In modern houses, almost every inch of the kitchen walls is filled with appliances and cupboards, but if you have exposed surface on your wall, it's important that you do your research before you decide what you're going to cover it in. Here's few ideas you can choose from.

Using paint.

Painting kitchen walls should be done very gently to avoid accidentally painting your furniture. You really need to buy washable paint, because it's resistant to extreme temperatures and water-proof, both of which are important in the kitchen.

When choosing your paint, it's important to remember that color and tint and glossiness of your paint will create a theme that you will do good to follow with the rest of design - furniture, ceiling, floor, and so on. Some of the options:
- Polyurethane/epoxy paint. It's very heat-resistant and a optimal option for a kitchen.
- Emulsion paint. Pros of this option are distinct lack of odor and very fast drying (under sixty minutes). It's easy enough to wash off clothes and cabinets because it's water based. But, because of it it's use on wallpapers, metal and wood is limited, but it will work on almost any other surface.
- Alkyd paint. It dries very fast, but you need to wait for about few hours before applying new layer. It's extremely durable and doesn't have any smell to speak of. It can also be applied to wallpapers and wooden surfaces.

Tiles.

Ceramic tiles are durable, look great and should be used in busiest work areas of the room. There are quite a few options when it comes to design of tile. You can also use it to create mosaic-styled patterns. See-through tile is a recent trend that is a little more expensive, but looks very good when you draw something underneath before hanging it on the wall.

Using wallpapers.

Wallpaper is a good option for a less used zones of your kitchen, like dining or washing zones. There are a lot of various options - water-resistant, plain or textured, gloss and/or vinyl (polyvinyl chloride on a paper base). When it comes to maintenance there are variants like washable, water- and heat-resistant etc.

Some rules to remember when choosing wallpapers:
- First, they have to be washable.
- Second, they should resist fading, otherwise re-arranging your furniture can expose difference in wallpaper brightness.
- Probably the best choice will be a textured washable vinyl wallpapers. They are resistant to grease, soot, and extreme temperatures and easy to wash.

Combo wallpapers is an pasting of a few types of wallpaper in one kitchen. There are two main ways of doing it:
- Horizontal dividing. Usually it means darker wallpapers in the bottom, lighter at the top.
- Three against one. It's when one wall differs from other three in color.