The Countertop And Backsplash Design Combo You'll Be Seeing In More Kitchens

When it comes to designing your dream kitchen, few ingredients are as crucial as your backsplash and countertops. And with a slew of materials, textures, and colors on offer for each, it can start to feel like a too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen situation. So, if you're struggling to pick the perfect kitchen countertop and backsplash combo, design expert Jess Klein has the recipe for success. "I think marble countertops and an interesting backsplash tile versus running the countertop up the wall, will be coming back," the founder and principal designer of Jess Klein Studio predicts to House Digest in an exclusive interview. Though all-in-one natural stone slab backsplashes in marble, granite quartzite, and soapstone certainly had their moment, she notes, "I think people are moving away from that and want a more layered look moving forward."

Of course that doubles your required decision-making, so Klein is whipping up her best tips for finding the shades, styles, and materials that suit your needs. The first step: making sure you want a varied, multi-textured vibe versus the more streamlined look of a countersplash. Klein stresses that homeowners "should be comfortable with a look that features natural materials and visually interesting texture." Ready to get cooking? She's serving her top recommendations.

If you're drawn to the classic appeal of marble, just roll with it, Jess Klein tells House Digest in an exclusive interview. "Marble is timeless and works in a variety of styles, in my opinion," the pro details. The variance comes in "how you finish the edge of the stone," whether you opt for a straight, mitered, or beveled edge, something more rounded like a bullnose, or a full-on waterfall.

And since marble plays well with others, it can be paired with a large swath of backsplash materials. Among the choices Klein and her team are seeing most often are handmade clay varieties, hand-painted tiles, glass, contrasting stone, and zellige tiles, which are included in the kitchen backsplash trends set to be taking over in 2026. "Even some interesting ceramic tiles with a lot of color variations," Klein adds.

As for the kitchen backsplash colors themselves, Klein is a proponent of keeping the look cohesive, but not a perfect match. "Our clients have been gravitating toward really heavy veining and colored marble countertops and then pulling a color from that countertop to do as the backsplash, whether it's a maroon ceramic square tile or a dimensional marble tile, to give some interest with shape without competing with the veining in the marble," she explains.

The best part of mixing it up with your backsplash and countertop picks is that this isn't limited to a particular aesthetic. It works if you're more of a farmhouse-sink and open-shelving type, or you're into a sleek, all-white-everything marble and subway-tile duo. "I don't necessarily think this has to live within one specific design style," Jess Klein confirms in an exclusive interview with House Digest. "I think marble and a tile backsplash can translate in various styles — modern, traditional, transitional, etc." 

Though not involving marble, one kitchen countertop and backsplash pairing that creates texture and balance in a similar way is a smooth quartzite countertop with a visually interesting option like a handmade zellige tile. No matter your personal style, this combo will add depth to your kitchen and is worth exploring for those who aren't drawn to marble but still want variation between their countertops and their backsplashes.