Vertical Zellige Kitchen Backsplash in Columbine

About This Project

This 1978 Columbine home had its original ceramic tile backsplash still in place when the homeowners decided to update the kitchen. The original tile was set directly on drywall, which is not an acceptable substrate for removal without damaging the wall surface. We removed the tile, installed new cement board over the repaired wall, and then set the new zellige tile.

The tile is a handmade white zellige ceramic in a 2x6 format, installed vertically. Zellige tile has natural variation in its glaze and surface, which means each tile reflects light slightly differently and the wall has a subtle, living quality that standard glazed ceramic does not. The vertical stack orientation was the homeowner's preference and adds height to the space by drawing the eye upward along the joint lines rather than across the wall.

Zellige tile requires a different installation approach than factory-produced ceramic. The hand-pressed tiles have slight variations in thickness, which means the substrate needs to be very flat and the mortar bed needs to compensate for the thickness variation in each tile. We used a medium-bed non-sag mortar and back-buttered each tile to ensure full coverage on the irregular back surface.