Short answer: a kitchen wall is usually tiled to one of four lines: the underside of the wall cupboards, the window, the rangehood wall up to the ceiling, or the full height from bench to ceiling where there are no wall cupboards. Which line you pick sets the square metres, and the square metres set the boxes. On one assumed 3.6 m kitchen wall, the plain 600 mm splashback is 2.16 m², or three boxes of a 75 × 300 mm subway tile once a 10 per cent allowance is added; the same wall tiled from bench to ceiling is 4.68 m² and six. Settle the stopping line first, because until it is fixed neither the area nor the box count can be.
This guide works those four lines through on one assumed wall, using the 38 tiles in Kitchen tiles. Product facts were read from the product pages on 5 October 2026. The heights are common choices, not rules; the tiler or builder sets out the real one.
1. Where does a kitchen wall stop? Four lines
- The underside of the wall cupboards. The splashback fills the gap between benchtop and cupboards and stops where the cupboards begin. 600 mm is a common gap and the one used below; measure yours.
- The window. Tiling can stop at the sill, or carry on round the window to the line of its head.
- The rangehood wall, up to the ceiling. The panel behind the cooktop goes higher, often to the ceiling, while the band either side stops at the cupboards.
- Bench to ceiling, with no wall cupboards. With open shelving or no upper joinery, the whole wall is tiled and meets the ceiling with no top edge.
Three kitchens in the installed series show some of these lines. The photographs record where a tile was laid in one kitchen; they do not say where a tile may be used, and nothing on the product pages does either.
- Pietra Alba as a kitchen splashback stops at the window and goes past it: the tile “runs behind the bench and up to the sill of the window above, then carries further up the wall to the left of the window.” One wall, two stopping lines.
- Studio Linen in a sage kitchen takes the rangehood wall to the ceiling: “Across the island the same tile carries up the rangehood wall to the ceiling.”
- Studio Flat and Studio Linen in an olive kitchen keeps to the band but turns the corner: both tiles are “laid as horizontal splashback courses above a dark benchtop,” and “where the wall turns at the right the courses carry around the corner.”
None of the three shows a bench-to-ceiling wall with no wall cupboards, so that line has no installed example here.
A laundry splashback stops at the same lines; laundry tile ideas works one through on a 1.8 m bench.
2. The assumed kitchen wall
Every figure below comes from one wall. The dimensions are assumptions, chosen so the arithmetic is easy to follow; substitute your own.
- A straight bench run 3.6 m long.
- 1.5 m from benchtop to ceiling (for example a 900 mm bench under a 2,400 mm ceiling).
- One window over the sink, 1.2 m wide and 0.6 m high, its sill 600 mm above the bench and its head 1,200 mm above it.
- A rangehood panel 0.9 m wide at the other end of the run. Where there are wall cupboards, their underside is 600 mm above the bench.
- Power points and switches are tiled round, not taken off.
For an L-shaped run or a second wall, split it into rectangles and add them up: How to measure a tiling project sets out that method.
3. How many square metres at each height?
| Stopping line | Working | Net area |
|---|---|---|
| A. Band to the cupboard line, 600 mm | 3.6 m × 0.6 m; the window sill sits on the same line, so nothing comes off | 2.16 m² |
| B. Band plus rangehood wall to the ceiling | 2.16 m² + 0.9 m × 0.9 m for the panel above the band | 2.97 m² |
| C. No wall cupboards, to the window head, 1,200 mm | 3.6 m × 1.2 m = 4.32 m², less the window, 1.2 m × 0.6 m = 0.72 m² | 3.60 m² |
| D. No wall cupboards, bench to ceiling, 1,500 mm | 3.6 m × 1.5 m = 5.40 m², less the window, 0.72 m² | 4.68 m² |
The full-height wall is a little over twice the plain splashback: 4.68 m² against 2.16 m². Taking only the rangehood panel to the ceiling adds 0.81 m², which is 37.5 per cent on top of the band.
