10 Dated Backsplash Trends And 10 Timeless Options They Should Be Exchanged With

Kitchen backsplashes are the unsung heroes of home design, protecting walls while adding personality to your space. Over the years, certain backsplash styles have fallen out of favor while others have stood the test of time.

Whether you’re planning a renovation or simply dreaming of a kitchen update, knowing which trends to skip and which classics to embrace can save you from costly design regrets.

1. Dated: Busy Mosaic Patterns

Remember those tiny, multi-colored glass tiles that were everywhere in the early 2000s? While once the height of kitchen fashion, these dizzying designs now make spaces feel cluttered and chaotic.

Busy mosaics quickly show their age as trends evolve. Plus, all those grout lines become magnets for cooking splatters and require intense cleaning efforts to maintain their appearance.

2. Timeless: Subway Tiles

Clean lines and versatile styling make these rectangular classics perpetual winners in kitchen design. Subway tiles first appeared in New York City subway stations in 1904 and have remained relevant ever since.

Their simple shape allows for creative installation patterns like herringbone or vertical stacking. Available in countless colors and finishes, they adapt beautifully to any kitchen style from farmhouse to ultra-modern.

3. Dated: Tumbled Stone Tiles

Popular in Tuscan-inspired kitchens of the 1990s and early 2000s, these weathered-looking natural stone pieces have lost their appeal. The deliberately aged appearance now reads as genuinely old-fashioned rather than charmingly rustic.

Tumbled stone’s porous surface traps grease and food particles, making cleaning a nightmare. Their irregular surfaces and numerous grout lines create maintenance headaches that modern homeowners prefer to avoid.

4. Timeless: Marble Slabs

Luxury meets practicality with seamless marble backsplashes that eliminate grout lines entirely. The natural veining in each slab creates one-of-a-kind artistry that never goes out of style.

Marble has graced fine buildings for centuries, lending kitchens a sense of history and permanence. Though requiring occasional sealing, the smooth surface wipes clean easily and develops a beautiful patina over time that adds character.

5. Dated: Diagonal Tile Layouts

Angled installations were all the rage in the 90s, with tiles set at 45-degree angles instead of straight. This fussy orientation was thought to add visual interest but now appears needlessly complicated and visually chaotic.

Diagonal layouts waste materials due to numerous cut pieces. They also create awkward triangular spaces at edges that collect dirt and draw attention to any imperfections in your walls or installation, making them a dated design choice best left in the past.

6. Timeless: Zellige Tiles

Moroccan craftsmanship shines through these clay tiles with centuries of history behind them. Each zellige piece features slight variations in color, texture, and shine that create a luminous, ever-changing surface as light moves across them.

Their handmade quality brings organic warmth to modern kitchens. Available in stunning jewel tones or subtle neutrals, zellige tiles strike the perfect balance between statement-making and timeless, promising to remain stylish for decades to come.

7. Dated: Fruit And Vegetable Motifs

Decorative tiles featuring painted grapes, apples, and herb bundles were kitchen staples throughout the 1980s and 90s. Often installed as scattered accent tiles among plain backgrounds, these literal food references now feel kitschy and overly thematic.

Fruit motifs quickly become visually overwhelming and limit design flexibility. The cartoon-like quality of these illustrations clashes with today’s preference for subtle texture and natural materials, making them an immediate giveaway of an outdated kitchen.

8. Timeless: Solid Slab Quartz

Seamless elegance defines these engineered stone backsplashes that continue from countertops up the wall. Without a single grout line to collect grime, cleaning becomes remarkably simple – just a quick wipe with your favorite cleaner.

Quartz offers incredible durability against stains and scratches. Available in countless patterns from subtle veining to bold movement, these non-porous surfaces resist bacteria growth and never need sealing, making them as practical as they are beautiful.

9. Dated: Colored Glass Blocks

Once considered the epitome of 80s modernity, colored glass blocks have not aged well. The bulky translucent squares create a dated look that immediately transports visitors back to the era of shoulder pads and Miami Vice.

Glass blocks protrude significantly from the wall, consuming valuable kitchen space. Their distinctive aesthetic is nearly impossible to integrate with contemporary design elements, making them a renovation priority when updating older homes.

10. Timeless: Handmade Ceramic Tiles

Artisanal charm radiates from these imperfectly perfect tiles that showcase the craftsperson’s touch. Slight variations in color, texture and dimension create visual interest that mass-produced options simply cannot match.

Handmade ceramics have adorned homes across cultures for centuries. Their subtle irregularities catch light beautifully throughout the day, adding depth and character that transforms an ordinary kitchen into a space with soul and artistic integrity.

