15+ Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash
MidCentury Kitchen with White Stacked Backsplash and Dark Wood Cabinets
Dark wood cabinets pose against a crispy white background… This combination is one of the essential features of the Mid-century kitchens that love building up contrasts that lend sophistication and character to the space. The lack of ornamentation and presence of clean lines are evident in flat-front cabinets and the stacked backsplash. While the textured surfaces of the counters bring interest, the white ceramic subway backsplash tiles bring order that brightens up the dark cabinets for a sense of airiness. The metallic plate-organizing fixture enriches the material palette, and the floor-to-ceiling reeded glass door with a wooden frame elevates the overall look. On the floor level, the white flooring brings the space together, while black grout between the tiles alongside the other black fixtures helps retain the consistency.
Yellow Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash with White Cabinets and Vintage Appliances
This mid-century kitchen feels colorful enough without going too bold. Staying loyal to the natural materials and sepia yellow with goldish accents, it presents a heartwarming atmosphere rich in saturated shades of yellow. The fireclay vertically stacked subway tile backsplash becomes the visual focal point of the design, while the white cabinets aid the spaciousness, punctuated by wood cabinet handles. White retro-inspired appliances with brass accents blend with the cabinets, feeling camouflaged. A little further, the beautifully curved island stands out as a statement piece, introducing a curvaceous form. Its additional striking features include bamboo paneling and a multi-colored countertop that adds movement to the kitchen and energizes the space to present the optimistic side of the post-war era. Lastly, the sloping roof reinforces the coziness and accessibility of the space to tie the space together.
Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash
Having started in the 20th century and inspired by the Bauhaus movement and modernism, the mid-century movement encompasses a period from the 1930s to 1960s and it continues to partake in our lives through the well-known TV shows like Mad Men and Queen’s Gambit and IKEA products (present in almost every home) that find inspiration in the mid-century movement. So, this shows that over time mid-century modern has not never lost its impact. It is mainly because it emphasizes sleek and minimalist lines and functionality without compromising aesthetics. To see how, in this article, we will be exploring the midcentury movement through a midcentury kitchen backsplash by discovering many design projects.
To start with, the best part of the midcentury kitchens is that they are very inclusive. Whether you love bold patterns, bold pops of colors, statement pieces, neutral shades, futuristic-shaped pendants, decluttered spaces, or wood, a mid-century design will satisfy you more than enough. If you want your backsplash to be a statement, a midcentury kitchen backsplash can be a visual focal point or create a neutral crispy white or gray tiled background to ease the transitions between the materials. As for the patterns, stacked subway tiles, hexagons, and Escher are extremely popular. Oranges, sepia yellows, blues, and crispy white shades nicely color the wall surfaces. But, of course, there is so much more to this, and if you are ready to discover more, let’s explore some design ideas.
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Mid-Century Backsplash with Wood Floating Shelves And Blue Cabinets
This U-shaped Mid-century kitchen is characterized by woods and plenty of textures rich in warming shades. The blue island featuring curved forms blossoms into something more energizing, representing the mid-century vibes at best. Brass accents and boho-inspired pendants add a sense of glow and nostalgia. Thanks to the wood-clad ceiling, dark corner floating shelves, and wooden cabinets, the design is tied together.
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Bright Kitchen Design with White Stacked Grid Mid-Century Backsplash and White Quartz Countertops
In this mid-century kitchen, the generosity of the design lies in the bright white shades that enhance the openness of the space. To balance the airiness, the wood textures are added to bring the design down to earth. On a closer inspection, the white stacked grid mid-century backsplash with white quartz countertops brings out the warmth of the cabinets. The potted plants distributed here and there add a pop of color to reinforce the design’s connection to nature. The oversized cabinet handles with the same material as the cabinets give a traditional spin to the cabinets without compromising their modern appeal. Lastly, the wood flooring matches the counters to bring the space together, and the wood floating shelf replacing the upper cabinets fosters visual and physical openness to ease the flow.
