backsplash for peninsula

[lust2hart]

We are about to tear out part of the wall between our kitchen and dining room and add lower cabinets and a countertop. A not-to-scale sketch is below. Right now there is a door to the hallway on the left wall, and a door to the DR on the "top" wall. The dashed line is what we're removing, and the dotted line represents where the cabinets/countertop will come into the kitchen space.

You can see that we plan to keep a portion of the wall, from the left corner - about 18". In that corner will be a base cabinet with trash/recycling, and an upper cabinet. Our intent is for this to be a little coffee bar area, with a little bar sink right next to it. 

Our countertop will be quartz. I'm wondering what to do in that left corner for a backsplash. It honestly hadn't crossed my mind to do anything (just caulk between the counter and the wall), but DH brought up doing a backsplash and he suggested a full backsplash that would fill that bit of wall from counter to cabinet. But this looks kind of silly in my mind when I try to picture it, just this 18x18 block of backsplash that seems unnecessary since there isn't anything like a sink or stovetop in front of it that would "require" a backsplash. And would we then want to tile the left wall, as well, out to where the countertop ends (basically the part that's super dark in my sketch)? 

We could also do the little 4" lip with the counter material, and then I'd paint the wall from the lip up to the upper cabinet. And then again I'd have the question of, should that lip extend on the left wall? 

We do not have any tiling in our kitchen at the moment. Part B of a kitchen facelift is to replace the current countertops (which are laminate and have the 4" lip on the wall) and do a full tile backsplash. So we'd tile with the tile we plan to use for Part B. 

[mpm]

Definitely don’t do the 4” counter lip. It’s such a dated look.

Tile is pretty easy to go back in and add later. Since you’re doing the kitchen in phases, complete part B of the kitchen and then decide once it’s all put together.

[simpsongal]

Jan 27, 2023 15:27:46 GMT -5 mpm said:

Definitely don’t do the 4” counter lip. It’s such a dated look.

Tile is pretty easy to go back in and add later. Since you’re doing the kitchen in phases, complete part B of the kitchen and then decide once it’s all put together.

+1 to this.

[libbygrl109]

Agree with the others about not doing a lip.

I would leave it as painted wall, and just do something decorative. Or perhaps if you’re using the space as a coffee bar, much of it will be covered by a coffee pot, mugs, etc.

[origami]

I wouldn’t do anything there either, at least right away. Tossing out another idea - could the upper cabinet come all the way down to meet the countertop? That’s how my “coffee bar” cabinet is and I love it.

[dr.girlfriend]

I think you would be fine leaving it painted. Would the coffee bar involve some sort of steam-emitting appliance? That's the only reason I can think of for a backsplash. Also, keep in mind if you have a Keurig or something that it not only has to clear the upper cabinet but have room to open at the top and to slide in the water. We planned to situate our coffeemaker under an upper cabinet and had not realized all this. Now we ended up relocating it there, but on an appliance tray that pulls out.

[lust2hart]

Thanks all. I didn't realize the lip was outdated. I agree, if we don't do that then we can wait to decide whether to tile. dr.girlfriend, thanks for the additional notes. We have just a normal coffeepot that is small - holds 25 ounces. It currently sits on our counter, under upper cabinets, on another wall in the kitchen so no worries there! ("Coffee bar" was maybe an exaggeration - it's more like, "a place to put our coffeepot," LOL!)