Backsplash & tile
The backsplash is where a kitchen either reads custom or reads catalog. Layout, grout color and where the pattern ends all matter more than the tile itself.
- From $2,900
- 3 to 6 days on site
- Fixed price at contract
Is this the right scope for your kitchen?
We lay out every backsplash on paper before a single tile is buttered. Where does the pattern start? Does a cut tile land next to the hood or behind the faucet? Does the field die into a trim piece or run to the underside of a cabinet?
Handmade tile like zellige has real variation in thickness and edge. It looks extraordinary and it is unforgiving of a setter in a hurry. We budget the extra labor honestly rather than discovering it mid-wall.
Slab backsplashes, cut from the same stone as your counters and run to the underside of the uppers, have become our most requested detail behind ranges.
Everything in the line item, spelled out
If it is not on this list it is not in the price, and we will say so before you sign rather than after.
Layout drawing
A dimensioned elevation showing course lines, cut placement and where the field terminates.
Substrate prep
Walls skimmed flat before tile. A wavy wall shows through handmade tile like a fingerprint.
Setting and grouting
Tile set with the right mortar for the material, grouted in a color chosen from a cured sample board.
Edge details
Metal trim, mitered edges, bullnose or a plaster return, whichever suits the tile.
Outlet coordination
Outlets relocated or rotated so cover plates do not land across a grout joint.
Caulk and seal
Flexible color-matched caulk at every plane change, penetrating sealer on porous materials.
From first conversation to final walkthrough
Select tile and grout
Cured grout samples on your actual tile, not a paper fan deck.
Draw the elevation
We show where each cut lands before ordering.
Prep walls
Skim coat and flatten, then set a ledger line off the counter.
Set and cure
Field, then trims and cuts. Cure overnight before grouting.
Grout and finish
Grout, clean, caulk, seal and photograph for your binder.
What you get out of it
- Cut tiles land in planned places, never behind the faucet
- Grout color chosen from a cured sample, not a printed chart
- Outlets rotated horizontally so plates sit inside a single tile field
- Handmade tile priced with realistic labor rather than a surprise change order
- Slab backsplashes cut from your own countertop material
What moves the number, in order
Cabinetry and stone are predictable. These are the variables that actually change a budget.
See financingTile format
A 3x12 subway in a running bond is efficient. A herringbone in 2x8 handmade tile takes roughly twice the labor.
Height and coverage
Standard 18-inch splash, a full-height wall behind the range, or full height everywhere.
Material
Machine-made ceramic, handmade zellige, natural stone mosaic and stone slab sit at very different price points.
Wall condition
Plaster walls in older Madison homes often need real flattening before tile.
Often booked alongside this
Countertops & stone
Templated, fabricated and set by our own stone crew, with seams you approve first.
From $4,800
Cabinet refacing
New doors, drawer fronts and veneer over cabinet boxes that are still sound.
From $14,500
Lighting & electrical
Layered lighting plans, new circuits and the code updates older Madison homes need.
From $3,600
About backsplash & tile
Answers from the questions we get asked most at the sample bench.
We order 15 percent overage on straight layouts and 20 to 25 percent on herringbone, chevron or handmade tile. Leftovers are worth keeping for future repairs since dye lots change.
Grout one shade off the tile reads soft and forgiving. Matching grout makes the surface read as one plane. High contrast makes the pattern the feature, and every imperfect cut becomes visible.
Technically possible, rarely wise. It builds the wall out past the outlets and window casings, and it hides whatever is going on behind the old tile.
If you want light to move across the wall and no two tiles to be identical, yes. If you want a crisp uniform grid, buy machine-made tile and spend the difference elsewhere.
Bring a photo of your kitchen. Leave with a real number.
Ninety minutes, no charge, no obligation. Door samples go home with you the same day.
Showroom on Atwood Avenue, Tue to Fri 9 to 5 and Sat 10 to 3.