Kitchen Backsplash - quartz or wall tiles

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Jul 5th, 2020 9:13 pm

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Apr 30th, 2020 10:17 pm

Shop-a-holic [OP]: Deal Addict; Jul 15, 2006; 1031 posts; 138 upvotes; Mississauga, ON

Apr 30th, 2020 10:17 pm

Kitchen Backsplash - quartz or wall tiles

Hi folks,

Hope you’re all keeping well.

We are looking to get quartz countertop installed in the kitchen (house that we are in the process of purchasing). Looking to also get current backsplash replaced (looks like a combination of brown coloured bricks/brick pattern).

Options for backsplash:

-Go with the same quartz as the countertop. I’ve seen it in some pictures. Easiest option, as it’s hard to find check out backsplashes in-person
-Go with wall tiles (view and purchase online). So far I like a few on Rona’s website:
https://www.rona.ca/en/barista-wall-til ... -330653332
https://www.rona.ca/en/exagon-wall-tile ... -330653347
https://www.rona.ca/en/brick-wall-tiles ... -330653402

The cabinets are darker brown and the kitchen tiles are medium brown (darker than beige). Looking to get quartz countertop that is beige with some (light brown) streaks running through.

Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated, thank you.

22 replies

Apr 30th, 2020 10:43 pm

redsfan: Deal Addict; Nov 16, 2008; 3021 posts; 1086 upvotes

Apr 30th, 2020 10:43 pm

Shop-a-holic wrote: ↑ Hi folks,

Hope you’re all keeping well.

We are looking to get quartz countertop installed in the kitchen (house that we are in the process of purchasing). Looking to also get current backsplash replaced (looks like a combination of brown coloured bricks/brick pattern).

Options for backsplash:

-Go with the same quartz as the countertop. I’ve seen it in some pictures. Easiest option, as it’s hard to find check out backsplashes in-person
-Go with wall tiles (view and purchase online). So far I like a few on Rona’s website:
https://www.rona.ca/en/barista-wall-til ... -330653332
https://www.rona.ca/en/exagon-wall-tile ... -330653347
https://www.rona.ca/en/brick-wall-tiles ... -330653402

The cabinets are darker brown and the kitchen tiles are medium brown (darker than beige). Looking to get quartz countertop that is beige with some (light brown) streaks running through.

Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated, thank you.

We are in the process of replacing our countertop/backsplash once things open up again in the province and after looking at 234,450 scenarios have decided on Quorastone Quartz for both. We looked at HD and Rona, etc, and find their options quite limited to be honest. That and the service aspect in my opinion lacks. It looks like you are starting fresh so I would suggest looking at the usual brands Cesarstone, Silestone, etc, and have a budget in mind.

For great reference there is an active thread below started by a member whose shop is local to you. If you want more details of what we are doing message me, I'd be happy to share what we are doing.

Your text to link here...

+1

May 1st, 2020 8:06 am

torontotim: Deal Addict; Nov 17, 2012; 4723 posts; 4224 upvotes; Toronto

May 1st, 2020 8:06 am

Taste is subjective of course, but what I think is objective is that any glass tile will date a renovation instantly.

Glass tiles were popular 10 years ago, and I guess some people still put them in but if I was buying a house and saw glass tile, I'd immediately start counting the dollars to replace it.

A quartz backsplash would be pretty expensive, assuming we're not just talking about a 4 inch section along the wall. If you really like the quartz and they will take it all the way to the cabinets for a decent price, it could be an OK option, but it could end up looking really busy and a bit continuous.

Kind of like those cultured marble vanity tops with the sinks integrated in. Faux marble streaks continuing from the countertop into the sink. Looks cheap even if it is inherently practical and functional.

May 1st, 2020 9:51 am

Shop-a-holic [OP]: Deal Addict; Jul 15, 2006; 1031 posts; 138 upvotes; Mississauga, ON

May 1st, 2020 9:51 am

So if not glass, what would you suggest for backsplash?

+1

May 1st, 2020 12:49 pm

bubuski: Deal Addict; May 23, 2009; 3385 posts; 1997 upvotes; Mississauga

May 1st, 2020 12:49 pm

You are about to buy the house. Whatever backsplash you install now will be considered outdated when you plan to move unless the house is a quick flip. Even your cabinets and floor with hues of brown are warmer colour shades, cooler colours closer to grey are trending now so it is almost a cost spending madness to try to stay on the current trend. Are you prepared to replace the floor tiles with 24x24 size because that is the current trend too.

Backsplash is mostly cosmic in a residential kitchen so it should not function differently whether it is quartz, marble, porcelain or glass. You'll be the person living with the kitchen for the immediate future so my suggestion is just pick something that subjectively looks good to you and that you can live with. Checking out online pictures on pinterest with similar colours to yours will help alot. That said, if you want something that is trending right now with colours that complement your existing flooring and cabinets then consider hiring a professional designer or decorator.

