Green Pond Backsplash Featured in Kitchen & Bath Design News Magazine
Backsplash Beauties
Hardworking kitchens can be messy places where food, water and grease can readily splatter onto walls near the cooktop and sink. If left unprotected, those walls can be difficult, if not impossible, to keep clean.
Historically, a relatively diminutive 4″ to 6″ strip of countertop material has served as a backsplash to protect against many kitchen mishaps. However, backsplashes have evolved from those minimalist roots, emerging as design elements that do so much more.
These days, bare walls are rarely seen, having been replaced by more stately and elegant backsplashes that reach from the top of the countertop to the bottom of the upper cabinets, or even cover entire walls. Sometimes, they are relatively ‘quiet’ and monochromatic, blending into their surroundings to play a supportive role. Other times, they are the focal point – dramatic and bold – making a statement that can’t be overlooked.
Designer: Courtney Zanelli, LLC, Summit, NJ
For clients who seek guidance when selecting backsplash materials, Courtney Zanelli creates an assortment of options – some that fall into the realm of what they think they want, others that bring them out of their comfort zone, and some the designer thinks will work best, chosen with the overall design aesthetic of the kitchen and home in mind as well as cues taken from conversations with the client.
“Some clients can get tired by the time decisions need to be made for the backsplash…experiencing project fatigue,” she says. “They simply can’t make one more decision and will settle on sheet rock or a 4″ backsplash of countertop material. In my opinion, that’s a tremendous missed opportunity to add an important design element that enhances both the form and function of the space.”
To read the rest of the article, please visit: Kitchen & Bath Design News, February 2017
In an article in Kitchen & Bath Design News about kitchen backsplashes featured Courtney Zanelli’s kitchen renovation project on Green Pond and her use of beautiful, handmade tile. In this kitchen, designer selected a watery blue tile to integrate the indoors and outdoors, with the pooled glaze that gives the tile a depth of color echoing the view of the pond outside.
