Sage Green Kitchen Backsplash in Old Torrance

About This Project

A kitchen backsplash replacement in an Old Torrance home, using a glossy sage green 4x4 ceramic square tile in a straight grid pattern. The tile runs from countertop to upper cabinet bottom on three walls, with a window cutout in the center section.

Glossy ceramic tile on a kitchen wall requires careful surface prep. The existing wall had a slight texture from previous paint. We skim-coated and sanded the surface to a smooth finish before tiling, because any texture telegraphs through the thinset and shows as an uneven surface under the reflective glaze. The tile was set with white non-sanded thinset and grouted with white unsanded grout at 1/8 inch joints. The color contrast between the tile body and grout is intentional — the grid pattern is part of the visual effect.