If you are a little bored with traditional ceramic tiles protecting your kitchen walls, you’re in luck! Splashbacks do not have to be uniform, and there are fantastic, classic and modern materials that make great alternatives to ceramic tiles. For our handmade kitchens, we have used an array of materials which not only look stylish but do their job of protecting your kitchen walls. There are many materials to consider for splashbacks, from luxurious natural marble to utilitarian stainless-steel and beautifully engineered Richlite and Neolith in an array of contemporary colours. Your new luxury kitchen should have splashbacks, a feature that is integral to the kitchen design. Every aspect of a handmade kitchen should be bespoke, so why should the splashback be ordinary?
At Papilio, we’ve worked with many fantastic materials when designing luxury kitchens for our clients. For our Fulham Kitchen project in a grand Victorian townhouse in London, we chose an extremely rare Grey Grigio di Luna Marble. The ancient marble acquired a wonderful iridescent surface during the 3-million-year journey to this luxury kitchen. What we loved about the overall design was the contemporary aesthetic incorporating cabinets in Rebecca’s Red by Francesca’s Paints, slatted wall coverings and marble to create a stunning kitchen design.
In contrast, we chose the brilliant engineered Richlite for the splashbacks in the pantry cabinet in our Richlite Kitchen project. In the large country manor, the kitchen was a masterpiece of contemporary styling. We complemented the Richlite, which is made from sustainable paper but incredibly tough and hardwearing, with limestone on the sink run. The marriage of natural and engineered materials – the modern and classic was perfect for the contemporary kitchen design.
While we’re on the subject of contemporary engineered materials ideal for splashbacks in the kitchen, we must mention Neolith. Engineered to a high quality and structure, it is made from Sintered Stone, creating a surface that can be used indoors and outdoors: facades, bathrooms, kitchens and countertops. In fact, it’s ideal for splashbacks, so we incorporated it when in our Clifton Kitchen project in Bristol, Somerset. The luxury kitchen combined oak door fronts with heavy grain, finest American walnut, porcelain by Neolith and Italian Carrara marble with rich veining. The overall kitchen was rich in colour, texture and style, yet it was functional and hardwearing.
Although utilitarian, stainless-steel can also look fantastic in a luxury kitchen. Our Contemporary Kitchen project in Somerset is an excellent example of this sterile material working harmoniously in a beautiful kitchen. We designed the sink run worksurfaces using bespoke fabrication in stainless-steel, which included a seamless sink and integrated splashback. Our finishing touches included customised folded metal handles ergonomically conceived by us and a stunning single slab of Turkish Lilac Marble for contrast and function.
