Installation Height for Kitchen Wall Tiles

Blend the Tile Well

• Plan the kitchen wall space, cabinets and appliances first. You should plan the tile work around the kitchen, not the other way around. Tile for walls, base cabinets or flooring is a somewhat heavy material. The weight of the tile adds beauty and strength; however, you typically do not want to add too much tile in the upper 3 feet of the room. In most situations, the tile would go no higher than shoulder height.

Create Sound Proportion

• Measure the kitchen and transfer all dimensions to graph paper. You cannot guess what will look appropriate. Use colored pencils to draw the kitchen. Sketch the tile work and its exact color so that wall tiles look harmonious with the room. For example, use a 4-foot high wainscoting effect of white porcelain tile with a 1-foot border of hunter green marble tile. This makes the wainscoting a total of 5 feet high. Paint upper walls white as well, as one choice.

Match One Wall with Flooring

• You can cover an entire wall to match floor tiles. If you use black glass tiles on the kitchen floor, for example, you can cover one wall from floor to ceiling in those tiles. Use a stainless steel dining table and stainless hardware on kitchen cabinets for a high-tech look. Obtain more of a country home look by using yellow floor tiles and yellow tiles on one entire wall, as another option.

Unify Cabinet Spaces

• Cover the backsplash area with tile between upper and lower cabinets. In this case, there is no exact dimension of height to install the tile. You will want to cover the whole space, even if upper cabinets are positioned extremely high on the walls. Again, your own judgment will come into play because no two kitchens are alike. Graph paper is an excellent way to define the final look before you install the tile.

Emphasize Higher Space

• Tile can fit in soffit areas at the ceiling level. If you install white cabinets with a 1-foot soffit space over them, it's eye-catching to add tile work in the soffit area. You might install small navy blue tiles with white grouting above the cabinets to match identical countertops with navy blue tiles with the same grout work.