Here's my kitchen counter, no sidesplash. Same in the master bath. Noone even mentioned this to me as being problematic.

I'll post two pictures, the first shows the whole length, both ends are against pantry like cabinets (fridge on one end). The second shows the difficult area, fitting counter in around cabinet edge. They did say it could be a problem installing the marble. Luckily, we could pull the fridge out, and the fridge panel had enough wiggleroom to get the marble in place. Unless your walls are dramatically wider at the back than the front, I would think it could be done. I am by no means a professional though!

Difficult area to fit in countertop, same on other end. See how it is wider just behind front of counter? That was the the area of concern. We had no problems though.

Hmm, thanks very much to both of you. Our contractor is a perfectionist and I think he worries about things that "might be" a problem sometimes. I just hope this is one of them. The walls are pretty darn square, thanks to characteristic #1 above. If anything, I would think the extra mud that tends to end up in corners post-drywall would make the top narrower there, not wider. (I don't mind being a PITA once in a while, but I don't like to do it unknowingly!)

"But now he's saying it's going to be much tricker to get the countertop in without gouging the walls since the fit will have to be so precise."

Have him cut a piece of v-32 plastic laminate about 15"x22" and tape it to a wall just above where the top of the top will land. Bring the top in at an angle with the lower end at the unprotected side. Tilt the top into place and let it scrape the v-32 on the way down. Pull the v-32 and silicone between the top and wall.

Hope the article below helps.

(sjhockeyfan, your kitchen is stunning!)

Here is a link that might be useful: The Side Backsplash Dilemma: Should You Have One, Or No?

Trebuchet, thanks-- I knew you'd have a trick or two up your sleeve! What is "v32"? Is that the thickness?

Thanks, feisty-- I think I saw this article at one point when I was deciding, but I could not find it today fro some reason.

Thanks Feisty!

Just wanted to chime in no tile on either side wall in my bathroom or for one side wall in kitchen. No one mentioned having any problems with it. By the way, isn't Trebuchet wonderful?!

We have had no sidesplashes in other kitchens and in our bathrooms. Here is a pic of our new build ensuite. They were able to get a nice fit with no damage to the walls.....

Thanks, xc and Texasgal. Pix are so helpful.

Last night, I recalled that I have some sheets of Teflon (used for heat-resistant properties, but also super-slippery. Wondering if I could tape that to the wall and use it as the surface the counter slides down on in place of the laminate Trebruchet described above?

(A lot of the installs I see seem to allow for sliding the counter straight in to the back wall. Not sure if that will work in our kitchen, but I know it won't work in the bathroom because the door trim is already on the pocket door, so they have to do the diagonal drop-down method instead.)