6 Backsplash Ideas for Gray Kitchen Cabinets

Gray kitchen cabinets are a great compromise between lively, bright white kitchen cabinets and dark, mysterious black kitchen cabinets. However, figuring out the best backsplash designs to pair with your gray kitchen cabinets can be somewhat confusing. Do you want a neutral look, or something more bold? Should you go with darker tones or should you keep things light?

There’s a wide variety of backsplash designs that can be paired with your gray kitchen cabinets, and kitchen cabinets come in a number of different shades of gray. This can easily add to your conundrum. If you’re confused about choosing a backsplash for your particular shade of gray kitchen cabinets, the following kitchen designs can help!

Gray Kitchen Cabinets & Marble Backsplash

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Marble (or granite or quartz engineered to look like marble) is probably the most versatile backsplash choice to pair with your gray kitchen cabinets because it naturally consists of a variety of shades of gray. No matter if you choose a light or dark shade of gray for your cabinetry, a marble backsplash is bound to be a gorgeous match.

You may feel that a marble backsplash is only appropriate for classic, traditional kitchen styles, and while it is most often use in this context, it can absolutely be used in more modern and contemporary design styles, just as in the kitchen pictured above. Marble backsplash designs can be customized to your liking, all it takes is a bit of imagination.

Light Gray Kitchen Cabinets & White Backsplash Tiles

If you’ve chosen a lighter shade of gray cabinetry, you may find it a bit more difficult to find a truly complementary backsplash. You may love the subtle yet inviting look of combining light gray cabinets with a white tile backsplash, but you might fear that it will look too bland or boring. A great way to work around this is to choose white tiles with a unique, eye-catching shape or design.

The intricate, pillowed look of the tiles used in the kitchen above is a great example. Trying to find complementary colors can be difficult, so choosing a neutral color tile with an interesting shape is a great way to put your new gray cabinetry on display without any clashing design elements.

Light Gray Cabinets & Bold, Colorful Backsplash

If you’re looking for a bold modern or warm contemporary way to style your light gray cabinets, then choosing a solid colored backsplash is the way to go. The color you choose will have a great impact on the overall look of the kitchen. Blues and greens will give the kitchen a darker, cooler look while reds, oranges and yellows will give the kitchen a warmer aesthetic.

While a bright red backsplash runs the risk of looking too brash or intimidating, light gray cabinets can help to temper the look a bit. This particular red backsplash is covered with glass which gives it a reflective look that pairs well with the stainless steel elements, giving this gray kitchen a modern, futuristic look.

Gray Kitchen Cabinets & Metallic Backsplash

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This is a look that may not come to mind immediately, but once you see it, it makes complete sense. Gray cabinets of all shades look amazing when paired with metallic elements, but they look particularly extravagant when placed on the shiny backdrop of a metallic backsplash.

Of course, warm metals such as copper will not have the striking effect that stainless steel or chrome will have. The look works because the gray hues of the metal elements are enhanced by the metallic effect, adding a subtle yet striking visual appeal to an otherwise neutral look. For an even more amazing, sparkly visual effect, choose a mosaic backsplash using a variety of small metal tiles.

Dark Gray Kitchen Cabinets & Dark Gray Backsplash

This kitchen is primarily styled with dark gray and white, with a few hints of warm accents. The backsplash design features the exact same shades of gray and white, giving this kitchen a fairly neutral look. However, this kitchen is anything but simple.

The chevron-style backsplash makes the entire kitchen a whole lot more interesting than a simple subway-style tile would. Using interesting shapes and designs is a great way to add visual interest to a kitchen that does not have very many colors. Adding an elaborate chandelier or other interesting feature is a great way to make your neutral kitchen pop!

Warm Gray Kitchen & Brown Backsplash Tiles

While most people pair their gray kitchen cabinets with similar neutral hues such as black and white or bold primary colors such as red and blue, there are other more complicated ways to style your gray cabinets. You may not think to pair your gray cabinetry with brown elements, but as the kitchen above proves, the look can be pulled off when done right.

Of course, lighter gray cabinets are the best choice for pairing with browns as darker colors may clash. Warm, yellow lighting is key to set the ambiance for the room, allowing the gray to blend rather than clash with the wooden and brown elements in the floor, countertop and ceiling beams.

However, the key to truly marrying the gray cabinetry and darker wood and brown elements is the backsplash. These various shades of cream-colored tiles act as something of an intermediary between the lighter gray and darker browns. This backsplash also helps to keep the kitchen from looking too dark.