1. Change Your Tile’s Direction to Create Distinction

This space, designed by Principle Design & Remodeling, features the Bulevard Snow subway tile installed in a herringbone pattern behind the stove and a brick-lay pattern under the cabinets. Placing the herringbone design in the center creates a sense of movement and helps provide visual separation between meal prep and cooking, making it feel like you have more room for both. Shop subway tile for a wealth of styles to achieve this design.

Choose Blue Hues

From dazzling sapphire to deep navy, blue across the spectrum creates spaces that connect with the natural brilliance of the sky and sea. Equally calming and stimulating, this versatile color complements virtually any style. This stylish kitchen, designed by Timber Trails, features the grey-toned Signature Slate Blue Gloss tile. The cool, slightly muted blue introduces elegant serenity to the transitional space, contrasting beautifully with the white cabinets.

If this versatile color is the hue for you, check out our expansive collection of blue tile.

MORE TO EXPLORE | Brilliant Blue Kitchen Tile Ideas

3. Design a Serene Nature-Inspired Space

Bring the expansive, mood-boosting feel of the outdoors to your space with nature-inspired colors, shapes and materials. We love how this bright and cheery kitchen pairs the Glass Tea Green tile with a blonde wood range hood for natural appeal. Learn how to create serene spaces in every room of your home with this guide to biophilic design.

4. Add Lush Beauty With a Lovely Leaf Shape

Intricately beautiful, mosaic tile offers shapely designs to enliven your space. Just as the seamless look of large format tile makes tight spaces feel more expansive, the fine detail of mosaic tile can make a space appear larger by creating visual interest that expands the sense of scale.

This elegant backsplash features the Bardot Grey marble mosaic. The interlocking leaf shapes create a gentle sense of movement that is enhanced by the stone’s natural grey veining and subtly contrasting white grout lines. The result is a beautiful space defined by organic curves and soft tones.

Create a gorgeously detailed tableau with our wide selection of mosaic tile.

5. Add an Abstract Pattern

Fashion-forward and globally inspired, the Nikki Chu Tangier Graphite tile features an abstract geometric black-on-white pattern of concentric squares. Drawing from her original wallpaper designs, celebrity designer Nikki Chu created this porcelain tile to bring her distinctive motif to spaces that require a durable, easy-to-clean surface—like a hardworking kitchen backsplash.

If you love this distinctly chic style, explore our exclusive Nikki Chu designer collection.

6. Decorate Your Space with an Ornate Pattern

Small spaces can showcase major style. An ornately patterned tile makes your space feel decorative and highly designed. This lovely stove backsplash features the Morris & Co. St. James Wandle River tile (also available in Farringdon Grey and blue-grey Pure Cloud). Set against a beautiful blue background, the intricate white floral pattern is lavish and alive with embellished movement.

If you love this historically detailed design, explore our exclusive Morris & Co. designer collection.

7. Add Natural Texture With Wood-Look Tile

Ruggedly refined, incorporating wood adds texture and sophistication with organic appeal. While real wood is rarely the best choice for a mess-prone kitchen backsplash, wood-look porcelain or ceramic tile offers a durable, easy-to-clean alternative that achieves an authentically rustic aesthetic.

Here, the Bari Aural Grey tile features alternating wood-look planks and recessed matte ribs, creating a chic fluted effect that adds both tactile and visual texture to the stove backsplash. While these long, skinny lines create a sense of width when installed horizontally, they can also be installed vertically to draw the eye upward and add height to a small kitchen.

Add natural appeal to your space with our wide selection of wood-look tile.

MORE TO EXPLORE | Ruggedly Chic Modern Rustic Kitchen Ideas

8. Bring in Botanicals

Colors, shapes and designs inspired by the natural world can boost your mood and make even a small space feel as though it’s bursting with life. Biophilic design brings the outdoors in through botanical patterns, organic color palettes and natural materials.

This charming sink backsplash features the Morris & Co. Hawkdale Willow Olive tile (also available in China Blue). The leaf motifs—inspired by iconic designer William Morris’s historic wallpaper patterns
—seem to sway across the wall, creating a restful yet lively tableau. The coordinating Morris & Co. Hawkdale Pure Chalk tile, interspersed between the patterned subway tile, provides a necessary neutral balance to the foliage.

