Dark Kitchen Marble Backsplash in Harbor Gateway

About This Project

A kitchen backsplash installation in a Harbor Gateway home with dark charcoal cabinetry. The backsplash uses large-format porcelain panels in a dramatic white and black marble-look pattern, installed as a continuous slab-look surface behind the range and along the main counter wall.

Large-format porcelain panels (this tile was 18x36) require a perfectly flat substrate and a notched trowel pattern that leaves no air pockets under the tile. We used a 1/2 inch square-notch trowel on the wall and back-buttered each panel to achieve full coverage. The veining pattern on this tile was book-matched — each pair of tiles was oriented so the veining continues across the joint, creating the illusion of a continuous slab. That requires laying out the tiles before setting to confirm the orientation is correct.