One of the rising trends in kitchen and bathroom design is a statement backsplash. Mirror backsplashes and eye-catching geometric tile are popular choices, but the single most elegant backsplash trend of today is the flowing marble backsplash design. We're not talking just the back edge of your countertops, but a soaring stone panel backing the entire space between the countertop and cabinets or, even more elegantly, the entire space behind your sink or stove.  

This creates a unique and luxurious appearance for the kitchen in a space that would normally be occupied by subway tile or glossy wall paint. Marble backsplashes increase the elegance of a kitchen without significantly changing the structure, and you can make them with the same slab as your new marble countertops or from beautiful remnants of a different color marble entirely.  

Is Marble a Good Material for Backsplashes?

Yes, marble makes a durable and beautiful backsplash - if properly sealed. Sealed stone is scratch-resistant, stain resistant, and easy to clean. Backsplashes also take less damage than countertops, so are a safer place for marble as a softer luxury stone. Marble can be used to clad your walls as a backsplash in both single panels and marble tiles. 

Marble Backsplash Pros and Cons

What are the pros and cons of choosing a marble backsplash? Let's dive into a quick summary of this kitchen design in practice.

Pros

• Marble is elegant and makes a statement backsplash
• Marble backsplashes can flow with the grain of your countertops
• Sealed marble is durable and easy to clean
• Marble increases the value of your kitchen

Cons

• Marble is a soft and relatively high-maintenance stone
• If unsealed, marble backsplashes will quickly discolor from cooking fumes
• Marble slab backsplashes are delicate to renovate around
• Marble is a high-value stone

4 Reasons to Choose a Marble Backsplash for Your Kitchen

1) An Elegant and Continuous Design

Marble backsplashes are often made of continuous pieces of your marble slab after the countertops are cut. This gives you the opportunity to create the "waterfall" effect - only flowing upward. It all depends on how you connect the grains. Your backsplashes can flow down into your countertops or your entire kitchen can flow upward like the bottom of the ocean Or, perhaps, you enjoy a horizontal grain that flows around the length of your kitchen from the backsplash to the countertop and beyond. Marble grain has so many artistic possibilities.

Work with your stone fabricator to create a design where the cut of your countertops and marble backsplashes are complementary and create a unique aesthetic for every kitchen from the grain of natural stone.

2) Statement Piece for an Exquisite Kitchen

Statement backsplashes are all the rage. Interior design has had a revelation in the possibilities of eye-catching design or understated elegance hidden in the peek-a-boo space between the upper and lower cabinets, or between the stovetop and the hood. We love all the new statement backsplash designs available, bring and dark, colorful and monochrome, tile or stone. So why a marble statement backsplash?

Marble has been the definition of a luxury kitchen for centuries. Beautiful, creamy white marble slabs were the material of the first great ancient temples. Of all your options for a statement backsplash, marble is a statement of luxury without retention. Waterfall backsplashes or eye-catching contrast both use the subtle play of natural colors and geological grains as your primary aesthetic. 

3) Simple and Easy to Clean

Whether you have a little kitchen sink or a spacious farmhouse sink, splashes happen and you need a backsplash that can be cleaned again and again. Marble is not just beautiful, it's also smooth and scrubbable. Especially when it's well-sealed.

Taking care of your marble backsplash requires exactly the same routine as caring for your countertops. While marble does require some attention, using the same material simplifies your cleaning and maintenance routine for years to come. You can clean and reseal your marble backsplash and countertops with the exact same routine.

4) Use the Rest of Your Hand-Picked Marble Slab

Commissioning marble countertops, a homeowner first chooses a slab and has their countertops cut from the expanse. There is often some amount of marble left over, which can be used for other areas of your home like smaller bathroom counters, mantles, marble-topped ledges, and backsplashes. Using your slab remnant is sustainable, creative, and an elegant way to tie together the design features of your kitchen and the rest of your home.

Interestingly, on the same principle, you can often find a beautiful selection of marble remnants in many colors with your stone fabricator. If you want contrasting marble backsplashes or need to match your marble with a few more pieces, the remnant supply is a great reason to make backsplashes with marble.

Designing Your Marble Backsplash

What are your design options when choosing a marble backsplash?

Waterfall Marble Backsplashes

Waterfall backsplashes allow the grain of the marble to flow from the backsplash continuously over the countertop. This can be achieved by cutting your backsplash directly with your countertop panels from the slab.

Flowing Marble Backsplashes

Aligning the direction of your marble grain gives a different effect. If you like the look of a grain that flows in the same direction as your countertops, the same choice - perhaps inverted - for your backsplashes can unify your kitchen's appearance and create a luxuriously organic ambiance.

Contrasting Marble Backsplashes

A creative option is to choose a contrasting color or grain for your marble. You might choose the same color and type of marble, but a different striation of grain. Or you might choose a dramatically contrasting backsplash for two luxurious textures in a high-contrast kitchen.

Marble Tile Backsplashes

Smaller pieces of marble are made into marble tiles, allowing you to combine the creamy natural aesthetic of marble with the classic style of a tile backsplash. Geometric marble tile can allow you to explore some truly creative designs and patterns in trade for the smooth, continuous surface of a slab backsplash.

Elevate Your Kitchen Remodel with Fossil Blu

If you're looking for trending, beautiful, and signature kitchen designs, Fossil Blu is here to help you make it happen. Find gorgeous, functional farmhouse sinks to make your kitchen a joy to cook in. When cutting into your marble countertops, don't forget room for the apron. Contact us to explore the latest kitchen design trends and the perfect farmhouse sink to handle all your washing needs and kitchen crafts.