MORE TO EXPLORE | Tile for Every Style: Biophilic Design

9. Play With a Checkerboard Pattern

Checkerboard is a classic pattern that’s always a style win. Play with this hopscotch design by bringing in unique shapes and fresh colors. This charming sink backsplash features squares of Laura Park Bespoke tile in Aegean Blue and White rotated to create a diamond checkerboard. The diagonal lines draw the eye up and across the wall for an invigorating design that makes the small space appear more expansive.

Find more winning plays on this classic pattern when you explore our curated checkerboard tile collection.

MORE TO EXPLORE | Unique and Unexpected Checkerboard Tile Ideas

10. Achieve a Stylish Slab Look

Love the look of a marble slab backsplash? Achieve a similarly elegant effect with affordable, easy-to-maintain marble-look porcelain or ceramic tile. Available in a range of on-trend styles, the large-format version of these tiles (categorized as any tile with a side longer than 23″ and available in sizes up to 48″ x 48″) requires fewer grout lines, making small spaces feel more expansive and cohesive.

11. Add Charm With English Cottage Patterns

Backsplash designs for small kitchens don’t have to be unassuming. The Laura Ashley Wexbord Fresh Green tile brings the quaint, romantic sensibility of English cottage style to this cozy backsplash. If this whimsical design style is your cup of tea, shop our exclusive Laura Ashley collection.

12. Give Your Space a Sense of Movement

Hampton Carrara marble subway tile installed in a herringbone pattern creates a fluid sense of movement that draws the eye up and across this small backsplash, designed by Two Chicks and a Hammer. While the zigzag layout alone infuses the space with a dynamic flow, the grey and beige veining in the stone enhances that energy, as subtle shifts in tone invigorate the design with natural distinction. The result is a small space that stimulates the eye and is rich in organic detail.

MORE TO EXPLORE | Super-Chic Herringbone Tile Pattern Ideas

13. Stretch Your Budget: Tile Your Backsplash For Under $200

Even if your budget is as small as your space, you can afford a stylish refresh with our expansive selection of tiles under $7. This backsplash, designed by Timber Trails, features Regent Bianco ceramic subway tile. At just $5.39/sq. ft., you can tile a 20- to 30-sq.-ft. backsplash for under $200.

DIY Like a Pro!

Learn How to Install a Kithcen Tile Backsplash with this step-by-step guide.

14. Create a Modern Farmhouse Moment

Modern farmhouse design favors open shelving, which can make your kitchen feel more spacious. This backsplash, designed by I SPY DIY, features the Nuovo Riad Bianco tile beneath an open wooden shelf. The purposeful variations in color and surface texture in this handmade-look tile add an artisanal touch, complementing the refined rustic decor.

15. Embrace Simplicity with Japandi Style

The exquisite minimalism of Japandi design creates a feeling of intentionality in a small space. In this backsplash, designed by Yellow Brick Home, the long, skinny tiles comprising the Home Kit-Kat Milk mosaic provide a sense of harmonious symmetry. Learn more about this organic and calming design style in our Japandi tile guide.

16. Add Extra Space to Your Grout Lines

An essential element of your tile installation, grout is also a powerful design feature. While narrow grout joints make large format tile feel seamless, wide joints emphasize the layout of a smaller format tile. Here, the wide grout lines between the Zellige White Gloss tiles beautifully highlight the handmade tile’s inherent irregularities. Perfectly imperfect, Zellige tile is cut and crafted by hand, resulting in purposefully uneven edges. The wide joints create slightly askew lines in a subtle, neutral beige that runs throughout the layout.

MORE TO EXPLORE | Tips to Nail Your Grout Color & Design

17. Add Interest by Mixing Subway Designs

One sure way to make a small space outstanding is by incorporating unique, eye-catching details. Here, the Signature Gris Matte tile is featured in subway, bevel and frame styles. The raised and recessed edges of the bevel and frame tiles add both visual and tactile texture, creating a customizable look that enlivens the compact space. Explore our newly expanded Signature collection for more endlessly versatile subway and trim tiles in a variety of contemporary hues, as well as matte and glossy finishes.