We finished our Kitchen in February and ended up with a porcelain backsplash. It pulled colours from the handles, countertop, cabinet, floor and wall so we were happy with it. Including the backsplash a lot of the other design cues we chose were not trending but it was what my wife and I both loved and both agreed on. We are also prepared to live with it for the next few years.

May 1st, 2020 1:11 pm

koffey: Deal Expert; Oct 6, 2010; 15508 posts; 10156 upvotes; Toronto

May 1st, 2020 1:11 pm

I went with glass. A clear glass with a white backing. Hard as hell to cut, unless I'm referring to fingers, but otherwise, I really like it.

DYI difficulty scale:
0-joke
10-no joke

+1

May 1st, 2020 2:50 pm

Shop-a-holic [OP]: Deal Addict; Jul 15, 2006; 1031 posts; 138 upvotes; Mississauga, ON

May 1st, 2020 2:50 pm

bubuski wrote: ↑ You are about to buy the house. Whatever backsplash you install now will be considered outdated when you plan to move unless the house is a quick flip. Even your cabinets and floor with hues of brown are warmer colour shades, cooler colours closer to grey are trending now so it is almost a cost spending madness to try to stay on the current trend. Are you prepared to replace the floor tiles with 24x24 size because that is the current trend too.

Backsplash is mostly cosmic in a residential kitchen so it should not function differently whether it is quartz, marble, porcelain or glass. You'll be the person living with the kitchen for the immediate future so my suggestion is just pick something that subjectively looks good to you and that you can live with. Checking out online pictures on pinterest with similar colours to yours will help alot. That said, if you want something that is trending right now with colours that complement your existing flooring and cabinets then consider hiring a professional designer or decorator.

We finished our Kitchen in February and ended up with a porcelain backsplash. It pulled colours from the handles, countertop, cabinet, floor and wall so we were happy with it. Including the backsplash a lot of the other design cues we chose were not trending but it was what my wife and I both loved and both agreed on. We are also prepared to live with it for the next few years.

I hear you and thank you for your feedback and the pictures. Your kitchen looks great!

We are doing it for ourselves and not so much for resale perspective.

The hardest part is finding backslashes online since I - store visits are a no-go at the moment.

May 1st, 2020 2:50 pm

Shop-a-holic [OP]: Deal Addict; Jul 15, 2006; 1031 posts; 138 upvotes; Mississauga, ON

May 1st, 2020 2:50 pm

koffey wrote: ↑ I went with glass. A clear glass with a white backing. Hard as hell to cut, unless I'm referring to fingers, but otherwise, I really like it.

Would you mind sharing pictures?

May 1st, 2020 2:57 pm

koffey: Deal Expert; Oct 6, 2010; 15508 posts; 10156 upvotes; Toronto

May 1st, 2020 2:57 pm

Shop-a-holic wrote: ↑ Would you mind sharing pictures?

Sure, let me see what I can find. Not at home right now. There are some here but I don't know if it is enough for you to really see it.

garfield-themed-restaurant-coming-toron ... #p32135523

EDIT: Just found this on my phone.

DYI difficulty scale:
0-joke
10-no joke

+1

May 1st, 2020 5:02 pm

bubuski: Deal Addict; May 23, 2009; 3385 posts; 1997 upvotes; Mississauga

May 1st, 2020 5:02 pm

Shop-a-holic wrote: ↑ I hear you and thank you for your feedback and the pictures. Your kitchen looks great!

We are doing it for ourselves and not so much for resale perspective.

The hardest part is finding backslashes online since I - store visits are a no-go at the moment.

Thanks, I appreciate the positive comments.

If I was to choose from the three at Rona that you posted I would go with the Hexagon shape tiles but in a lighter colour closer to white. Although I don't actually know what your floor tile or cabinet brown looks like, the shade of brown is important for contracting or coordinating colours..

Shopping online for backsplash can be is difficult and can't really replace visiting a showroom to view samples. You still can narrow down your backsplash type, colour or shape using google images, HGTV kitchens (https://www.hgtv.com/design/rooms/kitchens) or even just a simple search for 'brown cabinet white countertop' on google images.

One local store that I recommend once the lock down is over is Factory tile depot (https://www.factorytiledepot.ca/backsplash), they had the most selection of backsplashes that I found and endless amounts of Catalogues in-store too. I went to the Milton location .

