We had man made "stone" behind a stove in a home not too long ago. Since we weren't first owners, don't know if it was sealed or not, but I could never get grease spatters off that backsplash.

Sealing the product would absolutely help against staining. The frequency of the sealing will be dictated by the porosity of the product. Without all the information I would suggest doing it every 3 months. You must be aware that nooks and crannies behind a cooktop will always be a maintenance issue.

No, no, no, and no as far as backsplash is concerned. What a beast to clean! Looks quite nice but not in a kitchen. :)

Another “no”.

Don't go there!

Imagine a spaghetti sauce accident. How would you clean that? I too wanted something natural till I realized the issues of dusting etc would be crazy

If you are set on the rock.. I would reverse it.. some sort of metal behind the cook top & do the rest rock just bury the cabinets into it.

What you will want to do.. is get the measurement of how deep this material is. make your lower cabinets and upper cabinets that much more deeper to make up for counter top depth being lost. Custom all the way.. Make sure you have under cabinet lighting.. the texture will eat up the light and make it look like a cave.

a tile that looks like your rock would be preferable.. However.. this rock would be killer at a bar with buried finish wood interior box cabinets & shelves.

I would do a solid quartz counter top.. Or at least a solid quartz on the perimeter where the rock splash will be.. anything with pattern might fight with the rock. For the counter top edge you can stack the quartz and do a chiseled edge.. (I have seen a feather mitered edge that was chiseled (so that's out there if you can find someone to do it).

I work with a designer who is amazing..
If rustic texture is your thing, and you want someone who thinks outside of the box .. check this out:

http://www.mhrinteriors.com/

This is some of her work..
This bathroom wall tile is actually bark cut into tiles.. LOVE IT!!





..

in MHR's design she used a tile that mimics the rock masonry.
Here is a split face tile:

Here's your rock under cabinetry.
and another

All of the ideas presented on this thread look lovely....however, (and this is a big one)...they all look like they require an inordinate amount of time to clean. If you have a daily or twice weekly cleaner...go,for what you love. If you have to clean yourself, ask this question....do I want to spend my time enjoying the space or cleaning it?

Adrianne, our architect has made allowances for the depth of the rock. The house will be mountain rustic modern. I am stuck on using this behind the cooktop. I know I will have cleaning issues - :-) The house won't be used that often, so hoping the grime will be kept to a minimum. And thanks for the link!

post pictures.. I would suggest puck lights in the hood and you have at least a 36" cook top.. Narrow would be bad considering the scale of the rock.
Here is an example of a hood with puck lights.

yes, we are using a 36" cooktop.

Buy your own sample of rock. Take a jar of spaghetti sauce and splatter it on the rock. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Clean. Repeat with olive oil. Then decide.

Ha! I hadn't thought of that. And I do have a sample :-)

it just would never seem absolutely clean

Make sure you own the sample before you throw olive oil and spaghetti sauce at it. You can't return it to the shop after that!

I do :-)

Adrianne, those examples of the rock used in the kitchen look so nice, it is an attractive alternative. And your suggestion of adding the puck lights is a great idea. zoomzoom, you would be able to see the spills and splatters better! :))

Stone is stone, it comes from outside the elements, etc. should not be a problem in a kitchen. If something splashed on it, wipe it off. No sealing required.

travis interiors - thanks for hanging in there with me! I am dead set on using the stone! Adrianne, we have undercounter lighting on th 2 cabs that flank the cooktop, but I will have to revisit the hood.exhaust feature to see if pucks would work. Thanks for reminding me to check on that.

but travisinteriors, this is "cultured" stone....

Stone is porous. Absorbs stuff. Doesn't matter if it's natural. That's doesn't mean it won't stain , have cracks and crevasses open to dust and grease. I think it's beautiful you just have to go in knowing it's going to be more work to clean and care for.

steam cleaner.. if it can get junk out of porous travertine.... and if its a huge deal.. the once a year you cook marinara put a big cookie sheet behind the cook top... Problem solved.. I'm excited for ya.

Good luck cleaning the back splash, I don't think it is even healthy

Do you fry chicken, eggplant, potatoes? The grease attracts dust. Don't use it

caterfan, no we don't cook like that.

Nope! But how about the mosaic of pebbles I see at HD and Lowes? More polished but still natural looking. I think you could keep it cleaner.

We used a Afiican slate subway tile as a kitchen backsplash and it was gorgeous. We coated it and it was remotely easy to clean but the stove was on an island so i can't speak to the grease splashing up. Check out the african slate - it may work.

I am an Architect and do a variety of different projects. I do commercial work where there are kitchens and the Health Department requires that we use non-porous materials for the backsplash as well as all surfaces in the general area. Including the ceiling. You do not want to have any surfaces that can absorb grease, dust or debris and collection where bacteria can form and grow. This is why you always use high gloss paints on the kitchen walls as they can be washed relatively easily.

I would use something sleek for a contrasting texture. Too much stone takes the attention and surprise away from the other areas you are using it.

mean people suck

The look you are going after would look good and we've done it for homeowners, warning them up front of the negatives mentioned above. I am with jo_mcvicker on using something sleek. Too much of a good thing... well you know the rest.

I would try to stick with a tile of metal!!!! Stone looks great but lots of Maintenance and cooking and stone don't go well together!!!