I don’t know about the tile, but those pendants are NOT fine.

Rachel, I agree! I’m 5’3”, so it won’t necessarily be an issue for me but anyone over 5’6” will be hitting their head on a light if they stand at the island.

Kculbers, yes..I’m definitely going to bring the blue splotches up and see how it can be fixed. I’m not sure if it’s as easy as just replacing those few tiles or what. I’m just so curious about what the splotches even are! I can’t find anything else about it online.

Who ordered and received the tiles? That’s who should have inspected them all, and reordered if they felt they were defective. Once they’re installed. There’s no recourse. You own the issue.

It has nothing to do with the installation. It’s all in the tile. Tilers install what they are given. They don’t know what you ordered or how it “should” look.

Unless you hired a custom level tiler who consulted with you on brands and options, ordered the tile, inspected it on arrival, and then did a sample install board for you. If that’s the level of tile installer you used, then they should have alerted you that the shipment wasn’t right, and ordered additional tile, all while battling with the company over a return of the uninstalled defective tile. They would never have installed until it was all received correctly.

You get to keep that. Or pay for a redo.

I have CLE zellige tiles and they also had blue on them. Can’t tell if it’s the same but it was the ink that they used to draw the lines to cut the tile. I wiped off all of my tiles before the tile guy installed. It wiped right off most of them. And I honestly don’t notice those that had a bit left. I love the rustic imperfection.

A_hem, oh that’s interesting. I’ll try cleaning them off a little more and see if it comes off. It’s not really too noticeable when looking at the overall backsplash. It’s mostly just when you zoom in on certain tiles. So yea, it’s not a huge issue. But I’m definitely curious what it is!

Number one the tile, you really can’t notice from far but it would personally BUG me. So ye try to wipe if not ask them. The lighting happens to be. Seems intentional. Looks like they centered it with the island. Not the overhang part of it. But if it bugs you. You gotta redo it!! Your kitchen is otherwise GORGE!! Truly a beauty!! Love it

Aw thank you. You’re very sweet. And yes, the lighting has to be re-done. You can’t be getting hit in the forehead with a pendant when trying to prep food. Haha

I have zellige from Clé, and I don’t remember any blue. There are random spots of green, which we actually really liked and put those tiles sort of front and center. Ours is definitely part of the glaze, and was there before we grouted.

If it's ink from a Sharpie it can come off using sunscreen! DH was marking for a door stop, then we moved it. The marks were on my vinyl floor. Came up with a cloth and sunscreen. Took maybe 3 wipes to get it up. I was amazed!

Careful using sunscreen to remove anything. Many sunscreens contain avobenzone, an ingredient that reacts with iron in hard water and will leave rust stains.

That, and I would not want to use anything oily on grout.

Your kitchen is going to be amazing! Can you share what your countertop is? I am considering zellig tiles and a Montauk quartz counters and am thinking it might look something like your kitchen?

Who ordered and received the tiles? That’s who should have inspected them all, and reordered if they felt they were defective. Once they’re installed. There’s no recourse. You own the issue.

It has nothing to do with the installation. It’s all in the tile. Tilers install what they are given. They don’t know what you ordered or how it “should” look.

Just an FYI... This is a common, and often repeated, myth. It is not correct.

You have a duty to limit the damages of other parties in a contract. You can't install tile that you suspect may be defective and pawn it off on someone else's duty to inspect the tiles. If a reasonable person in the profession and/or providing the services that you are performing would question the quality of materials being installed then you have an affirmative duty to stop work until you have verification. That duty is a staple of contract law in all U.S. states and most other countries.

100% bet those blue spots are from a blue ink pen that the installer used to mark measurements etc. It looks like an ink bleed to me. Hairspray takes pen ink out of fabric. Is there a small discreet area you could test with aerosol hairspray and gently rub to see if it comes out and doesn't leave undesirable streaks or other discolorations?

Stupid for the installer to use an ink pen to mark stuff. Grrr.

@HU-187528210

Pendant lights need to be fixed, they definitely don’t look right.

As for the tile, it’s one of two things. Either they came that way but if you inspected the tiles when they arrived you would have noticed. When I received my tiles from Riad, about 6 tiles out of 8 boxes had some small green dots. They replaced those 6 pieces for me. I did not notice any blue on mine.

it’s possible that your installer used a blue marker when cutting or installing. I would look at that as a possibility and see if it can be remove

We just discovered a blue spot yesterday and another today on our Zia Zellige tiles. Our contractor is as stumped as we are. They were not there when the install took place a few weeks ago. Nor are they on tiles that would’ve been marked for cutting. Im nervous I’m going to have a fireplace filled with blue spots before long.

Hello!

i ordered some sample Zellige square tiles in ”frost” from Riad and they arrived with blue marks on them. I emailed customer service to inquire and this was the response...

“As for the blue marks, those are made during the cutting and glazing process. They should be able to be wiped off during installation.”

We have not yet begun our backsplash installation but I’m interested to hear if they were able to be wiped clean?

The pendants should also be moved so you don’t get shadows from your head as you bend over your prep work.

I was a ble to wipe off the blue ink that came with the tiles very easily with water and a towel cloth.

I realize this post has been from a while ago but your kitchen is lovely! Just chiming in that we have bought Riad natural white and installing next week. While putting ours up to visualize (straight from Riad) I have noticed one tile having a blue spot exactly like that. Interested if you got it off. Also, could you share grout color?

Just read this. The blue is ink marks for cutting and should just wipe off with damp cloth. Found this in install instructions