Sun Kitchen Mosaic Backsplash

Lake Cable, OH | Stained glass, glass gems, mirror | 12’ x 4’

About Sun Kitchen Backsplash

This 12-foot kitchen mosaic backsplash was created for a private residence in Lake Cable, Ohio, for clients who had just returned from Barcelona with Gaudí on their minds. They had fallen in love with the ceramic mosaics at Parc Güell and wanted something with that same spirit of color and joy as the centerpiece of their newly built pool house. Because the home is open plan, the mosaic is visible from the kitchen, dining area, and living room, so it needed to work as a statement piece from every angle.

Designing Sun Kitchen Backsplash

The sun was a natural choice for the subject. Gaudí returned to solar imagery throughout his career, and it translated beautifully into the scale and warmth of a kitchen setting. I kept the design rooted in my own style while working in the deep cobalts and rich reds the clients had been particularly drawn to at Parc Güell. In glass, those colors have a depth and luminosity that ceramic simply can't match, and with mirror woven in alongside the stained glass and foil-backed gems, the piece catches and reflects the light throughout the day.

Creating Sun Kitchen Backsplash

One of the more interesting design considerations on this commission was the placement of built-in shelves that would flank the mosaic after installation. By centering the sun over the stove, where it also reflects beautifully in the polished surface below, the focal point sits entirely clear of the shelves. The background patterning was designed to read as fluid and continuous behind them, so the shelves feel like they belong to the composition rather than interrupting it.

The clients are frequent hosts, and over the years their guests have told me how much they love it. They still tell me how thrilled they are with it every time I see them, which is the best possible outcome for a piece like this. Read more about the creation of this piece on my blog.