4. How many boxes? The same wall in three box sizes
Field tiles here are sold by the box, so the figure to arrive at is a whole number of boxes. The kitchen range uses three box sizes, the same three as every field tile on the site, which How many tiles in a box, and how many per square metre? sets out size by size. For the kitchen range they are:
- 1 m² boxes: the nine 75 × 300 mm subway tiles, 44 pieces and 16 kg to the box, from the supplier's current documentation.
- 1.2 m² boxes: the two 100 × 300 mm subway tiles, Studio Chalk and Studio Linen, 40 pieces and 16 kg to the box, from the supplier's current documentation.
- 1.44 m² boxes: Studio Pure White at 300 × 600 mm (8 pieces), the Pietra tiles at 600 × 600 mm (4 pieces), and Pietra Vela and Pietra Vela Fluted at 600 × 1200 mm (2 pieces), all 30 kg to the box, from the supplier's current documentation. The other Pietra sizes, 300 × 600 mm on six of them and 600 × 1200 mm on six, use the typical pack for that size, 8 or 2 pieces and 1.44 m². The supplier's current documentation does not state those boxes, the product page says so, and a box count resting on them is an estimate to confirm before ordering.
The order of the sum is the one in How to measure a tiling project: take the net area, add the allowance in square metres, divide by what one box covers, then round up once. The allowance here is 10 per cent, one of the example inputs on the tile calculator; it is an assumption, not a recommendation, and the tiler sets the real one. No source we read gives a figure for splashbacks; what tile brands, retailers and a tiler publish by pattern, tile size and room is set out in tile wastage percentage by pattern, size and room.
| Stopping line | Net area | With 10 % allowance | 1 m² boxes (75 × 300 subway) | 1.2 m² boxes (100 × 300 subway) | 1.44 m² boxes (300 × 600, 600 × 600, 600 × 1200) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Band to the cupboard line, 600 mm | 2.16 m² | 2.376 m² | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| B. Band plus rangehood wall to the ceiling | 2.97 m² | 3.267 m² | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| C. No wall cupboards, to the window head, 1,200 mm | 3.60 m² | 3.96 m² | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| D. No wall cupboards, bench to ceiling, 1,500 mm | 4.68 m² | 5.148 m² | 6 | 5 | 4 |
In the last column the three sizes share one box area, so they share one box count but not one piece count: four boxes for row D are 32 pieces at 300 × 600 mm, 16 at 600 × 600 mm, or 8 at 600 × 1200 mm. Where that column rests on a typical pack, the 300 × 600 mm and 600 × 1200 mm Pietra sizes other than Vela, the count is an estimate.
Rounding can hide an allowance or expose it: row A at 100 × 300 mm is 2.376 m² at 10 per cent, 1.98 boxes, so two; at 15 per cent it is 2.484 m², 2.07 boxes, so three. Run the sum at the allowance your tiler gives you.
Mosaics have no box step: the twelve in the kitchen collection are sold by the sheet, counted from each page's sheet size, as How to measure a tiling project sets out; How many tiles do I need? counts a 3.6 m splashback in sheets.
5. Where do the courses land?
Area decides how much to buy; courses decide whether the top of the tiling looks planned. Count whole courses from the benchtop with a 2 mm joint between them and none at the bench or top edge, and see what is left at each stopping line. The heights are measured above the bench.
| Stopping line | Course height | Whole courses | Height they reach | Top piece if the line is held |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 600 mm | 75 mm (75 × 300 flat) | 7 | 537 mm | 61 mm |
| 600 mm | 100 mm (100 × 300 flat) | 5 | 508 mm | 90 mm |
| 600 mm | 300 mm (300 × 600 flat) | 1 | 300 mm | 298 mm |
| 600 mm | 600 mm (300 × 600 upright, 600 × 600, 600 × 1200 flat) | 1 | 600 mm | none, lands whole |
| 600 mm | 1,200 mm (600 × 1200 upright) | 0 | — | 600 mm cut from one piece |
| 1,500 mm | 75 mm (75 × 300 flat) | 19 | 1,461 mm | 37 mm |
| 1,500 mm | 100 mm (100 × 300 flat) | 14 | 1,426 mm | 72 mm |
| 1,500 mm | 300 mm (300 × 600 flat) | 4 | 1,206 mm | 292 mm |
| 1,500 mm | 600 mm (300 × 600 upright, 600 × 600, 600 × 1200 flat) | 2 | 1,202 mm | 296 mm |
| 1,500 mm | 1,200 mm (600 × 1200 upright) | 1 | 1,200 mm | 298 mm |
Three things stand out on the 600 mm line, the one most kitchens have:
- A 600 mm course lands whole. A 300 × 600 mm tile stood upright, a 600 × 600 mm tile or a 600 × 1200 mm tile laid flat fills the band in one course with no horizontal joint at all.