Modern Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash
modern midcentury kitchen backsplash can form a body in hexagons, Escher tiles, and stacked subway tiles that bring the modern appeal to the space. Likewise, square tile backsplashes achieve a retro look that feels modern in the meantime, exposing its users to modern nostalgia. Natural stones such as quartzite and marble also add sophistication with a modern vibe to them. Picket tile pattern backsplashes or tiles rich in bold hues endow the space with necessary contemporary vibes that ensure the relevance of the design. While doing so, they also remain loyal to the midcentury spirit that favors optimistic colors.
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Modern Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash with Waterfall Island and Dark Wood Cabinets
One of the key features of mid-century kitchens is to keep the flow alive with understated decorations and clean lines. And the second is to synthesize the man-made and organic materials together. This open-plan kitchen does both with a rich material repertoire and small-scale fixtures that add flow to the space. To exemplify, the handmade fireclay backsplash tiles create a moodier background while the marble countertop of the waterfall island brings contrast to the backsplash. The modern backsplash tiles are used in other parts of the home to achieve consistency. Their stacked layout emphasizes its modern appeal. Additionally, wood occupies a great amount of space, cladding the cabinets, floors, and ceiling to encapsulate the open layout in organic vibes.
What is the mid-century kitchen?
A mid-century kitchen embraces openness, pops of colors, and natural materials that keep it connected to nature. That’s why the mid-century kitchen seems like a natural extension of nature rather than imposing something artificial. Open-plan layouts and large windows reinforce this natural connection with the outdoors, which blur the distinction between the inside and out. Employing wood as the main piece most of the time, a mid-century kitchen rather goes for darker and middle-tone wood. As such, they are more often associated with a sophistication that carries along with a nostalgic vibe with it. But surely, a mid-century kitchen takes cues from Scandinavian designs and includes light shades as they share the same principles. Functionality, pure forms, uncluttered spaces, and efficiency lay the foundation of both styles.
Though the mid-century style stayed loyal to its core principles, it showed some variances over time. For example, the 1950s embraced the primary colors, blue, yellow, and red, to promote optimism. The 1960s, on the other hand, brought more earthy tones and a soil palette to ground the look. So, in the later years, the color spectrum stayed more loyal to the darker shades of green and red. Especially the take-on the wood was taken to the next level.
Apart from those, sleek and clean lines, curvy forms, and biomorphic designs or nature-inspired shapes, potted plants treated as sculptures, and big kitchen islands serve as other defining features of the mid-century kitchens.
As a result, mid-century kitchens have a better understanding of the human body, presenting a versatile character that homeowners can shape as they wish. Just to understand the mid-century kitchen more, now let’s explore how the movement originated and on what premises it built its voice.
What is Mid-century Modern?
Even though the term “midcentury” was only coined in 1984 when journalist Cara Greenberg published the book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s, midcentury was given birth much earlier. Rooted in industrialism with the technological advancements and inspired by modernism and Scandinavian style, the midcentury design aimed to propose a counterpoint to the preceding Victorian age’ ornament-focused style. Plus, with the changing conditions in the post-war era, the world needed something different. Something more functional, more future-oriented, and more ergonomic. It was the end of the rigid forms that are heavy, dysfunctional, and not human-friendly.
In other words, after the second world war, everything had to be reimagined. Harnessing new manufacturing methods and materials gave birth to more clean lines, curved forms, and functionality that came with technological advancements. The emphasis on the function and form and the beauty of both gained a lot more interest. With the curvy forms, the architecture was adapted to the human body and moved beyond the strict lines to bring flexibility. Materials such as wood, plywood, metal, and glass did the speaking while mimicking the anatomy of the human body. The accessibility and scale of the design made everything feel comfy and adjustable to the human body. All those new forms gave birth to a newfound style, mid century modern style.
Overall, this style was geared towards encouraging people to think differently and making them focus on the future to leave the wrecks of the wars in the past.
