Kitchen backsplash

Way back in June of last year, we had our countertops replaced and some additional cabinets built. We stripped the walls in our kitchen of wallpaper and painted it green. The one thing left to do was the back splash. I knew I wanted tile, but that was as far as I had gotten. Do you know how many types of tile there are? Various sizes, shapes, colors, textures.... how to choose? And about the time I was narrowing down my choices, my dad suggests a pattern. A PATTERN?? Then you need MORE than one type of tile, not to mention designing the pattern itself. Holy cow. I was doomed.

But finally, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth (and many visits to Lowe's, Home Depot and Stovers) we came to a decision and purchased the tile. It took nearly as long to mesh the schedule of my brother-in-law with our own schedule so that he could come and start the work (Thanks, Drew!). And then, Drew and I both learned something about tile. Turning tile up on it's end, diagonally, makes things much more complicated. (That's what Drew learned.) And the the lovely diagram that was made on the computer was NOT exactly a perfect fit for the real life space (That's what I learned. Oh, and also to consider outlets when planning a design.)

So, some on the fly rework of the design, and a lot of patient, hard work from Drew, brought us this beautiful backsplash behind our sink. (The under cabinet lights are new too!)









Luckily, on the other side of the kitchen, both Drew and I applied our hard-won knowledge, and things went much more smoothly. I carefully measured the space and marked it out on the floor in the living room. Then using the tile itself, I worked the design (allowing space for the grout, thank you very much!) And don't forget to consider the outlets! You don't want your lovely decorative pieces cut in half to allow you to plug in your mixer.


Here's the mock up on the floor in the living room.

And here's the actual backsplash, all finished and looking beautiful!