I was brushing my teeth the other day and got caught staring at the water spots inching up the wall behind my sink. Tiny droplets of water had condensed from steam and splashes over time and darkened into grimy little stains on the otherwise clean white wall. My landlord had painted that wall just six months ago, and I couldn’t help but think how quickly it started looking like a chaotic inkblot test.
I realised in that moment that while most people don’t give it much thought, your bathroom walls take a beating. You rinse and splash and let water drip everywhere when washing your hands, washing your face, brushing your teeth – you name it. Surprisingly, bathroom backsplashes aren’t quite as common as kitchen backsplashes.
Which makes sense, I suppose; who needs protection on their bathroom walls? Except you totally do.
I’ve installed four bathroom backsplashes over the years, and each one taught me a little something.
So here’s what I’ve learned: This was back when I lived in a rental flat and saw those water stains on my pristine white wall. I opted for peel-and-stick subway tiles because I was cheap and paranoid about my security deposit. But honestly?
They worked wonders. They wiped down super easily, covered the wall from edge-to-edge, and when I moved out six years later they peeled off without damaging the wall paint. Height-wise, most bathroom backsplashes are too low.
Including mine on the first bathroom of this list. Most people think stopping water splashes at around 4 inches high is sufficient. Newsflash: water doesn’t just drip downward.
It flies sideways when the tap is on full blast, it s splatters up when you’re furiously washing your face, and leaks down behind everything else that isn’t protected by a backsplash. Trust me – go for 6-8 inches minimum, and even higher if your sink is shallow. There’s nothing wrong with natural stone tile in the bathroom – if you pick the right one and are willing to maintain it properly.
Natural stone tiles like travertine and marble are porous, which means they’ll absorb liquids and stain unless you seal them regularly with a special stone sealer. Even then, you have to reapply the seal every year to keep it effective. I made the mistake of using beautiful Carrara marble tiles as a backsplash in a friend’s guest bathroom once.
It looked amazing for about three months, and then water spots became permanent. I still recommend ceramic or porcelain tile as my top pick. But avoid plain old subway tiles; they can look boring AF.
I’m partial to textured ceramic tiles that I found at a tile outlet store. They look like oversized linen fabric but can be wiped down with just a damp sponge! The texture hides any water spots between cleanings, which is more important to me than “looking good for Instagram.” Glass tile is beautiful, but also super high maintenance.
Water spots don’t just appear on painted walls, they appear on glass tile too – and every individual water droplet is noticeable until you wipe it down. I installed random mosaic glass tile as a backsplash in a powder room once and found myself cleaning that backsplash more than any other area in the bathroom. Prep is just as important as the tile you install.
I’ve seen too many people put backsplashes over painted drywall and wonder why it falls off the wall a few months later. Wet areas need moisture-resistant or specialty primer to help seal the paint before installation. I used a moisture-resistant bonding primer on my current bathroom and let it cure for 48 hours before starting the tile installation.
Thinset vs. tile adhesive? It depends on your wall surface and weight of your tile. Heavier natural stone tiles need traditional tile adhesive instead of all-in-one products.
Lighter-weight ceramic tile and faux stone tiles? Tile backers with adhesive pre-applied (AKA peel-and-stick tile) have come a long way. I used StickTILE peel-and-stick tile on a bathroom renovation in my basement and three years later they’re holding up just as strong as the traditional thinset-and-tile I used on my kitchen backsplash.
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Tile backsplash sheets on bricks of tile you buy at retail cost? Yeah right. The secret is to hit up your local tile store and cheque out their remnants bin.
Tile stores save broken pieces and leftovers from full-sheet tile installations and usually sell them at significant discounts. Enough to save you hundreds. I found a stack of remnant 3×6 handmade ceramic tiles and was able to cover an 8-foot backsplash section for £40.
At retail, those same tiles cost £8 per square foot. Pro tip: you probably won’t have enough remnants to cover your mistakes, so always buy 10% extra. I didn’t need anything fancy to cut tile for my small bathroom backsplashes.
I used a simple tile cutter I picked up from the hardware store for around £25. It cuts most ceramic tile in tiles less than 12” in size. For cutting glass tile or natural stone, you need a wet saw.
But you can totally rent those for a weekend project! When it comes to spacers, don’t cheap out. I know because the cheap plastic spacers I bought fell apart on me and left pieces of plastic stuck in my grout lines.
Buy yourself a quality metal spacer set. You’ll be glad you did. Speaking of grout, the colour you choose can completely change how busy your backsplash looks and how much maintenance it requires.
Darker grout helps hide stains, but tiny bathrooms can start to feel closed-in. Lighter grout brightens the space but will show water spots and soap scum. I’ve been using a medium grey lately that seems to give me the best of both worlds.
It doesn’t always have to match. One thing I didn’t realise when picking out tile for this bathroom is that you can (and should!) mix and match your floor tile and your backsplash tile. My floor tile is a charcoal grey hexagon tile, and the wall tile is basic white subway.
The contrast actually made both tiles look more intentional to me. Matching floor tile to your backsplash is kind of… boring. Like you bought a bathroom swatch “set” from a home catalogue.
Just know that some backsplashes require more maintenance than others.
Handmade tile with grout lines and lots of little texture crevices? Get ready to scrub soap scum out of every little nook and cranny.
Smooth, glazed ceramic tile can wipe down in seconds. Consider your cleaning habits and willingness to maintain the.tile when picking material. Here’s what I want to try next: large format porcelain tile.
Basically big slabs of porcelain tile that are manufactured to look like natural stone, but have the durability and easy maintenance of traditional ceramic tile. They come in sizes up to 48” and have fewer grout lines to clean. Pattern matching is also easier!
Installation is definitely more difficult, but for long-term maintenance I’m willing to give it a shot. So there you have it. Get something up on that bathroom wall.
Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.