This image below is my sister's kitchen. She went with colourful glass tiles and a black counter top in her custom built house. She loves vivid contrasting colours and will consider my kitchen too matchy matchy for her taste

+1

May 1st, 2020 5:18 pm

Red_Army: Deal Fanatic; Oct 15, 2007; 5299 posts; 2742 upvotes

May 1st, 2020 5:18 pm

Whatever you do, your best option is to buy from a tile store. Stay away from the big boxes .
The selection and quality and pricing will typically be much better.
Wait it out until stores open, tile is not something I’d buy without seeing in person

Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again. - Andre Gide

+1

May 1st, 2020 7:18 pm

Shop-a-holic [OP]: Deal Addict; Jul 15, 2006; 1031 posts; 138 upvotes; Mississauga, ON

May 1st, 2020 7:18 pm

Sounds good, thank you.

Here's what the kitchen looks like at the moment. Attached are a couple of images of the quartz we are looking into for the countertop.

Images

May 1st, 2020 7:39 pm

adams7: Deal Addict; May 8, 2007; 1230 posts; 431 upvotes; BC

May 1st, 2020 7:39 pm

I would like the backsplash material behind the range or cooktop to have no grout so it doesn't accumulate grease or spatter stains. In the case of regular grouted tile I guess a glass cover could be used over the backsplash tiles in the cooktop area.

Saw a kitchen yesterday on some TV show where they used same type of quartz for the countertops and the backsplash. Looked great and no backsplash grout to get stained. Very expensive no doubt.

May 1st, 2020 9:18 pm

altezza86: Member; Mar 9, 2009; 398 posts; 236 upvotes

May 1st, 2020 9:18 pm

We went with quartz backsplash since it was surprisingly only a few hundred dollars more. Keep in mind our kitchen is small. I can tell you cleaning is much easier than our old porcelain backsplash.

+6

May 1st, 2020 9:32 pm

bubuski: Deal Addict; May 23, 2009; 3385 posts; 1997 upvotes; Mississauga

May 1st, 2020 9:32 pm

Shop-a-holic wrote: ↑ Sounds good, thank you.

Here's what the kitchen looks like at the moment. Attached are a couple of images of the quartz we are looking into for the countertop.

The floor tiles will be tough to to blend, it reminds me of rustic tiles. I think you are on right path with the off white counter top but I personally wont go with that same quartz as the backsplash. Maybe a different vein colour closer to brown might work but those cabinet doors and colour look more traditional to really pull off the look.

In my opinion Quartz with brown flakes rather than veins would look better in your kitchen. The brown flakes will work better as the backsplash OR you choose to use 1x1 sized backsplash with various shades of white and brown.

Something along this line. A good looking facelift without breaking the bank

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/537054324295581997/
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/137993176058917583/
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/137993176058917583/

Jul 3rd, 2020 1:05 am

Sanyo: Deal Guru; Feb 9, 2009; 12372 posts; 11282 upvotes

Jul 3rd, 2020 1:05 am

altezza86 wrote: ↑ We went with quartz backsplash since it was surprisingly only a few hundred dollars more. Keep in mind our kitchen is small. I can tell you cleaning is much easier than our old porcelain backsplash.

IMG_8088.JPGIMG_8090.JPG

Is that caesarstone? I have the exact same quartz!

Jul 3rd, 2020 1:37 pm

goob3r: Deal Addict; Aug 19, 2002; 3535 posts; 1180 upvotes

Jul 3rd, 2020 1:37 pm

What's a good product to put on top of backsplash grout to make it easy to clean?

Jul 3rd, 2020 3:13 pm

TLSRULZ: Deal Addict; Apr 18, 2005; 3555 posts; 1796 upvotes; Mississauga

Jul 3rd, 2020 3:13 pm

When we redo the kitchen will be doing quartz for backsplash. Just so easy to clean without the grout lines. Can't even imagine 1×1 tile. We did our master shower with Caesar stone walls and it's literally just a spray and wipe to clean down... added bonus we just squeegee it along with the shower doors after showring and it stays cleaner longer.

I often see in pictures these nice tile murals above the stove backsplash ... but they have lots of small tiles to make the design.. then reality stricks and those pics are all about design and not practical use over a stove .. frying and sautaying... which we do..
Even if you don't want to do the whole thing at least by the stove and sink get a piece of solid surface and blend in with tiles around ?..

Jul 3rd, 2020 3:18 pm

Shop-a-holic [OP]: Deal Addict; Jul 15, 2006; 1031 posts; 138 upvotes; Mississauga, ON

Jul 3rd, 2020 3:18 pm

We ended up getting quartz as backsplash for the kitchen.

It looks great and definitely easy to clean.

Thank you all!

Jul 3rd, 2020 4:13 pm

bubuski: Deal Addict; May 23, 2009; 3385 posts; 1997 upvotes; Mississauga

Jul 3rd, 2020 4:13 pm

goob3r wrote: ↑ What's a good product to put on top of backsplash grout to make it easy to clean?

I had read some articles that suggested using stain resistant grout with properties like acrylic and urethane as opposed to regular cement.

For my backspash I used a cement based anti-microbial grout and sealed it with Aqua Mix Gold. I use thesame sealant for the marble floor in my powder room.

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