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Kit Kat Mosaic Backsplash with Suspended Shelving and White Countertops
Earthy tones and lots of wood serve this mid-century kitchen design very well. Clad in wood cabinets that stretch from floor to the ceiling, the space gains a sense of grandeur, oozing warmth and coziness that steals its users’ hearts. Backless stools with white stencil legs alongside the black suspended open shelving create a modern look, and its glass door semi-covers the shelf that brings a popular material of the 1940s through 1960s. The exhibited sculpture-like potted plant and other decorative vases channel mid-century vibes skillfully. The “twinkle”-reading Christmas ornament is a fun touch that forms part of the design to entertain the space and bring some glow. At the back, the kit kat mosaic backsplash adds textural interest and sophistication, while white quartz countertops brighten up the otherwise all-brown and wood kitchen.
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Warm Wood Cabinets with Multi-colored Backsplash and White Glass Lighting Fixture
Another mid-century kitchen design with warm wood cabinetry crowned with many other Mid-century inspired fixtures to bring cohesion to the space. The pattern-rich black and white backsplash is what makes a statement, standing out between the white countertops and medium-tone wood cabinets. To retain the integrity, the cabinets feature knob-shaped black hardware, and raised-panel cabinet doors of the island build another layer of drama. The lighting fixtures start as a sputnik, transforming into white-glass globe-shaped pendants on the way for a sense of diversity. As our eyes move toward the other side of the kitchen, the wood floating shelves accentuate the wall. The sculpture-like iconic vases placed on the island add a splash of color that complements the overall mid-century vibes prevalent in the kitchen.
White Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash
White is one of the favored colors in mid-century kitchens that is combined with warm wood cabinets to illuminate the space and bring some contrast. But the main reason for white to be loved this much is that white helps the flow within the space. Especially when flipped white subway tiles achieve sleek vertical lines, captivating the core image of the midcentury kitchens. Plus, they achieve a more graphic look that also aligns itself with the Art Deco movement.
To complement a white backsplash, wood cabinets, brass sunburst lighting fixtures, globe-shaped pendants, and Sputnik lighting are popular secondary items. Also, to enhance the openness and airiness, you can utilize the wood floating or glass floating shelves supported by brass legs rather than overhead cabinets.
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White Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash with Dark Wood Cabinets and Waterfall Island
From the vaulted ceiling to the wood flooring and stainless steel appliances, this mid century modern kitchen presents a firm, cozy, and retro look that takes us back in time. As the wood cabinets colonize the space, the white countertops and porcelain subway tile backsplash amplify the space. The white-painted wood slats clad the ceiling to help the airiness of the atmosphere, continuing with the white walls to bring the space together. White wall sconces, white hood dressing that maintains the uniform look, and a white long floating shelf add layers of interest for more character. These understated decorations build up an interesting background to look at.
Below the shelf, the wood cabinets exhibit a firm landing on the medium-tone wood flooring laid out vertically to add dimension to the horizontal extension of the cabinets. The brass sputnik-inspired pendant, black mid-century-inspired sprinkle, and rattan counter stools serve as complementary elements to nail the mid-century look.
What are mid-century cabinets?
Needless to mention, cabinets are the essential features and key to defining the main character of the design. They let you play with the character of the design through the hardware, color, material, and door-style options to build a certain theme. Be it modern, contemporary, transitional, mid-century, or farmhouse, the same logic applies. When it comes to the mid-century cabinets, exhibit a streamlined look with clean and sleek lines to emphasize movement and flow, which makes them extra essential in midcentury kitchens. In other words, they pose as modular silhouettes that ooze horizontally.
Midcentury Cabinet Materials
The midcentury cabinets are generally made of wood and plywood with a more flexible and function-oriented form. And medium and dark wood cabinets, particularly rich-stained cabinets, are quintessential pieces to create a visual drama and radiate midcentury vibes. You can combine them with crispy white backsplashes for a more neutral look. However, to be more adventurous, you can go for geometric-patterned backsplashes that add a ripple of color and make a statement.
In addition to wood, glass was another popular material. For a stylish look, you can aim for reeded glass doors to accentuate the cabinets. In some kitchens, suspended shelving features glass doors to build extra interest and enrich the look.
Midcentury Cabinet Colors
Midcentury cabinet colors range from deep hues of green and red, slate blue, chocolate brown, turquoise, and orange. When the cabinets come in bold colors, they also generally feature wood hardware as a reference to midcentury modern’s love for wood.