- A 75 mm subway course does not. Seven courses reach 537 mm and leave a 61 mm strip under the cupboards. Eight would stand 614 mm, fourteen millimetres too tall, because every joint adds 2 mm. How many tiles do I need? follows that example and what a tiler might do about it.
- A 100 mm course leaves a wider strip. Five courses reach 508 mm and leave 90 mm. Six would stand 610 mm.
Higher up, the large formats lose their neat fit. On the rangehood wall in row B, or the full-height wall in row D, a 600 mm course reaches 1,202 mm in two courses and leaves a 296 mm piece against the ceiling; a 600 × 1200 mm tile upright leaves 298 mm. At the window-head line in row C a 600 × 1200 mm tile upright lands whole, and a 600 mm course needs a 598 mm top piece (the same 1,200 mm arithmetic is in Half wall or floor to ceiling).
The 2 mm joint shows the mechanism. The joint width is the installer's call and the first course need not start on the benchtop, so read the table as where the cut falls if nothing is adjusted: the question to bring to set-out.
Where the tiling stops against a cupboard, a sill or the ceiling, that hides the edge; where it stops on open wall, as along 2.4 m of row C, the edge shows, so put the edge finish and its length in the quote: Supplying your own tiles: what a tiling quote should list.
6. The 38 kitchen tiles, grouped by course height
The groups below sort the collection by the dimension that runs up the wall, the one that sets the course height in section 5. They are not a ranking: no tile here is recorded as better at any height, and where a tile can go is a question for the tiler and the supplier's documentation. For the five field-tile formats across the whole range, set against the sizes Australian guides list, see standard tile sizes in Australia.
| Course height | Tiles | Recorded details |
|---|---|---|
| 75 mm | Nine 75 × 300 mm subway tiles: Studio Flat, Studio Greige, Studio Charcoal, Studio Ink, Studio Wave, Studio Crest Wave, Studio Cloud Wave, Studio Sage Wave, Studio Ink Wave | Ceramic, 8 mm. Gloss, except Studio Flat, where you choose gloss or matt. Five have a wave profile. |
| 100 mm | Two 100 × 300 mm subway tiles: Studio Chalk and Studio Linen | Ceramic, 8 mm. Chalk gloss, Linen matt. |
| 300 mm flat or 600 mm upright | Studio Pure White Wall Tile, 300 × 600 mm; and six Pietra tiles that offer 300 × 600 mm or 600 × 600 mm: Latte, Storm, Sienna, Cream, Bianco, Neve | Studio Pure White: ceramic, rectified, gloss, 10 mm. The six Pietra: porcelain, 10 mm, honed or polished; the 300 × 600 mm box is a typical pack. |
| 600 mm, or 1,200 mm upright | Six Pietra tiles that offer 600 × 600 mm or 600 × 1200 mm: Perla, Luna, Alba, Shadow, Smoke, Dove; and two at 600 × 1200 mm only: Vela and Vela Fluted | Porcelain, 10 mm. Perla honed; Luna, Alba, Shadow, Smoke and Dove polished or matt; Vela matt; Vela Fluted has a fluted profile. The 600 × 1200 mm box is a typical pack except on Vela and Vela Fluted. |
| A mosaic sheet | Twelve mosaics, listed in Mosaic tiles | Sold by the sheet. Sheet sizes differ by design, from 225 × 230 mm to 306 × 306 mm by area. Studio White Finger states no sheet size. |
Counting the rows: 9 + 2 + 1 + 6 + 8 + 12 = 38. Each Pietra tile appears once, in the row for its pair of sizes, so 600 × 600 mm, which twelve of them offer, sits in both rows. On those twelve you choose the size, and the finish where there are two, on the product page, and the order is placed for that choice. The size lists by format are in 300 × 600 mm tiles compared, 600 × 600 mm tiles compared and 600 × 1200 mm tiles compared, and the two subway sizes in Subway tile sizes in Australia.
