Custom Tile Work in Meridian — Kitchen Backsplash & Two Bathroom Floors

The 2012 home had a plain painted drywall backsplash behind the kitchen range that was stained and impossible to clean. Both bathrooms had builder-grade 12×12 ceramic tile with cracked grout lines and several loose tiles caused by inadequate thinset coverage during the original installation. The homeowners wanted tile that felt custom and elevated without a full remodel of either room.

For the kitchen, we installed a 3×12 ceramic subway tile in a herringbone pattern from counter to ceiling behind the range, extending as a standard stack pattern across the remaining counter backsplash. A Schluter Jolly edge trim provided clean exposed edges. In both bathrooms, we removed all existing tile, inspected and repaired the underlayment, installed Ditra uncoupling membrane to prevent future cracking, and laid new large-format porcelain tile (12×24 in the master, 8×8 encaustic-look in the hall bath). All grout was mixed with a polymer additive for long-term stain resistance.

Each room now has a distinct design personality while sharing a cohesive neutral palette. The herringbone backsplash is the kitchen's new focal point, the master bathroom floor looks like natural stone, and the hall bath's patterned tile gives it boutique-hotel character. The Ditra membrane underneath means no more cracked grout lines.