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Cozy Kitchen Design with White Stacked Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash and Green Cabinets
This gorgeous and cozy kitchen design features a color palette down to earth, abounding in pistachio green, wood, and neutral soil shades. The green cabinets topped with white countertops and white ceramic stacked subway tile backsplash harmonize beautifully, presenting a heart-fluttering scene. This charming combination feels enriched with richly stained upper wood cabinets and wood open shelving. Potted plants and prints put on display on these shelves personalize the kitchen design. The light-colored wood flooring with basketweave-like patterns evokes visual interest, which ties the design together along with the wood counter stools.
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Natural Mid-century Kitchen with Vintage Pendants and Wood Accents
Known for its organic forms, the midcentury modern kitchen captures a natural spirit while staying true to the material itself, which this kitchen excels at evidently. In this natural design, the garden finds translation in the kitchen through soft green cabinets and timber finishes that create a nature-inspired design. To support this look, a sense of openness and the intimate connection between the kitchen and garden feel evident as the inside and out flow into each other through picture windows and the full-glass door. The U-shaped configuration of this rather mini kitchen provides a compact yet comfortable working space not to compromise the mid-century movement’s core principles of functionality and flow.
The incorporation of white stacked backsplash and white quartz countertops promotes the flow through clean and sleek surfaces they bring. A little further, a cushioned armchair sits comfortably, featuring a design centered around human anatomy and embodying the mid-century spirit effortlessly.
Gray Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash
Celebrated as a versatile and neutral color, the gray backsplash finds a place also in a mid-century kitchen. If you aim for a moody look rather than a colorful and pristine white backsplash, gray gets you that feeling. To build up the impact, you can bring in darker shades and nickel-finish hardware. A concrete kitchen island can serve the space to complement the gray backsplash that will come with an industrial subtext as well. For a variety, a hint of metal and glass enriches the look and brings retro touch.
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Cabinetry and Multi-colored Floor Tiles
In this mid-century kitchen, while the ash wood cabinetry offers a warm and neutral frame, the backsplash and floor tiles make the statement. Featuring a fresh palette of white, gray, and black, these saturated colors mingle with wood textures, feeling visually enriched. White countertops build a layer of joyfulness that gains sophistication with a gray backsplash. The subtle tonal variations of the mosaic backsplash exhibit a cinematographic mode to elevate the design. The light wood floating shelves, stone accent wall, and brass faucets embellish the space without cluttering and compromising the flow. Lastly, the multi-colored dotted floor tiles create an eye-catching look. Overall, the juxtaposition of modern and classic features with a raw and refined architectural language defines the kitchen’s main theme. For those who love bold flooring, checkerboard flooring fits the mid-century style very well while entertaining the space in the meantime.
Colorful Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash
Rich in oranges, blues, yellows, and golden features, mid-century kitchen backsplashes embrace bold shades to make a statement. They not only improve the impact of the kitchen on its users but also promote the optimism that came with colors. These colorful kitchen backsplashes are often complemented with wood cabinets and white cabinets with wood hardware. To add more pattern and excitement, the floors can be finished with checkerboard flooring, and vintage-style colored appliances can bring more character to the design.
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Escher Pattern Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash with Blocked Island and Curved Stools
This mid-century kitchen design has a little bit of everything. Bold colors, wood, potted plants, and ergonomic counter stools stand out as the main features that develop the narrative of the space. The Escher pattern backsplash brings a 3-dimensional impact to define the background in the company of a window backsplash that captures a snapshot of the garden. The spoilt big green plant is treated as a sculpture, delivering a breath of fresh air to the space. The blocked island feels like the summary of the mid-century look. It is functional, improving the utility of the kitchen; it is richly stained wood that refers to nature. Also, its open shelving features orange and blue shades already introduced by the backsplash tiles to retain consistency. Wood-clad ceiling, globe-shaped pendants referencing the space ambitions of the cold war era, and ergonomic-design curved counter stools present various aspects of the mid-century design.
What backsplash is suitable for midcentury kitchens?
