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Design Dilemma Kitchens

Backsplash matching island and counters - help!

14 days ago

We are in the throws of a renovation and my husband and I want the backsplash and counter tops to be the same material. Only thing we did not know is you need 2 cm width for backsplash and 3 cm width for counter tops. It’s been very difficult to find slabs we love in both widths. Anyone have experience with this? Any words of advice? Thanks in advance!

Featured Answer

BPMBA

13 days ago

Pretty sure you don't NEED to have the slab backsplash at 2cm. I THINK you just need to make sure your walls are prepped accordingly (and you lose a little counter space), but lots of pros on here to confirm or not.

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Comments (7)

millworkman
13 days ago
last modified: 13 days ago
Thickness, the 2 cm and 3 cm measurements are the thickness of the material, not the width. Where have you looked? What sort of material are you looking for? What are of the country are you in (suppliers are mostly all regional)?
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I am wondering if anyone other than TKO GW members would even think to ask, or even ponder, that this is not "real marble". Yes, this is coming from the woman who thought it was real when she saw it in the showroom, but still -- would your typical kitchen visitor know if it was "live or memorex"? (OK, you may be too young to remember that commercial). There is another thread (or maybe more) in the past few days where people discussed that the carrara and calacatta marble subway tile samples they recieved had varying yellow tones amongst white tiles. I think that unless you can get subways made from the sibling slab of your island, you are going to have a variation in the color of the subs, or in the veining. The ceramic may provide a more consistant color amongst the tiles. Even though it may be whiter than your island slab, it will be white like the slab, and not yellow; like some "real" tiles may be. But then again, unless you've asked a TKO individual over, they might not notice the yellow tones possible in the real marble tiles. I also think that there are enough ohhs and ahhs in your kitchen that the typical visitor won't even begin to notice any possible differences. At least any visitors I have wouldn't.
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oh, momo...now I have google ann sacks and found those tiles...I JUST LOVE THEM. $83 per square foot, eh? Ay yi yi! I also found other tiles there that I love. Part of me almost wants to go nuts and ethnic and busy, since the rest of my kitchen is so simple. I am just afraid I will tire of it. Like this... (not this exactly, I just mean a busy, ethnic pattern. Kind of looks 70s to me, also.) cherry-Yes, we addressed the torso issue already! Yet another reason I want the mirror antiqued, and also not flat panes but rather tiles, so the "cuts" will break up the view a bit! I know what you mean, some of these threads get so long and I want to give my 2 cents but I just *know* one of my comments has probably already been made, but I say it anyway. Thanks for the input. You are not the only one with the opinion that with so much stainless and "coolness" I should go with warmth/color/texture. The things is...I see so many finished white kitchens similar to mine that have white tile as a BS, and I like them. I also like those pics that momo posted in her link, and they are white, with SS appliances, and mirrored BS and I think they look good. Well, I am torn and DH really wants me to make a decision so he can install. He wants the tile/color/texture look. I will keep you guys updated! Thanks so much!
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If your choice were only between to 2 you originally posted, I'd choose the one on the right--the cream one. From the photos it looks like it works very well with your quartzite. The gray one is "off" just enough not to look pleasing. However, as many have noted, either one is more difficult to clean than a smooth surface. What sort of cook are you--very neat or more devil-may-care? If you are very neat and do not splash much when you cook, then you may get away with the split-faced marble, but if you are a more exuberant cook, you may find it a challenge to clean. The mother of pearl is very formal and quite busy, so it's going to compete with the counter tops as well. Personally, I would use a smooth crackle tile in a tan/beige tone to work with your quartzite. Simple is always good.
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qwert
13 days ago
We just finished a kitchen using same quartzite for counters and backsplash…to insure a consistent color in the stone, we used 2cm everywhere. We had counter edges mitered to get desired thickness, and 2 cm on backsplash. Doing this allowed us to pick slabs from same cut lot.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
13 days ago
We have no clue what material you are using and if quartz it IMO cannot go behind the range but we have no clue about your space .Post pics of all things you are using and one of the space Post all her ein comments DO NOT start another post.
PRO
JAN MOYER
13 days ago
last modified: 13 days ago
There is no issue with 3 cm on a back splash. Electrical receptacles will need a forward pull.

The minimal loss of depth to work surface is inconsequential. .....

We don't know where you are, nor the kitchen in question, or the reason you were given, if any.....let alone the material you are planning to use: )

If quartz? Just know that a scorch behind a cook is possible.

Will it happen? Not necessarily, depends how you cook, the range or other . Yes people do it all the time with NO issue. We have no idea what you are planning
PRO
Minardi
13 days ago
Your kitchen designer should be leading you to appropriate selections that will work here. There is nothing wrong with 3 cm material, as long as it is accounted for in the design from the beginning. You cannot leave it until after things are installed to try to put in a slab backsplash of either thickness.
chispa
13 days ago
Fire whoever is telling you this information, because it isn't true.

Although I mostly used a marble mosaic as my backsplash, the area behind the sink and under the windows was done in the same 3 cm quartzite as the counters. In my case it was a last minute change once I picked the backsplash, as the space was too small to have the marble mosaic look best.

Since I had asked the kitchen designer to pull my lower cabinets out 3", the thicker 3 cm backsplash had no effect on anything else we had planned.

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