A Kentucky Kitchen With a Scene-Stealing Backsplash

Contractor T.M. Faversham and his wife, Skylar Smith, didn’t wake up one day with the idea to do a rainbow backsplash. “The stars just lined up,” says T.M. Two years ago the couple were about to renovate the kitchen in their 1913 bungalow in Louisville, KY, when they visited a friend’s house and admired the 2-inch-by-2-inch-square white tiles from Mosaic House in his kitchen. “They were so interesting to look at, we decided to see if other colors were available,” says T.M. Oh, yes, they were: lots and lots of them!

Working with architect Emily Fisher Paprocki, T.M. and Skylar planned the rest of the space around the backsplash: blue and white cabinets, gray soapstone counters, bronze cabinet knobs and red pantry doors. But the unmistakable star of the room is still their favorite feature. As T.M. says, “The fun colors feel so right with young kids and at this time in our life.”

Backsplash

For the first couple days after the tile was delivered, T.M. admits, he and Skylar had second thoughts. “We propped it up against the walls and wondered if it was too loud, but the big windows really balance it out,” he says. The tiles come in 12-inch-square sheets, and each one contains a mix of colors, resulting in a random pattern once they’re installed.

Counters

To contrast the backsplash’s shiny glaze, T.M. wanted dark counters with a matte finish, so he chose gray soapstone and deepened the color with mineral oil. The nonporous surface cleans right up and can withstand hot pots. “We had maple wood counters in our old house, and I loved them, but we had to protect them a ton. These are much more forgiving,” says T.M. The metal and veneer barstools are from Industry West.

Range and Window

To make better use of the space, the Favershams turned one of the doors that led to the porch into a window. The biggest stretch of backsplash surrounds it, and T.M. decided a sleek stainless steel range by Bertazzoni would look great below it. Above the window he installed a hood — a must for the couple, who cook a lot.

Cabinets

The Favershams had their eye on blue paint for the cabinets but thought covering both the uppers and lowers in it would be too dark. So they used Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball on the bottom cabinets and coated the top ones in All White, also by Farrow & Ball. T.M. ordered the cabinet boxes from IKEA and the doors from Semihandmade, a company that makes custom doors for IKEA cabinets. The knobs and pulls, in a matte bronze finish, are from Schoolhouse Electric.