Green Tile Galley Kitchen Backsplash in Sheridan
About This Project
This backsplash was installed in a Sheridan galley kitchen as part of a kitchen update. The homeowner chose a handmade-style 4x4 green glazed tile — a zellige-inspired format with slight variation in tile thickness and glaze texture from piece to piece. This variation is intentional and part of the tile's character, but it changes the installation approach: handmade tiles cannot be set with uniform joint spacers because the tile edges are not perfectly consistent. We set these by eye, maintaining consistent visual joint width rather than mechanical spacing.
The warm under-cabinet LED strip running along the top edge of the backsplash was already in place. The top course of tile needed to terminate cleanly against the underside of the cabinet with no visible cut edge, so we used a matching bullnose tile for the top row to create a finished edge without requiring a separate trim piece.
What We Did
- Cleaned the existing substrate and verified flatness; shimmed the countertop-to-wall joint with a consistent reveal line
- Sorted the tile by thickness variation and planned the layout to distribute thicker and thinner tiles evenly across the run
- Set tile by hand without mechanical spacers, maintaining consistent visual joints throughout
- Finished the top course with bullnose tile; grouted with cream sanded grout and sealed after cure
