Kitchen splashbacks - any advice on glass?

Rosa_Damascena

Where do I start??? 

Seriously, my instinct was to go with tiles but I've seen so many different styles I'm now confused. I'm not against tiles per se, but I could do without spending my life looking after grout which makes me think I would be better off with glass. If I go down this route presumably I can just get the rear painted and the glass goes on top? Can it be removed and refitted as I wish to change the wall colour? I was also thinking I could perhaps go with a statement wallpaper underneath - is this advisable?

Also to say I am avoiding any kitchen look that will date - which again informed my initial choice of tiles. My brain is getting addled looking at P'Interest and I am at a loss now 

Emmia

We have coloured tempered glass in our kitchen rather than tiles, but in some ways it is exactly like tiles in that the glass is permanently adhered to the wall - so changing the colour means changing the glass. Being tempered means that it is also behind the hob.

The glass was the last part of the kitchen to be fitted - the company came and measured up once the units and worktop were in place.

I love the look of the glass, it is easy to clean with no grout to get dirty etc. and it is ever so slightly reflective which helps with making the kitchen seem lighter.

You could get a similar effect with perspex, but that isn't suitable behind the hob, and is more of a pain to clean as it's fussy on products. (I have coloured perspex on top of a coffee table)

FreeBear

If you want tiles but not grout, there is always large format tiles. Not sure what the largest available "standard" size is...

Glass, you could specify screw hole fixings (they are some times fixed with glue or sticky pads). Easy enough to pop off the wall if you wanted to change the colour.

Alanp

We had glass fitted to our kitchen when we replaced it last year, they come in all sorts of colours so you have plenty of choice, wouldn’t go back to tiles, we chose a light grey which matches everything perfectly, if we want to change our colour scheme, we’d just paint the remaining walls,

koalakoala

You can get backboards the same as the worktops ?

Emmia

koalakoala said:

You can get backboards the same as the worktops ?

If you want a continuous run, you'd need to check whether the worktop you've selected (or it's wall / backboard  equivalent) is suitable behind the hob.

Alternatively you could just do an upstand with the backboard, (or glass or tiles) with a painted section above, and a stainless steel panel behind the hob. That would let you switch the colour if you wanted in future.

Rosa_Damascena

koalakoala said:

You can get backboards the same as the worktops ?

With the price of quartz the answer has got to be no. I'd also quite like a contrast and nothing too neutral so the option of being able to change it at will would be key.

Glass does seem easier and modern but my only worry is that it will look dated. I love my home and in terms of styling it will never go out of fashion precisely because my selections have never been in fashion, I much prefer a classic look (read middle-aged fuddy-duddy). My usage of things tends to be careful so stuff looks as news as the day it was installed. Anything that dates is a no-go: I dislike patterned floor an wall tiles because they take me straight back to the 1970s and had to get the smelling salts out when I was told that coloured bathrooms suites are making a comeback 

Thanks for all the quick replies! 

missile

I have glass splash back and it is so much nicer than tiles.

phoebe1989seb

Three years ago we fitted tempered glass over a feature wallpaper behind our range cooker (and are now adding it behind the double butler sink too) and have been really  pleased with it.....

phoebe1989seb

Meant to add, ours is attached with mirror fixings so can be - relatively - easily removed if we wanted to change the wallpaper 😉

Rosa_Damascena

phoebe1989seb said:

Meant to add, ours is attached with mirror fixings so can be - relatively - easily removed if we wanted to change the wallpaper 😉

I like the idea of this, opens up the design options significantly....but can I ask you a stupid question please? How much was the glass? Am guessing that a piece of tempered glass with smoothed edges would be no more than £40? - just going by the prices I have paid for oversized mirrors.