12 colorful kitchen backsplash ideas

Dark blue Italian tile creates the backsplash in the Santa Monica kitchen of Jerome Dahan, founder of Citizens of Humanity.

The Santa Monica kitchen of Jerome Dahan features a center island, blue ceilings and graphic wall coverings from Eskayel. The bar stools are from Twentieth. Tour the entire house here.

In addition to green Heath tile, this Santa Monica kitchen features amber bamboo flooring on the ceiling, cabinets made of strawboard, a sheet metal wall, CaesarStone counters and porcelain tile flooring. More here.

Green glazed vintage subway tiles appear on the backsplash above the stove in R.J. Cutler’s home. Full tour from 2009.

In the kitchen of this John Lautner guest house in Echo Park, new stained redwood custom cabinets were installed along with Heath tile in a warm ocher to suit the woodsy feeling of the house. The geometric tile pattern was inspired by the acute angles of the main corner windows in the living room.

Shown is a pot filler faucet above the stove in the kitchen of chefs Michael Cimarusti and Crisi Echiverri, with a backsplash made from Heath Ceramics tile. “I like that it’s undulating and handmade, and the gradation of colors,” says Echiverri.

A back-painted tempered glass backsplash in Silver Lake helps a 400-square-foot addition feel larger. Architect Alice Kimm views the backsplash as an ever-changing canvas. “It’s like looking at a different painting every day with its reflections of the trees and the clouds,” she said. See more of the kitchen here.

Architects removed upper cabinets in the Los Feliz home of Juan Devis and Laura Purdy and made the walls colorful textured stucco. Full house tour here.

There are no upper cabinets in the Santa Monica kitchen of Rachel Klauber-Speiden, pictured. All storage is underneath the counter, behind doors made of recycled rubber. To create the orange backsplash, Klauber-Speiden painted the back of clear glass instead of buying more expensive colored glass. Tour the entire house here.

In the kitchen of architect Jon Frishman, the backsplash consists of drywall painted yellow and topped with a 1/16-inch piece of clear tempered glass, which is strong, easy to clean and heat resistant. It’s also less expensive than tile often chosen for modern homes. Tour Frishman’s Laurel Canyon home here.

A mirrored mosaic backsplash from Ann Sacks makes a statement in the former loft belonging to Dave Navarro. More photos of three Broadway building lofts here.

Susan Cuscuna used broken dishes to craft an elaborate 10-foot-wide mosaic backsplash for her 1930s Laurel Canyon cottage. Details on how she did it here.