Practical yet aesthetic, a guide to materials for kitchen splashbacks

What are kitchen splashbacks and what are they for?

Cooking for your family and friends is great and fun, but even in highly professional kitchens like chefs’, you can hardly avoid food and oil splashes. And then cleaning them can get tricky! That is why it is essential to choose your kitchen backrests well.

They will be able to protect the wall, provided that the hob is facing the wall (in modern open-plan kitchens it is often located on the island and faces the room), from stains and splashes. When choosing, however, design and style must also be taken into account: kitchen splashbacks must therefore be easy to clean, practical, hygienic and at the same time aesthetically pleasing and integrated into the rest of the room. Like every element in the kitchen, they must be both resistant to heat and wear over time and easy to maintain. A complex undertaking? Actually, there are many possibilities, so anyone can find the best one for their space.

Possible materials for kitchen back panels

Let’s start from the assumption that kitchen splashbacks can be small and positioned only behind the hob, or that they can cover the entire wall, including the spaces between the various wall units, becoming a sort of boiserie and consequently also an aesthetic element.

Which material to choose? There are many choices, starting from a simple resin, passing through wood, glass or steel, to porcelain stoneware. The advantage of choosing resin, apart from the fact that it is easy to apply and can therefore also be used in cases of renovation without creating too much additional work, is that it has no joints and is water-repellent.

Toughened glass and quartz, functional and aesthetic choices

Tempered glass is an option for kitchen splashbacks that are highly resistant, if treated correctly, to high temperatures and at the same time refined and able to combine functionality and elegance. Thanks to its various effects, from smoked to more or less opaque or shiny shades, it adapts to any type of kitchen, creating a minimalist atmosphere. In the same direction goes the choice of quartz, which is characterised not only by hardness and resistance to knocks and scratches, but also by a low porosity that makes the surface difficult to attack by acids and grease.

The advantages of wooden, steel and ceramic kitchen splashbacks

Wood is the main material for the interior design of kitchens, whether classic or modern. It can easily be used for back panels that give a homely feel to the whole ensemble, even in the form of chipboard, which is, however, more delicate.

For more modern contexts a winning choice can be steel, thanks to its intrinsic characteristics such as being antibacterial, resistant to shocks, scratches and abrasions as well as to high temperatures and humidity. Don’t forget, however, that it must be cleaned often and with care, as halos and fingerprints are highly unsightly.

Another option to take into consideration when choosing your kitchen splashbacks is ceramic, one of the materials increasingly used in kitchen contexts. Bear in mind, however, that it is better to choose large tiles to avoid having to deal with joints, from which dirt can be difficult to clean.

Green light to combinations of different materials and colours…

In terms of installation practicality, resin is easily adaptable to different sizes, while steel or toughened glass can hardly be cut to size and a recess cannot always be created to fit sockets or switches. Often products can be combined and integrated, also giving interesting aesthetic effects.

As far as colour is concerned, what to choose for kitchen splashbacks? Of course it depends on the colour of the rest of the room, either for harmony or contrast.

Il Piccolo, a second generation family business, opens its showroom in Lugano. With over 50 years of experience, Il Piccolo brings with it a wealth of technical and design knowledge of the highest level, thanks to the many interiors designed and furnished around the world. In addition, Il Piccolo represents many of the best international luxury furniture brands. We design, manufacture and sell the best in design. Also with regard to La Cornue kitchens, we follow the customer from the design to the realisation of the project, integrating the whole process with a precise and professional service.CONTACT US