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Help? -- Open shelving backsplash advice, please. pics

13 years ago

Oh gosh, the contractors are already in progress and I just realized I have to make a decision about this!

I am converting the alcove with my venthood/cooktop to open shelving with brackets. Does anyone have advice for how far up the backsplash tile go?

(a) Up to the bottom shelf, meaning the brackets are drilled into/through the tile? (Kind of a pain, because I don't have the shelves yet and would have to do this myself)

(b) Up to the bottom of the brackets?

(c) Up to the ceiling (but will that make the side walls' shorter tile height look funny? It's in an alcove/recessed area and I was going to match the side walls' tile height to that of the rest of the kitchen, 18" to the bottom of the cabs.)

If color matters, the shelves are oak, the tile is white, and the wall color has yet to be decided (I'd like some color, but all the example pictures below have the wall color matching the tile).

Pictures from Remodelista of

Tile up to the brackets

Tile up to the shelf

Picture of my brackets (7" high)

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Comments (4)

flwrs_n_co
13 years ago
No experience with this although I am hoping to do some open shelving when we redo kitchen. Your brackets are charming and I look forward to seeing pics of your kitchen! Is your white tile subway (what size?) or 4x4 or some other size? If you decide to go up to the ceiling, I don't think it's a problem if the tile on the adjoining wall ends at a different height. There are quite a few kitchens I've seen with this both on FKB on the websites and it looks find to me. If your brackets are that wonderful green (or another color, i.e. not white), they would look like wonderful gems against the white tile so my advice is to tile up to the ceiling.
jakabedy
13 years ago
I'm aassuming that you have a cabinet with counter in the base of your alcove. If so, I like the "tile up to the shelf" photo. From the style of your brackets, it looks like yours is a traditional or even period kitchen, no? If so, then what was done in the inspiration photo should work fine. There is a strip of wood run vertically under the shelf, and the brackets are affixed to that (probably through the vertical piece and into a stud). Then the tile runs up to that strip of wood - clean and no fuss/no muss.

Your "tile up to the brackets" photo shows what appears to be a shelf "unit" where there is no bracket under the lowest shelf -- the lowest shelf appears to be hung from a bracket above it. That is also a good option, but a bit more contemporary looking and doesn't make use of your brackets.

In a period/cottage kitchen I don't see the need to tile to the ceiling in an alcove that doewsn't hold a sink or a range.
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Welcome to the Bianco Antico Club. This is such a great stone. I struggled endlessly to find the right thing for my kitchen. I ended up winning a backsplash in a contest. It is a Beveled Arabesque tile. I wanted something that would have some pizazz but not steal anything from the granite. I will once again post my kitchen backsplash to see, I'm so sorry for boring all the GW'ers out there! The tile is from Mission Stone & Tile. Each tile is handmade and they have a slight wave on the surface due to this. It creates the coolest look when the uc lights are on, they kind of glisten. There was a strong contender earlier that picked up the taupes in the granite. It was by Mandala, the color is stingray. Not sure if it would work with your dark cabinets, but here is srg215's kitchen, I suggested it to her and she checked it out and fell in love. You can get it in several sizes. I've linked her kitchen below. With this granite, I found a small tile/mosaic will not work, it's too busy, too competitive. I think you need something on a larger scale. Best of luck. Let me know if you have any questions. Here is a link that might be useful: srg215's kitchen with Bianco Antico granite
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young-gardener
13 years ago
Here is a kitchen I like. It belongs to histokitch and has open shelving.

Here is a link that might be useful: PHOTOS
eileen kao
6 years ago
i know this post is 7 yrs old now, but did you figure out a solution? will be redoing our kitchen and I have the EXACT same question regarding tiling beneath shelving, but can't seem to find any relevant answers online. can you post a picture of your solution or any good advice you received on the matter? thanks!

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