11. Dated: Mirror Tile Backsplashes

Glitzy and glamorous in the 1970s and 80s, mirrored tiles were thought to make small kitchens appear larger. Fast forward to today, and these reflective surfaces simply create visual chaos while showing every fingerprint, water spot, and cooking splatter.

Mirror tiles magnify the appearance of mess in the busiest room of your home. Their highly reflective surfaces create distracting glare from overhead lighting and require constant polishing to maintain their intended effect.

12. Timeless: Shiplap Wood

Rustic warmth emanates from horizontal wooden planks that bring architectural interest to kitchen walls. Properly sealed wood backsplashes add organic texture that softens the hard surfaces typically found in cooking spaces.

Shiplap creates a cozy, lived-in feeling that works beautifully in farmhouse, coastal, and even modern kitchens. The natural grain patterns vary from board to board, ensuring your backsplash has character and depth that manufactured materials simply cannot replicate.

13. Dated: Peel-And-Stick Vinyl Tiles

Budget-friendly but visibly cheap, these temporary solutions rarely fool anyone into thinking they’re authentic materials. Heat and moisture – two constants in kitchen environments – cause adhesive failure and curling edges within months of installation.

Vinyl tiles fade quickly when exposed to sunlight. Their printed patterns lack the depth and variation of natural materials, creating a flat, artificial appearance that experienced eyes immediately recognize as an economical shortcut rather than a deliberate design choice.

14. Timeless: Brick Veneer

Industrial charm meets historical character with thin brick veneers that transform ordinary kitchens into spaces with architectural significance. The varied coloration and texture of each brick creates visual interest that draws the eye without overwhelming the space.

Brick backsplashes pair beautifully with both modern and traditional elements. Their earthy tones warm up cool color schemes, while their textural quality adds depth to monochromatic kitchens, creating a timeless look that improves with age.

15. Dated: Glass Tile Picture Murals

Elaborate scenes depicting Tuscan vineyards or Mediterranean seascapes once represented the height of custom kitchen design. Today, these pictorial backsplashes appear overwhelming and distractingly specific to a particular era and aesthetic.

Murals lock homeowners into rigid design schemes that limit future updates. Their highly personalized nature can also become a significant obstacle when selling your home, as potential buyers struggle to envision their own style preferences coexisting with such a dominant decorative element.

16. Timeless: Stainless Steel

Professional vibes radiate from sleek metal surfaces that coordinate perfectly with modern appliances. Available in various finishes from mirror-polished to brushed or patterned, stainless steel backsplashes project a clean, contemporary aesthetic.

Heat resistance makes this material ideal behind cooking areas. The non-porous surface prevents bacteria growth and wipes clean effortlessly, while its reflective quality brightens kitchens by bouncing light throughout the space, creating an airy, expansive feeling.

17. Dated: Wallpaper Backsplashes

Experimental and budget-friendly, wallpaper behind cooking areas seemed innovative when covered with glass or acrylic panels. Reality has proven this approach problematic as steam and moisture inevitably find their way behind protective barriers.

Wallpaper patterns quickly become dated as design trends evolve. Even when properly sealed, the combination of heat, cooking oils, and cleaning products accelerates deterioration, leading to discoloration, peeling, and mold growth that creates both aesthetic and health concerns.

18. Timeless: Beadboard Paneling

Cottage charm fills kitchens featuring these vertical grooved panels that date back to Victorian times. The subtle texture adds architectural interest without overwhelming the eye, creating a soft backdrop for other design elements.

Beadboard creates a cozy, welcoming atmosphere that never feels cold or sterile. Typically painted in crisp white or soft neutrals, these backsplashes brighten kitchens while providing durability and easy maintenance when properly sealed against moisture.

19. Dated: Copper Penny Tiles

Novelty took precedence over practicality when homeowners began adhering actual pennies to their kitchen walls. Initially appearing unique and conversation-worthy, these DIY backsplashes quickly tarnish and develop uneven patinas that look more neglected than intentionally aged.

Penny tiles collect grime between coins that proves nearly impossible to clean thoroughly. The shiny copper surfaces also clash with most cabinet hardware and fixtures, creating a disjointed look that feels more like a temporary experiment than a thoughtful design choice.

20. Timeless: Solid Glass Panels

Sleek sophistication defines these seamless glass sheets that eliminate grout lines entirely. Available in countless colors from subtle neutrals to bold statement hues, back-painted glass creates a lustrous, reflective surface that adds depth to kitchens.

Glass panels install as single pieces behind sinks and ranges. Their non-porous surface resists staining and wipes clean with minimal effort, while the high-gloss finish bounces light throughout the space, making even small kitchens feel more open and bright.