18. Create a Coastal Chic Escape

Any home can feel like a beach retreat with the elevated, breezy aesthetic of coastal chic design. So much more than shells and nautical decor, modern coastal style embraces the organic tones and weathered textures of the shoreline. Take, for instance, this stunning kitchen featuring the Jeffrey Alan Marks Natural Zen Birchwood Ash tile (also available in Sea Blue and White). The tile’s gently raised texture mimics the look and feel of driftwood, while the muted palette evokes the calm of a hazy summer day.

If you love this serene, seaside style, explore our exclusive Jeffrey Alan Marks designer collection.

MORE TO EXPLORE | Tile for Every Style: Coastal Chic

19. Create a Hex-Cellent Design

What has six sides and countless design possibilities? Timelessly chic hexagon tile! Available in a wide variety of sizes, colors and materials, this versatile shape can be elegant, playful or organically beautiful. Here, Bianco Puro marble hex tile infuses this contemporary kitchen, designed by Jkath Design Build, with subtle detail through fine grey veining and light grey grout lines.

Discover the endless potential of this many-sided shape when you shop hexagon tile.

20. Steep Your Space in Soothing Beige

Soft and serene, the Tribeca Oatmeal subway tile fills this space with warm, undulating beige tones. The rich shade variation in this perfectly imperfect, handmade-look tile creates a complex tableau across the small backsplash, even within a simple neutral color scheme. The glossy finish reflects sunlight to brighten the space and draw out the white tones, which complement the upper cabinets; meanwhile, the brownish shades harmonize with the lower wooden cabinetry.

If this warm neutral is the hue for you, explore our wide selection of beige tile.

MORE TO EXPLORE | Kitchen Backsplash Tile Ideas to Pair With Wood Cabinets

21. Marvel with a Versatile Basketweave Mosaic

The Sampson Mosaic tile features an elegant, intricate basketweave pattern that suits a variety of styles, from transitional to mid-century modern to modern farmhouse. This marble tile is stunning paired with white cabinets and gold fixtures, but it would look just as intriguing beneath wood cabinetry.

22. Give Your Space a Diamond Treatment

Pointedly exquisite, diamond-shaped tile brings sleek movement and dazzling design to a small space. This chic Two Chicks and a Hammer-designed kitchen features the Modena marble mosaic tile along the stove backsplash. Installed horizontally, the pattern helps elongate the area, while natural white, beige and grey tones echo the room’s palette—namely the stainless appliances, cabinetry and gold hardware—creating a cohesive, yet visually complex, tableau.

If you want to make this stunning shape your best friend, shop our wide selection of diamond tile.

MORE TO EXPLORE | Kitchen Backsplash Ideas to Pair With White Cabinets

21. Create a Sense of Depth With Black Tile

Reflecting the light, the glossy surface of the Signature Black Gloss Frame tile creates a sense of depth in this stylish but snug stove backsplash, designed by Albie Knows. Sleek and effortlessly chic, black is an excellent choice for any space. On a small backsplash, the dark tile adds drama and distinction without needing much embellishment. Notice how the simple tile makes this space feel stylized, even with the plethora of objects displayed on the counters and open shelves.

Add drama to your design with our wide selection of black tile.

24. Go Grey

Cool and always chic, grey is an endlessly versatile color that complements a wide range of designs. Zellige, handmade-look, marble-look, and natural stone tiles—like the Bianco Colorato marble tile shown here—are available in this moody hue, making it easy to find a style to suit your space. We love how the subway tile’s expressive dark and light grey tones infuse this transitional kitchen with a soothing sense of movement.

Discover a style to make your backsplash a standout when you shop our many shades of grey tile.

MORE TO EXPLORE | Tile for Every Style: Transitional Design

25. Invest in Marble Tile

If your budget allows, a small space is the perfect opportunity to splurge on real stone. The limited square footage means you can choose a higher-end tile without breaking the bank—and it can make even a compact kitchen feel luxurious. This chic kitchen, designed by Angelia Guthrie, features Calacata Evora honed marble tile. The lush grey and beige veining adds a fashionable, contemporary feel, while the open shelving lets the tile take center stage. Shop our wide assortment of marble tile to find a look that’s both unique and sophisticated.

