Matching Kitchen Surfaces to Cabinets

Image: Paloma Cotton Glossy Long Hex 4×8 Kitchen Ceramic Tile Backsplash & Silver Stallion Quartz Countertop from Arizona Tile

Matching colors and designs in any area of a home or commercial space can be challenging. Finding products you love that also meet your needs may take some searching, but we want to make it an easy process for you! With our impressive selection of tile and stone for floors, countertops, and backsplashes, matching your kitchen cabinets to these surfaces won’t be a daunting task.

The hub of your home—the kitchen—should be designed exactly how you imagine it to look since we all spend so much time in this space. If you dread making dinner or the evening clean up, at least you should be doing it in an attractive, invigorating space. Let’s look at some great tile and slab options that are aesthetically delightful, durable for high-traffic areas, and a breeze to maintain. With our large variety, choosing wisely won’t be too hard (well, maybe it will only because you’ll love so many!).

Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen cabinets come in many colors which are sometimes solid, while other times they display wood grain. What your kitchen cabinets look like is entirely up to you. If you’re building a home, the option is solely yours. If you’re remodeling a kitchen, you can replace your cabinets or work with what’s there. If the budget is tight, a good option would be to paint your existing cabinets yourself, which also opens the door to paint colors galore.

Image: Mont Blanc Satin Quartzite Kitchen Countertop & Paloma Cotton Matte 4×16 Kitchen Tile Backsplash from Arizona Tile

White and off-white cabinets remain the most popular because of their neutrality and add a feeling of brightness. With white cabinets, all other features in the kitchen can exhibit a wide range of colors, designs, and décor. Soft hues of gray, green, and wood also remain timeless and versatile. If you prefer dark colors, navy blue is a popular and versatile option. If you’re on the fence about light or dark, consider cabinets that feature two tones: a lighter color for your upper cabinets and a darker color for the lower cabinets, and perhaps include an island. This effect creates the illusion of a larger space, something many desire for smaller kitchens. Or simply adds a stylistic flair.

Stone Kitchen Countertops

Let’s start with the all-mighty: countertops. Your kitchen countertop will face many messes, a plethora of scattered accouterments, be exposed to heat and sharp objects, to name a few. All these factors could cause damage, so a durable countertop is imperative. And, when it needs to be cleaned after all the use, you’ll assumably want it to be a cinch. Most importantly, you want your kitchen countertop to be aesthetically stunning… for a long time.

Image: Fantasy Zebra Polished Marble Kitchen Countertop and Island from Arizona Tile

Quartz and quartzite are excellent countertop choices because of their glam, durability, and ease.

Quartz is a man-made product that consists of up to 94% ground quartz, one of the hardest minerals in nature, which is then blended together with advanced polymers. Quartz is extremely durable and resistant to scratches (not fully scratch-proof), heat, and staining. It is a nonporous surface, so maintenance is fairly easy as sealing is unnecessary. Even with these benefits, we recommend using cutting boards and trivets and wiping spills  as quickly as possible.. Maintenance, you ask? As simple as it gets: wipe clean with a damp cloth and, if needed, use a pH-neutral cleaner or gentle soap for tougher marks.

Two stunning quartz slabs to brighten up a kitchen and pair gracefully with white cabinets for a modern, crisp aesthetic or make a statement in a kitchen with dark-colored cabinets are:

• New Venatino Beige is a bright white quartz with grey “veining” sweeping across the pristine backdrop, emulating marble.
• Silver Stallion is a cool white and diffused grey slab with subtle organic veining, also  a marble look quartz.

Image: New Venatino Beige Quartz Kitchen Countertop Island & Bio Attitude Almond 8×48 Kitchen Wood-Look Floor Tile from Arizona Tile

Unlike Quartz, Quartzite is a natural stone that’s incredibly stunning, durable, and versatile. Because the stone is not man-made and does not include resin, it remains porous and requires an impregnating sealer regimen.

Mont Blanc Satin is similar to the quartz mentioned above because this, too, resembles marble, but alternatively, it is a natural stone. It has a creamy background with grey and taupe veining to enhance a modern, white kitchen, or lighten up a darker theme.

Kitchen Tile Flooring

Flooring is the next focus for a kitchen. The tile needs to withstand heavy foot traffic and be easy to clean because it will get messy. Kitchen floor tile ideas with white cabinets will be the easiest to match. Porcelain is a great product to use here because it is one of the most durable flooring and facing materials available. From design versatility and durability, porcelain is a great investment in your home. It is color-permanent, abrasion resistant, and cannot be cut, torn, gouged, or punctured. Additionally, its ease of care is simple: simply wipe clean with a damp mop and soap-less detergent.

Image: Mont Blanc Quartzite Kitchen Countertop & Island, Gioia Milk Porcelain Backsplash, Gioia Milk Pencil Bullnose Tile Liner, & Aequa Tur Porcelain 8×32 Floor Tile from Arizona Tile

The Bio Attitude series captures the true essence of oak and allows us to rediscover the rustic beauty of nature, sans the care needed for natural wood. Plus, Bio Attitude features PROTECT® technology, which works continuously to eliminate up to 99.9% of bacteria. PROTECT® surfaces have been developed with Microban®, a proven antimicrobial product protection technology, that helps fight the growth of bacteria on the surface of the tile for its expected lifetime. The result is a surface that stays cleaner and fresher between cleanings. This really is the perfect tile for kitchen flooring and can match any cabinet color you’re seeking with its five exceptional colors.

Similar in appearance, the Aequa series emulates reclaimed wood, displaying a timeworn warmth through color variations and nuances that would develop over time in nature. This series is great for kitchen floor tile ideas with cream cabinets or even kitchen floor tile ideas with brown cabinets—there is just something about the warmth these color combinations would evoke. Also, the Aeque series features the R11 Anti-Slip Finish, which is an undetectable gripping on the tile surface that helps reduce slips in areas prone to dampness, like outside. If your kitchen connects to an outdoor space, this is the perfect tile to create a cohesive design with its functional finishes.  

Backsplash Kitchen Tile

A backsplash isn’t as critical as a kitchen countertop and floor, but if you’re going to add one—which is a wise choice for wall protection and cleanability—there are infinite options for kitchen tile backsplash ideas with dark cabinets or lighter cabinets. Both natural stone and fabricated materials can be used on this vertical surface. Formulating ideas for your kitchen tile backsplash with white cabinets allows a blank canvas to play with endless colors and patterns because the hues won’t clash.

If you want to have some fun with a colored backsplash, Gioia porcelain series will probably fulfill your design quest. With bright colors and an undiluted texture, this series accentuates design ranges from traditional to ultra-modern.

Ceramic tile carries similar features and maintenance as porcelain, though it’s not quite as durable, thus making it an exceptional wall tile. The Paloma ceramic series offers an array of neutral, smoky hues in various sizes and finishes that look exquisite as a backsplash. A Bianco Carrara marble backsplash with dark cabinets will pop. If you’ve selected marble as part of your project, chances are you really want it to be a featured component of the kitchen. For a backsplash with dark cabinets, selecting this white marble will add a sophisticated element. This tile is available in larger sizes, as well as smaller mosaics and is also suitable for flooring. It also makes a great addition to any kitchen wall.

Image: Bianco Carrara Marble Kitchen Island Countertop from Arizona Tile

Making all the elements in your kitchen match, and loving it, will bring you years of happiness. To help make selections, try our Just Imagine Tile and Slab Visualizer. Be sure to visit an Arizona Tile showroom or slab yard to see our beautiful materials in person! If you have questions along the way, please send us a message, and our exceptional staff will be happy to help.