The beauty of Zellige tiles is in their craftmanship. With their origins in North Africa, these handmade clay tiles are loved for their uniqueness. Each one is slightly different which adds to their appeal, however this also presents some issues with using these tiles. As with everything when you are renovating or building, the hidden costs of installation can often send the budget into meltdown. I must say however, that all interiors need a touch of uniqueness or you run the risk of the outcome being bland and lovingly made tiles can be the perfect way to judiciously add that finishing touch.
I am going to show you how to use Zellige tiles in your next kitchen design here.
How to use Zellige tiles in kitchen design
Authentic clay Zellige tiles are distinquishable from simple square ceramic tiles as their edges are not uniform. As with most things that are beautifully hand-crafted, no two pieces are the same. If you want uniformity with no harsh edges, then these tiles are probably not for you. You can of course use a simple square ceramic tile that gives you a similar look, but without the absolute wow factor.
Zellige tiles are also slightly different in their colouring. It’s important to look at the grouping of tiles together so that you can appreciate the final look that you will achieve. This slight variation brings beauty to the end result, but the colours will change and if you have built your colour palette around just one sample tile, then this could be misleading.
As there are imperfections in the edges of the tiles, this can present a problem with the laying of them. I always recommend that an experienced tile installer lays Zellige tiles as the un-uniformity of these tiles presents a host of problems to a regular DIY person, even if they are seasoned in renovating homes.
Zellige tiles should appear to butt up to each other completely. Often they are laid without grout, but I don’t recommend this as they are then not waterproof. This isn’t always such an issue in kitchens, but if you want to regularly wipe down the tiles, this could cause a problem. Therefore, you should use just the smallest amount of grout to ensure there are no gaps between the tiles, whilst maintaining a look that is seamless. With uneven edges, this is not an easy proposition.
As authentic Zellige tiles have these slightly rough edges, I therefore don’t recommend them as a splashback behind a stove top. This is the one area of your kitchen that really needs to be easy to clean.

This is why in most kitchens you see Zellige tiles used on walls, but with stone or glass behind the stove top. If the stone is finished with a shelf, then this also becomes the perfect spot to add some styling to your kitchen.
The Zellige tiles then become a beautiful feature and don’t need to be a practical element of the kitchen.
For other areas in the kitchen, you can use Zellige tiles as the splashback, but I like to complete them with some shelving. I don’t like tiles to just finish mid wall as the look is incomplete. You can use a beautiful capping or some shelving is the perfect way to complete the look. This will contain the tiles, introduce a finishing edge to the top of them and also add some beautiful styling to your kitchen.
Related: High high should a tiled kitchen splashback be?
Simple ceramic square tiles create a similar look to Zellige tiles, but without the cost and installation issues. They can be very effective and the outcome is still very appealing.
The main points to consider when using Zellige tiles in a kitchen
- Unless you have a lot of experience with laying tiles, then leave this job to a tile installer who has experience with this product.
- The uneven edges are the appeal of these beautiful authentic handmade clay tiles, but to get the right effect they must be laid very close together with minimal grout.
- There is some beautiful colour variation in Zellige tiles which brings lovely movement to the finished look. Always consider this variation and use more than one tile sample when you are putting together your colour scheme.
- As they can be problematic to clean, don’t use them directly behind your stove. Consider using a stone splashback for the first part of the wall and then transition to the tiles.
Related: Using Zellige tiles in bathroom design