Most people don't do anything special with the area behind the stove—often it's simply stainless steel—but De Giulio designed sliding marble panels that hide a spice rack on each side of the 48-inch Wolf stove. In another kitchen, he sanded Italian glass tiles, painted the backs pale blue and mounted them so that they would form a zigzag edge and lie flush with the plaster wall. "The backsplash is one of the most important visual elements," says De Giulio. "It should never just blend in."