7. Colour on a kitchen wall
By the colour each product page records, the 38 kitchen tiles are 26 white, 7 grey, 2 black, 1 charcoal, 1 green and 1 beige. Most of the colour range is in the kitchen subway tiles. Of the eleven, five are white, two grey (Studio Greige and Studio Cloud Wave), two black (Studio Ink and Studio Ink Wave), one charcoal (Studio Charcoal) and one green (Studio Sage Wave).
A colour word is a starting point, not a match. All three of these kitchens end on the same advice, to check a physical sample in your own light, and the olive kitchen gives the reason: “Two off-whites this close in tone can read the same on a screen and quite differently on a wall.” Subway tiles: 11 faces compared sets the eleven side by side, and Charcoal and black tiles compared covers the darker end.
Questions people ask
How high should kitchen wall tiles go?
There is no single height: the common lines are the wall cupboards, the window, the rangehood wall and bench to ceiling, which on the assumed wall come to 2.16, 2.97, 3.60 and 4.68 m². You and the tiler set the line.
How many boxes of tiles do I need for a kitchen splashback?
Work it in order: net area, plus allowance, divided by the coverage of one box, rounded up once. A 3.6 m × 0.6 m splashback is 2.16 m²; at a 10 per cent allowance that is 2.376 m², so three 1 m² boxes of a 75 × 300 mm subway tile, two 1.2 m² boxes of a 100 × 300 mm one, or two 1.44 m² boxes in the larger formats; on the Pietra 300 × 600 mm and 600 × 1200 mm sizes that box is a typical pack the supplier's documentation does not state, so treat the count as an estimate. Your own wall, openings and allowance will move those figures.
How many boxes for a full-height kitchen wall?
On the assumed wall, bench to ceiling with the window taken off is 4.68 m², or 5.148 m² with a 10 per cent allowance: six 1 m² boxes, five 1.2 m² boxes, or four 1.44 m² boxes. Where the 1.44 m² figure is a typical pack rather than one the supplier states, treat four as an estimate.
Can I use the same tile on the splashback and the rangehood wall?
In the sage kitchen in the installed series, the same tile does both: it fills the oak-lined sink niche and “carries up the rangehood wall to the ceiling.” That records one kitchen, not a rule. The product pages here do not record anything about cooktops or rangehoods, so what goes behind yours, and how, is for the installer and the appliance maker's instructions.
Are there black subway tiles in 100 × 300 mm here?
No. The two black subway tiles, Studio Ink and Studio Ink Wave, are both 75 × 300 mm. The two 100 × 300 mm subway tiles are white: Studio Chalk in gloss and Studio Linen in matt.
Where these facts come from
Sizes, materials, finishes, thicknesses, colours and box contents were read from the 38 product pages in Kitchen tiles on 5 October 2026, as were the quotations from the three installed kitchens quoted here; the box coverage figures date from 2 October 2026, from the supplier's current documentation, and the size and finish choices, with the typical pack shown for a second size, from 5 October 2026. The wall dimensions, the 2 mm joint and the 10 and 15 per cent allowances are assumptions, stated where they are used. No figure here was measured or tested by Tilekind, and nothing here is a statement about where a particular tile belongs; confirm the height, the joint width and the final quantity with the tiler doing the work.
What to do next
Settle the stopping line, then measure your own wall to it. From there: build a sample shortlist to see two or three faces against your benchtop and joinery, estimate tile quantities from your dimensions, and prepare a project brief with the stopping line and the edge finish written in. Kitchen splashback tiles: 9 formats compared compares the formats by joint and finish, and Kitchen splashback tiles lists the shortlist in one place.
Where this guide sits: Where to start sets out the order the guides follow.
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