Quartz Splashback for the kitchen – Is it worth purchasing?

Kitchen Splashbacks – Why are they so important?

When we design our perfect kitchen, when we opt for the right cabinets, the worktops and flooring, we never forget to actually consider what should go on the walls. Indeed, most of the walls will be covered with paint, but what of the wall behind our sink/hob? These ought to always be covered with something other than a bare wall – something more durable. After all, we need to bear in mind that these segments will be constantly subject to liquid splashing. Whether it is grease or oil bouncing from your hot pan, or the water glancing off the dishes in your sink. What you need, in this situation, is a glass/acrylic or quartz splashback.

The point is, the walls behind the sink/hob or cooker are continuously exposed to danger, and a wall covered with mere paint will not last long, and will need scraping/repainting within weeks. You need something stronger, something smooth and resistant that will withstand the scrubbing of your sponge, constant humidity or seething oil – in the end, you don’t want to be scraping the flaking paint off every time it comes to a clean.

That’s where the splashbacks come in – and as someone who owns one, I can guarantee that they are worth every penny. Not only will they save you cleaning time, they will also protect the wall, and most even embellish the kitchen! Their aesthetics can fantastically conform with the worktops or the cabinets!

Kitchen Splashbacks – What are the most popular choices available on the market? 

Glass Splashback 

These splashbacks have been commonly implemented into many households across the UK. They are reasonably priced, can come in various colours and are, of course, glossed. You can also purchase them in clear, therefore if you like the colour of your walls, now you can achieve just that. Many companies also offer them in vast thicknesses. The cool quality of these products, is that you can integrate virtually any image within them. A great example I found recently, is in one of my friends’ house – he purchased glass splashbacks but he had them done in an image of bricks. As a result, it looked as though his splashback wall was covered with nothing more but raw bricks. It was a fantastic effect, really cheating the eyes.

The only downfall to these products is that they can be easily damaged. It doesn’t occur very often, but if your pan slides out of your hand or you drop a mug and a ceramic shard hits the splashback, they can break – especially the thinner sizes.

Acrylic Splashback 

Acrylic Splashbacks are essentially products made out of plastic. They are durable and come in a wide palette of shades – therefore pairing them up with your cabinets or worktops is not a problem. Just like their glass equivalents, they are very hygenic, and all they require is a simple swipe with cloth to get off the dirt. They even leave behind less smudges than the glass products, so you don’t need special glass-cleaning detergents.

But above everything else, the production/fitting of these products is not laborious, compared to glass splashbacks, so not only you’ll be waiting less time for creation of custom-made acrylic splashbacks, but due to their light nature, you could have them fitted in an hour. This cannot be said for glass splashbacks, which require extensive man-power, carefulness and a lot of patience to install. From what I’ve read, the longest glass splashback installations for the bigger kitchens can last up to 3-4 hours.

Another benefit of these products is that they can be amended at any point, if a need arises. So, if you suddenly decide that you’d like a cut-out for some plug sockets, it’s very much doable. Of course, you’d still have to ask for the service of specialist,  but it will take them very little time. A glass, in this circumstance would shatter. Once a glass splashback is in place, not much else can be done to ammend it.

In terms of price, they are much cheaper than glass splashbacks – but this depends entirely on the manufacturers and your bespoke demands.

Quartz Splashback 

Now, despite the above mentioned splashbacks having a lot of great qualities, there is one kind that we cannot recommend enough – a quartz splashback.

These products dominate on the present splashback market. I own one myself,  and after learning the benefits of these products I swapped my old acrylic for this one. But why are they so special? The reasons are many!

1. A quartz splashback is more resistant and long lasting than glass or acrylics. Because of their quartz + resin blend, they are virtually indestructible. This isn’t just beneficial for accidental impact damage . . . no, these products will outlast glass or acrylic in terms of general longevity. When making research about the nature of quartz splashback, I reached out to a company called Polish Granite who sell these products on a weekly basis. They enlightened us that some of their earliest customers have purchased quartz splashbacks along with quartz worktops, and 14 years later they still remain in pristine condition. This cannot be said for glass or acrylic, which naturally degrade over time, de-colour, scratch or break.
2. Contrary to belief, a quartz splashback does not fade in colour. Indeed! It’s properties are so well matched that the product will outlive your entire kitchen, and still retain its original hues or patterns.
3. You can match a quartz splashback with your existing quartz worktop. That’s right, thanks to these products you can now create a seamless whole i.e. make it seem that your worktop essentially climbs up your wall! It’s often believed that because of its weight, a quartz splashback cannot breach a size of more than approx 80cm x 90cm – that’s absolute nonsense! The current trend is to cover the whole wall with the same product as your worktop. See the picture above of a full quartz splashback, which displays my point. Doesn’t it look great? You can finally get a product that’s made of exact same material as your main worktops. It looks seamless, it looks smooth and above all it’s fashionable. Many celebrities, architectures or interior designers opt for this solution in this day and age. It’s an unparalleled effect that cannot be gained with glass or acrylic – unless of course, you get worktops from that same products, which would be highly unpractical.
4. They too can be amended at any point. So, if all of a sudden you require the whole piece cutting, or desire a socket put in place, that can easily be done. But once more, professionals will need to be involved who arrive at your property with special saws and grinding tools.
5. Another positive point to mention is that they can be contrasted with your worktops. There are vast quartz varieties out there, so you can mix and match whatever you like. For example, you can choose the Calacatta White marble-lookalike worktops, but then opt for Nero Marquina splashbacks (it’s essentially calacatta veiny design, but in black) which will create a fantastic contrast.

Now, the only minor issues to these products are the following:

A quartz splashback is quite heavy, and it’s installation will require some time + at least 2-3 men. But worry not, I ordered mine along with the new quartz worktops, and the fitters installed everything in a matter of hours. So as long as you choose a reliable company, you don’t need to worry about time spent on fitting.

Another minor drawback is that they can be more expensive than the glass or acrylic counterparts. But hey, if you’re going to pay £100 more for a product that will outlive glass/acrylic by two decades, then surely it’s money well spent? Think of it as an investment.

So, that’s all we have for today in terms of splashbacks. It may seem that I’m a little biased towards quartz, but I owned 2/3 of these splashback solutions. I also delt with glass ones when renting a flat during university, and did a lot of research to prepare for this topic. Trust me when I say this, nothing can equate to the great qualities of quartz splashbacks.

If you think that none of these suit your agenda, you can always opt for tiles! They have the same function as splashbacks, but are very time consuming to implement, and may cost even as much as a quartz splashback – depending on the type and theme you choose. Nonetheless, in case you want to indulge more in this subject, I’m attaching a link to an article we posted a while back on practical tips related to tiling: Tiles Practical Tips

I hope this guideline has been helpful! Please comment down below which splashback variety is your favourite. Likewise, if you have any questions regarding each type, don’t hesitate to ask.