Beige Zellige Kitchen Backsplash in East Dundee
About This Project
A kitchen in an East Dundee home with dark walnut cabinets and a light countertop received a beige zellige square tile backsplash in a stacked grid pattern. The warm, reflective surface of zellige plays well against the deep wood tones. This backsplash runs from countertop to the underside of the upper cabinets, with an additional section above the open shelving.
Zellige tiles are handmade and each piece varies slightly in glaze thickness and surface flatness. We used a flexible adhesive mortar and set each tile individually rather than from a mesh sheet. The stacked square pattern required consistent horizontal and vertical alignment across the full run, which we maintained with a grid of laser-level lines rather than relying on the countertop edge, which was slightly out of level in one corner.
What We Did
Laser-leveled reference grid before any tile was placed
Set individual zellige pieces in flexible mortar; adjusted for thickness variation
Cut around outlet boxes with precision wet saw cuts
Grouted in warm white; sealed completed surface
