Zellige Kitchen Backsplash in Mid-City

A kitchen backsplash in a recently renovated Mid-City bungalow, using handmade Moroccan zellige tile in a warm peach tone, set vertically in a stacked pattern. The homeowner had already installed sage green lower cabinets and a matte black countertop and wanted a backsplash that felt warm and artisanal rather than polished.

Zellige is one of the more challenging tiles to set because each piece varies slightly in thickness — sometimes by as much as 3 to 4 millimeters within the same batch. This requires constant adjustment during setting to keep the face of the tile reasonably flush while allowing the natural variation to show. We used a polymer-modified white thinset and set without spacers, relying on eye and feel to maintain consistent joint widths. The grout is a warm off-white that reads as a soft contrast against the tile body rather than disappearing into it.