26. Make a Point With Picket Tile

Reminiscent of a classic picket fence, this elongated hexagon-shaped tile is on point! With its mix of straight and diagonal lines, picket tile creates a sense of movement and natural flow in your space. Here, Picket Florencia Super Bianco is installed using white grout for a subtle design, but you could enhance the shape’s appearance by using contrasting grout.

Updating your space is easier than you think! Shop our wide assortment of kitchen backsplash tiles to find your perfect style, and check out our 30 Inspiring Kitchen Tile Ideas for even more inspiration. Need more assistance? Visit your local Tile Shop showroom, where you’ll find the tile, tools and expert advice you need to get started.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size backsplash tile is best for a small kitchen?

Virtually any size tile will work well for a small kitchen backsplash. If you want a cohesive look that makes your space appear more expansive, use a large-format tile, while a small mosaic tile adds movement and interest.

What is the best color backsplash for a timeless kitchen?

A crisp white backsplash will adapt as your style evolves. White subway tile is a classic look that can be easily updated with colored accents or by painting your cabinets and shelves.

Should the backsplash be lighter or darker than the countertop?

Your backsplash color depends on your personal style. If you tend toward the bold, contrasting your tile and cabinet colors adds a sense of drama. A backsplash that picks up some of the tones of your cabinets–-like a gold-flecked backsplash with gold fixtures on your cabinets -–will look cohesive while adding interest. Contrasting trim or grout will add definition to matching backsplash, countertops and cabinets.

Pick A Petal Pattern

Emphasize Your Design With Contrasting Grout

Offset Your Tile Pattern

One way to add interest to

Make Your Space ✨Shine✨ With Glass Tile

Add Handcrafted Character

Add an Antique Look

Make It Midcentury Modern

Create a Custom Pattern

Set Your Stove Backsplash Apart

The post 26 Small Kitchen Backsplash Tile Ideas With Maximum Style appeared first on The Tile Shop Blog.

1. Brick Lay

A classic tile design, brick lay (sometimes referred to as running board) mimics a traditional brick stack. Characterized by the horizontal offset tiles, this design manages to be understated while still looking chic. The brick lay wall design shown here using Brick x Brick by Alison Victoria Petal, is soft and charming but subtle enough not to take the focus away from the decorative shower niche.

2. Horizontal Stack

If you’re someone who wants everything neat and orderly, then consider a horizontal stack. The crisp vertical and horizontal lines create a structured grid pattern. Alternating double rows of Coco White Glossy and Coco White Matte enhance this simple design and add unassuming interest to this lovely modern bathroom.

3. Vertical Offset

Stand out with a vertical offset subway pattern. Long, skinny vertical stripes will create the illusion of height, perfect for a short shower space. This gorgeous shower shows how turning your tiles ninety degrees can give your space a fresh, modern look.

4. Vertical Straight Stack

Tall, neat and chic, the vertical straight stack is the perfect layout for a highly organized modern design. We love how this vertical straight stack creates nice well-ordered rows that extend and accentuate this bathroom backsplash.

5. Herringbone

Add movement to your space with a herringbone design. The diagonal lines take the eye through your space and add width and depth. The Coco Canvas Matte tile used on this spa floor proves that this design can be as tranquil as it is energetic.

6. Grid Stack

Can’t decide between vertical and horizontal? A grid stack is the best of both worlds. Use three to four tiles (depending on width) to create a square and install them in alternating vertical and horizontal stacks. This cool, modern shower uses the Look Avio handmade-look tile; the variation in the green-blue color and glossy finish creates a vibrant, undulating surface.

Bonus: Combine Designs

Combining subway layouts is a great way to highlight an area in your space–like a sink or a stove backsplash–or create an accent on your wall. Here are three stunning spaces that combine two layouts for a wonderful visual effect.

And One More Design Idea–Picket Tile!

A modern take on subway tile, picket tile is gaining popularity for its neat stacks and fine angles. This shower uses black and white picket to create an ultra-modern space that still maintains the unassuming quality of traditional subway tile. Shop our full selection of picket tile to find a design that fits your style.

Inspired to incorporate one or more of these subway tile layouts in your reno? It’s easier than ever to make your design dreams a reality with our free design services. Or, explore even more stylish subway layouts in real spaces on our Customer Room Gallery and Instagram!

The post 6 Classic Subway Tile Layouts appeared first on The Tile Shop Blog.