The mid-century kitchens love geometric patterns that bring aesthetic values, and the best way to integrate such geometric patterns is via a kitchen backsplash. Hexagon, Escher, fish scale pattern, and horizontally and vertically stacked subway tiles are the most popular options.
As for the color patterns, the Escher patterns are suitable to build a more colorful background. And if you want to capture the gist of the movement, orange, yellow, burnt orange, and blue channel mid-century vibes masterfully. Of course, you can also use other bold colors and saturated hues to pull off that ambitious look you aim for. But, if you go for a neutral look, you can consider gray and white ceramic and porcelain tiles.
How do you compliment cabinets and backsplash to pull off a perfect mid-century look?
Going back to that era when Pop Art Movement and Abstract Expressionism made a name for themselves, it is no surprise to see abstract and graphic prints hung on the walls to make a statement. Geometric-shaped sconces and Sputnik, bulb, globe-shaped, and starburst lighting fixtures are heavily used. Such pieces were especially essential due to their reflective nature of the era, taking their cues from the ongoing cold war between Russia and the USA. The USA’s messages on scientific discoveries and its premise of prosperity were the main subtexts of such designs.
Aside from those, potted plants, sculptures, and stylish floating shelves are other decorative items to build more character. Likewise, running-style rugs with geometric patterns, bold colors, and oriental features serve as complementary pieces. Lastly, if you would like to integrate an eating space, you can go with a round table made of metal and wood that is reflective of the mid-century spirit.
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Stunning Kitchen with Green Backsplash and Gray Countertops
This beautiful kitchen design is honest and straightforward in its material usage, resonating with mid-century vibes. The green stacked backsplash with a weathered look suggests a lived-in feel, while the subtle tonal transitions create a more natural background. The medium tone cabinets emanate a sense of warmth., and overhead cabinets are replaced by wood floating shelves and accent panels to provide a breathing space. To assist this combination, gray countertops are an excellent addition to preserve the lived-in feel. Sticking to the natural and soft palette, this kitchen design trades bold and glowing colors with pale shades to preserve a level of moodiness. Apart from that, the warmness of the cabinets elevates the mid-century look.
If you want to avoid white backgrounds favored in mid-century kitchens, gray and green backsplashes/countertops are other options for a subtle and neutral background.
Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash with Wood Cabinets
Ranging from the bamboo-clad kitchen islands to walnut counters and plywood cabinets, midcentury kitchens draw their cues from nature and always declared a character down to the earth. That’s why the engagement with wood cabinets during the 1940s and 1960s was taken to the next level. And the wood flat-front and recessed panel cabinets gained extreme popularity used as the main bones of the kitchen.
But how do you soften this solid wood look? The crispy white and off-white backsplashes generally top the counters. Or geometric patterned colorful backsplashes inject generous amounts of color to reinforce the vintage vibes. Also, wood-clad ceilings and floors along with the butcher block countertops are from time to time brought in to bring the space together.
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Quartzite Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash with Open Shelving and White Countertops
The prevalent narrative of the kitchen is built upon wood cabinets as the streaming lights cast a shadow upon the space. The beauty of the white quartzite backsplash with random delicate striations composes a neutral background and continues to clad the countertops for a seamless look. The stained wood cabinets, three layers of wood floating shelves, and open features of the base counters create extra interest. Brushed nickel finish cabinet handles hardware, plumbing fixtures, and glass pendant introduce different materials that dictate the character of the design.
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Stone Midcentury Kitchen Backsplash with Wood Cabinets and Brass Accents
In this natural kitchen design, rustic meets mid-century pieces as it unfolds as a mélange of various materials, including a stone backsplash, wood cabinets, and slatted wood pieces cladding the island. The natural lights find a home for themselves to dive into the kitchen through the skylight, and the pineapple-shaped decorative item carries a tropical flavor. At the rear, the floor-to-ceiling wood cabinets rest themselves, while in the front, the timber-clad island with a slatted surface lets the interplay of light and shadow register itself for a sense of playfulness. Brass hardware, lighting fixtures, rustic chairs, and faucets introduce glow and shine to soften the all-wood look. Lastly, the running-style rug with red geometric patterns emits homey vibes for a sense of coziness.
