Mom’s Kitchen Reveal: Zellige Backsplash, Brass Rail & Every Source
After eight years of hiding a flawed backsplash behind a very strategic stack of cookbooks, this kitchen reveal is finally, officially here — and we could not be more in love with how mom’s kitchen turned out.
If you’ve been following along on our YouTube channel, you know this kitchen reveal has been a long time coming. Not because the projects were huge, but because that’s how real homes actually get made: one decision, one layer, one “we’ll get to it” at a time. This post walks through every choice that brought it together — the zellige backsplash she chose over brick and stone, the counters she kept, the brass rail from Amazon everyone keeps asking about, and exactly how we hang plates on the wall (our most-asked question, finally answered). Every source is linked along the way.
Watch the full kitchen reveal
The whole story — including the moment we finally styled it out — is in the full kitchen reveal video. Grab a coffee; this one’s 29 minutes of pure kitchen.
The zellige backsplash decision
The backsplash was the thing this kitchen was waiting on for eight years. Mom went back and forth between brick, natural stone, and tile — and landed on a handmade Moroccan zellige in a natural white, run in a vertical stack. It was the right call. Zellige has that gentle movement and glaze variation that makes a white backsplash feel warm instead of sterile, and the vertical orientation quietly draws your eye up toward the hood.
You can find the exact tile here — it’s the Natural White 2×6 thin bejmat.
A designer tip before you order zellige
Zellige is handmade, so color and glaze vary piece to piece — always order samples from a few vendors before you commit. And if your layout allows it, ask your installer for a mitered edge at the corners so the backsplash reads like one continuous piece.
Why she kept the Taj Mahal counters
Here’s the part of this kitchen reveal we hope you steal: mom didn’t gut this kitchen. The Taj Mahal quartzite counters were already beautiful, so they stayed — and every new decision was made to honor them. That’s the difference between a kitchen that photographs well and a kitchen that feels like the person who lives there. You don’t have to start over to get the kitchen you want. Keep what’s working, and let the new layers earn their place.
The brass rail from Amazon everyone asks about
Of everything in this kitchen, the humble brass rail gets the most DMs — and honestly, it deserves them. It’s an under-shelf rail we found on Amazon, and it’s what gives the range wall that collected, European-kitchen feeling: copper pots within reach, a cutting board leaned just so, a little art clipped in when she feels like a refresh.
This is the exact brass rail — and yes, it’s as beautiful in person as it photographs.
Steal this for your own kitchen
If your kitchen feels like it’s missing character, add a brass rail under a shelf or along the backsplash. It instantly gives you a place to layer copper, boards, and art — and it’s the easiest thing to restyle when you want the room to feel new again.
How we hang plates on the wall (your most-asked question)
Every time the cabbage plate wall shows up in a video, the same question rolls in: how are those hanging? The answer is wonderfully unglamorous — plate hangers. They grip the rim, disappear behind the plate, and let you treat vintage dishes like the art they are.
These are the plate hangers we use, and if you’re hunting for plates worth hanging, these vintage Bordallo Pinheiro majolica cabbage plates are the very same family as mom’s. Odd numbers, varied sizes, hang them slightly imperfectly — that’s what makes a plate wall feel collected instead of installed.
The lighting: warm and layered
Kitchen lighting should never be one big light doing all the work. Mom’s kitchen layers it: pendants over the island for presence, and wall sconces for that warm, end-of-day glow that makes you want to linger after dinner. If your kitchen only has recessed cans, sconces are the single fastest way to change how the room feels at night.
Shop the pendants and the wall sconces.
The breakfast nook
The nook is where this kitchen actually gets lived in, so the chairs had to be comfortable enough for long Saturday mornings and pretty enough to hold their corner. These hit both notes — casual, collected, and they’ve already survived a summer of grandkids.
Shop mom’s kitchen — every source
Every source from mom’s kitchen, all in one place.
The pieces you can’t buy new
Half of what you saw in the kitchen reveal isn’t linkable — the vintage art, the odd little brass things, the plates with a past life. That’s the layer we hunt for at our FHL Warehouse Sale, where we source and style two days of antique and vintage finds a few times a year. If you missed the last one, the email list hears the next date first.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you hang plates on a wall?
We use spring-style plate hangers that grip the rim of the plate and disappear behind it. Mix plate sizes, use an odd number, and keep the spacing slightly imperfect so the wall feels collected over time. These are the hangers in mom’s kitchen.
Is zellige tile hard to work with?
It’s handmade, so expect variation in color, glaze, and thickness — that’s the charm, but it means you should order samples from more than one vendor and hire an installer who has worked with zellige before. A mitered edge at outside corners keeps the look seamless.
Where is the brass rail from?
Amazon, believe it or not — this is the exact one. It mounts under a shelf or along a backsplash and holds pots, boards, and small art on S-hooks.
Did the counters get replaced in this remodel?
No — the Taj Mahal quartzite counters were already there and worth designing around. Keeping them is a big part of why this kitchen feels layered instead of brand-new.
If you loved this kitchen reveal, keep exploring
A few more FHL projects we think you’d enjoy: the Park Place Project recap (a Rockwall dream home, top to bottom), a dated-to-dreamy client bathroom reveal, and the story of a historic McKinney home brought back to life.
Home is a journey — make it yours, one layer at a time. If you make the brass rail (or the plate wall!) happen in your own kitchen, come tell us in the YouTube comments or over on Instagram — we read every single one.
With love,
Shelby & Michelle
