Kitchens · Splashbacks

The wall you wash after every stir-fry

Behind the cooktop, cleanability and heat matter more than a grout colour you loved under showroom lights.

Glass or slab

Easiest daily wipe

Yes

Grout is a material

Behind cooktop

Heat zone

Continue the bench

Seamless look

Independent guide — not a contractor. Planning information only. Confirm licences, waterproofing, and quotes with qualified trades and the relevant state authority.

Splashback cleanability (planning)

Material	Daily wipe	Watch-out
Painted glass	Usually easiest flat plane	Specify heat-rated make-up behind a cooktop
Glazed tile	Fine if grout is mid-tone and tight	Grout becomes the splashback in year three
Slab continuation	Seamless with the bench	Extra material, tap holes, and fabricator skill
Stainless / metal	Commercial honesty	Streaks and scratches read as patina or regret

Heat rules behind a cooktop belong to the product and the installer. Kitchen splashbacks are not a shower specification.

What visitors always ask

What splashback materials are easiest to clean?+

A painted glass splashback or a continuation of a porcelain or stone slab is usually the easiest daily wipe: few or no grout joints, a flat plane, and a silicone perimeter you can keep honest. Glazed ceramic or porcelain tiles clean well if the grout colour is mid-tone and the joints are tight. Stainless is the commercial answer and shows streaks. Natural stone splashbacks inherit the etching and sealing story of the bench. Avoid raw timber behind a wok.

How high should a kitchen splashback go?+

Take it to the underside of wall cabinets, or to the ceiling on a cooktop wall with no cabinets. Return it around a window reveal if the sink lives there. A short strip that stops in space usually reads as leftover rather than as a finished elevation.

Keep reading

Kitchen hub

Where splashback sits in the sequence.

Benchtops

The horizontal partner.

Tiles

When you choose tile.

Australia · kitchens & bathrooms

Make a renovation day of it

Whether you have a weekend cosmetic refresh or a full wet-area rebuild, start with the checklist, then read the cost bands with their assumptions still attached.

Open the checklist →Read cost guides