want to add in colour, Balineum can make tiles to order in any design, so you could mix and match for borders like you see here.
Michael Sinclair4/20The tiles behind the Aga in this country kitchen, which are from Ann Sacks, make the alcove a lovely focus in the bright room. Graphic tiles are more and more popular these days, so they can be found all over at a range of prices. We recommend Popham Design and Bert & May.
Davide Lovatti5/20In Tara Craig's own London kitchen, designed by Tara and Marcus Ayshford Sanford of Archidrum, tiles are used to ensure the thickly veined Bianco Carrara marble backsplash does not become too overwhelming. Neat, complementary tiles are set in alongside a bespoke apricot shade by Paints and Papers.
Paul Massey6/20The kitchen of this minimal Manhattan house designed by Rita Konig is serene with glazed white tiles and a mix of small baguette tiles in a mosaic style with a pearlescent finish. London Encaustic's 'Winter Grey' zellige tile has a similar effect for the finish, while Topps Tiles has an affordable tile that could also recreate the look when used with plain white tiles.
Lucas Allen7/20Inside the timber extension of this Christopher Howe-decorated townhouse in Bray, the alcove where the bright blue cooker sits is covered in navy tiles with a red squiggle. These could be commissioned by Balineum, who can make all manner of bespoke tiles.
Paul Massey8/20Vermont pine was used for the cabinets in restauranteur Keith McNally's kitchen, for its rich warmth and depth. All were made in New York and shipped over; as were the reconditioned tiles, most of which are over 100 years old and come from demolished or refurbished factories. Maitland and Poate are a good source for reclaimed tiles.
Mel Yates9/20'I didn't want the design to be too modern, so I worked with Tom Bayley of Quartet Interiors to create an understated Shaker style,' says Flora Soames, the interior designer of this custom made London kitchen. She opted for graphic monochrome tiles and similar options are widely available. Try Bert & May's 'Black Vigo Tile'.
10/20The old Delft tiles above the sink in this Oxfordshire cottage kitchen decorated by Colefax designer Emma Burns work brilliantly with units painted in 'Farrow's Cream' by Farrow & Ball. Delft tiles can be expensive and hard to source so for a modern alternative, try Maude Smith's hand-painted tiles or Topps Tiles' Antic style.
Simon Upton11/20Interior designer Patrick Williams, of Berdoulat Design uses traditional tiles as a backsplash in his East London kitchen. Here he contrasts rough wooden counters with crisp, white tiles creating a harmonious 'found objects' feel.
STEPHAN JULLIARD12/20Take inspiration from Marianne Evennou’s creative use of colour with these slim rectangular tiles in variations of blue, grey and purple. Clé tiles do a very good similar tile: their zellige 'Bejmat' tile in 'Shattered Pearl'.
Owen Gale13/20The kitchen in Violent Dent's colourful London house is from IKEA, with pale pink tiles from Topps Tiles and a lampshade by Matilda Goad adding colour.
Rachael Smith14/20The tiles behind the stove in this kitchen by interior designer Louise Jones are Minton tiles bought on eBay. Mandarin Stone's 'Tangier' tiles have a similar look and 'Carta' from Porcelain Superstore give the same graphic effect.
Yuki Sugiura15/20The most striking detail in Matilda Goad's kitchen is the wall surrounding the cooker, picked out in red and white checkerboard tiles - ‘simply buy the cheapest tiles you can and alternate the colours’ she says.
Yuki Sugiura16/20In the larder Matilda has used red grout between the white tiles. Use white tiles from Topps Tiles and their Matrix collection grout.
Paul Massey17/20In this Georgian farmhouse, Maria Speake of Retrouvius has tiled an entire wall in tonal tiles that offer a mother-of-pearl-esque finish. These, alongside the industrial fittings and Victorian shelving result in an eclectic and stylish finish.
Sharyn Cairns18/20In this sunny, orange kitchen, set in a Georgian Parsonage belonging to Ben Pentreath, white tiles line the fireplace nook which now holds a 1960s Aga.
Davide Lovatti19/20The Aga in the kitchen of Tom Helme's Carskiey Estate is framed by geometric tiles from Fired Earth, while the walls are clad in white subway tiling. The unpolished and unpainted kitchen island adds to the room's farmhouse style.
Richard Powers20/20Katie Fontana of Plain English used fresh white tiles above the hob in this Provençal house. The tiles are perfectly colour matched to the walls, so they blend seamlessly, rather than stand out.
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