Start with the splashback zone, not the whole wall

In most UK kitchens the wall behind the worktop only needs tiling to about 600mm high — the distance from worktop to the underside of the wall units. That gives you a manageable canvas rather than a whole wall to fill, and it is the reason mixing tile shapes works so well here. A splashback is a strip, a band, a panel. It is allowed to be decorative without shouting across the entire room.

Think of it in two parts. The first is the practical wash zone: the run behind the sink and, more importantly, the 750–900mm behind the hob, which takes the worst of the steam, oil and tomato splatter. The second is the decorative opportunity: the same strip of wall, seen from the doorway, the dining table or the sofa in an open-plan space.

If you have a galley kitchen or a Victorian terrace with a narrow footprint, a single bold panel behind the hob framed by quieter tiles either side will read as designed rather than busy. If your kitchen is larger, you can afford more pattern, but the same principle holds: decide where the eye should land before you buy anything.

Two shapes, one palette

The single most useful rule is to limit yourself to two tile shapes in the main field. Hexagons plus slim metros. Rectangles plus squares. Add a third shape only as a border, a trim or a small infill detail, and treat it as punctuation rather than pattern.

Then keep the palette tight. Either one colour in two shapes, or two colours in one shape, or — the most forgiving option — a neutral base with a single accent. Warm greys, off-whites, sage, soft clay, deep navy and brushed brass all sit comfortably in UK kitchens because they work with painted shaker units and timber worktops alike.

Order a couple of tiles in each candidate finish and tape them to the wall for a full day. Tile showrooms flatter everything with downlighting; your kitchen at 7am in January will not. Look at the samples in daylight and again under the extractor light.

Hexagons: make them a deliberate feature

Hexagon tiles are usually supplied mesh-mounted in sheets, which makes them far quicker to lay than people expect. Sizes commonly run from around 100mm to 200mm across the flats. A 200mm hexagon is a strong, confident shape that suits a generous splashback; 100mm hexagons read as texture from a distance and can look cramped in a small run.

Because the honeycomb pattern has no natural straight edge, hexagons need a firm boundary. Frame them with a rectangular border, a trim, or a sharp change of colour, and centre the whole panel on the hob. Cutting around sockets is the fiddly bit — plan socket positions before you order, and keep them at least one full tile away from the panel edge so the cutting looks intentional.

Choose a matt or satin finish for a contemporary feel, but bear in mind that matt surfaces hold on to cooking grease slightly more than gloss. In the zone directly behind the hob, a wipeable glazed hexagon is the kind choice.

Metro and slim rectangles: the dependable partner

The classic 200 x 100mm metro tile is the workhorse of British kitchens, and slim metros at 300 x 75mm or 150 x 75mm give the same look a more modern, elongated feel. Laid in a brick bond they are calm and familiar; stacked in a grid they become sharply contemporary; laid vertically they add height to a low ceiling.

Pair them with hexagons by keeping the colour constant and letting shape do the talking — metros across the main run, a hexagon panel behind the hob, a slim border trim to separate the two. Alternatively, run vertical slim metros either side of a horizontal hexagon panel for a clean, architectural split.

Whatever you choose, set out the pattern from the centre of the hob and work outwards. If you end up with a narrow sliver of a cut tile at a visible edge, shift the whole layout by half a tile instead of accepting it.

Grout, borders and the details that hold it together

• Joint width: 2–3mm suits most ceramic and porcelain; wider joints of 4–5mm soften the grid and hide slight tile size variation.
• Grout colour: a light grout blends everything into one surface; a dark grout outlines each shape and makes the pattern the star. Pick one and be consistent.
• Behind the hob: use an epoxy or high-performance grout, which resists grease staining and scrubbing far better than standard cement grout.
• Trims and borders: a slim brushed brass, chrome or matt black trim finishes exposed edges and separates two tile shapes neatly. A pencil or pencil-liner border does the same job with more traditional charm.
• Sealant: use a mould-resistant sanitary silicone where the tiles meet the worktop, never grout — the joint moves, grout cracks.

Practicalities: heights, cutting and cleaning

Check the hob and extractor manufacturer's clearance instructions before you fix anything, and tile up to the underside of the extractor if it sits low on the wall. Allow about 10% extra tiles for cuts, breakages and future repairs, and keep two or three spares in the loft — matching a discontinued tile in three years' time is far harder than storing a box.

Prime bare plaster or painted walls with an appropriate primer before tiling, and use a powdered adhesive rather than a ready-mixed tub for anything larger than a small ceramic tile. If you are tiling over existing tiles, check they are firmly bonded and key the surface first.

Finally, think about cleaning before you fall in love with a finish. Glazed ceramic and porcelain wipe down in seconds; natural stone, terracotta and some encaustic-effect tiles need sealing and a gentler routine. A splashback is a surface you will clean weekly for the next twenty years — choose one that rewards a quick cloth rather than a project.