What are my options with our kitchen walls if we have upstands?

[Ha55leback]

I’m seeing tiles are a no however I think just paint would be risky re stains so what are people using? Can anybody list all the options.

We have just paint and a splash back above the cooker - new paints wipe clean brilliantly and it looks so much better than tiles 😊

I only have upstands with painted walls. Did in the last kitchen too. I use Dulux Trade Diamond paint and just wipe it. Always been fine, most splashes are behind the cooker which is fitted with the same material as the upstands and worktops.

I am a tragically messy cook so I could never just have paint! I have quartz worktops and the quartz is fitted all the way up the walls (behind the cooker and between the wall and base units) Super easy to clean and looks great I think.

Was it really expensive, how far did you go up and what did you choose for a splashback? What colour is it?

I’m tragically messy too!

Those using paint , any idea what’s the toughest? Wondering about continuing the quartz but going with white so worried about staining- and cost.

We'd originally planned just a quartz upstand all the way round but we're now thinking of getting a clear glass splashback for behind the cooker - less expensive than extra quartz, easy to clean. You can get coloured glass or printed designs too.

DH is a very messy cook and has a weird hatred of upstands so we have cream glass from the worktop to the cabinets.

It is very easy to wipe clean but obviously more expensive than up stands and paint.

Is it shiny?

We have upstand and cream paint plus splashback behind the cooker. It's never been a problem to wipe the paint.

Behind my sink I have quartz with a quartz window ledge.

Not the best picture, but this is mine. It also goes the full distance from base units to wall units.
In terms of cost, for the wall pieces alone, I’m not sure. It was all part of our kitchen package and I had a lot of quartz (big island and I also had it on the base of my island where people sit. Highly recommend this since people always seem to accidentally kick the island when they are sat at it!). I had it bookmatched too (so the pattern runs through at the corners) which increases the price.

If you want to see what it will cost and you have a kitchen design send it to someone like Mayfair Granite. They didn’t do this kitchen but I have used them before quite a few times. They are reasonably priced and good and will quote you for free.

For paint get something like Zinsser Perma White in matt and have it tinted the colour you want. Johnstone's decorator centres sell it, but not all of them can do the tinting. If your local one doesn't, they can order from one that does and it gets delivered within a couple of days. It's moisture and mould resistant and scrubbable without having a sheen like Dulux Kitchen paint.

We've used it in our bathroom tinted to Farrow and Ball Cook's Blue. And yes, I know it's not actual F&B paint, but we've had lots of comments about it being a lovely colour.

@Ha55leback yes it is shiny and I let DH choose the one with a bit of a sparkle but luckily you can't really see it.

I didn't want the plain, smooth look of glass, but I found a textured glass (the back is textured, not the front surface) which is dead easy to clean & doesn't show smudges!

I posted a pic here:
Clear glass splashback over tiles?
www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/4721871-clear-glass-splashback-over-tiles?reply=124454642&utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

In our old house we had a granite worktop with upstands and a glass splash back. The glass cracked after a fairly bad upstairs shower leak came into the kitchen and it was a nightmare to replace and never looked right afterwards.

Current house has Dekton worktop plus upstands of about 15cm - the cost of taking it all the way up was going to be ruinous as there is a 6m run along one wall, so we went for tiles instead and haven’t regretted it - no issues with keeping them (or the grout) clean even behind the hob.