White Marble Wall Tile Behind a Clawfoot Tub in Golden

About This Project

This bathroom in a historic Golden home was being renovated to create a spa-like focal point around a freestanding clawfoot tub. The wall behind the tub was tiled floor-to-ceiling in a large-format white marble-look porcelain. The scale of the tile against the ornate chrome fixtures and classic tub form a contrast that feels intentional: modern material, traditional form.

For large-format wall tile, the substrate needs to be flat and the framing behind it needs to be rigid. In this older Golden home, we found some variation in the framing behind the tub wall. We furred out the wall framing to a consistent plane before installing cement board, which added a step but ensured that the large tiles would sit flat without any bowing or hollow spots. The tile was set using a white polymer-modified thinset applied with a large-notch trowel, and each tile was back-buttered as well. Joints were kept tight at 1/16 inch with a white unsanded grout to maintain the marble aesthetic.