5 New Kitchens That Stylishly Mix Materials and Details

“Uh-oh” moment. “During the installation of the zellige tile backsplash, the design process hit a significant snag,” contractor Brian Airehart says. “The vision was for a glossy, light gray backsplash with organic variations. However, when the tiles arrived, the batch had more color variation than expected. Some tiles were noticeably darker, almost a charcoal gray, which clashed with the airy, cohesive aesthetic the homeowner had envisioned. Compounding the issue, the installers began setting the tiles in a stacked pattern as planned, but the uneven edges of the handmade zellige tiles made the grout lines appear inconsistent, creating a messy, unfinished look.

“The homeowner, seeing the partially installed backsplash, panicked. The designer suggested pausing the installation to reassess the tiles, proposing that they hand-sort the tiles to use the lighter gray ones on the main walls and reserve the darker ones for a smaller accent area, like above the range, to create a subtle contrast that could enhance the design. To address the grout issue, they switched to a thinner grout line with a custom-mixed light gray grout that blended better with the tiles, minimizing the uneven appearance, a technique the designer had seen in a recent Houzz article on working with handmade tiles. After a few extra days of work, the backsplash came together beautifully.”

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