A backsplash serves two main purposes. It protects your walls against unexpected — but predictable — splashes and brings together your whole room design and decor.
Maybe you don’t have a kitchen or bathroom backsplash, or your current backsplash needs to be replaced. Either way, you’re probably in the market for backsplash types and ideas.
Should you coordinate your backsplash with your floor? Read on for our advice.
Benefits and Downsides of a Coordinating Flooring and Backsplash Combo
Unless your backsplash runs the length of your kitchen or bathroom wall, it won’t meet up with your floor. Your floor and backsplash can bring together your entire room and complement one another.
Advantages
Some of the advantages to coordinating a floor and backsplash include:
- Harmony: When your floor and backsplash work together visually and texturally, they create balance in your interior design. This makes your room feel more put together.
- Savings: Let’s say you’re considering adding a subway tile floor to your bathroom as part of a fun renovation project. You might be able to stretch your budget by using more of the same tiles to construct a coordinating backsplash.
- Color Pop: Are you going for a specific color for your kitchen or bath upgrade? Choosing similar hues for your floor and backsplash can give your space a cohesive appeal. If you use neutrals everywhere else, the backsplash and flooring colors will stand out.
Drawbacks
Not everyone loves a complementary floor-backsplash design. They feel the following downsides outweigh the pros:
- Trendiness: Like all trends, backsplashes and flooring can fall out of style. This can be a sticking point for homeowners who expect to sell their properties in the foreseeable future. With that being said, an indirect complement — such as echoing the same color palette or clean lines — can be a wonderful workaround.
- Lack of Personalization: A lot of homeowners use backsplashes to show off personality and charisma. It’s tough to integrate a paisley-themed backsplash with a similar type of floor without making the project appear too gaudy or overdone.
- Material Limitations: Do you have your heart set on a colored glass backsplash? Though you can likely coordinate the color with a vinyl or laminate floor, you can’t use glass for your flooring.
Remember that coordinating materials doesn’t have to mean sameness. You can contrast your backsplash with your floor and still enjoy a sense of design balance. Be prepared to experiment with a variety of backsplash and floor selections.
Deciding on the Best Ideas for Your Home
Want some expert help when trying to choose between countless bath and kitchen backsplash ideas? We’ll bring flooring samples to your home so you can see how they look against your current or proposed backsplash, as well as your other furnishings and appliances. Contact the team at 50Floor to set up a free, no-obligation in-home appointment.
