Tiled Kitchen Backsplash

Well we finished our project! We got most of the work done over the Thanksgiving holiday. We did seal the tile and caulk around the edges this week. We did forgo a large traditional Thanksgiving dinner to do all the work, we ate frozen microwave dinners instead. But I think the results were worth it! This project has been on our list of to do since we moved into the house 3-4 years ago.

We used a 4x4 inch travertine stone for the main tile and used 2x2 inch glass tiles for an accent. The photo on the left shows how we finished off the edges of the large area. There was actually about 4 inches of wall on either side of the cabinets. So we edged each side with border pieces that resemble a picture frame edge and covered the area to the baseboard. I really do like how it finished it off - but the border pieces were the most expensive of all the tile.

The trickiest part of the whole project was getting the glass tile to set level with the stone. The glass tile is thinner than the stone tile and required more adhesive to build it out from the wall. And the messiest part was the grouting. We do have a wet saw which made cutting the tile very easy. Although the saw did create a mess, luckily we did all the cutting in the garage.

I really like the framed out part above the cooktop. The glass tile really sparkles under the lights of the cooktop hood. Hopefully it won't be hard to clean up cooking messes and splatters. The sealer we used was supposed to seal the tile and grout from staining -so hopefully that won't be an issue.

The only thing left to do is find some type of replacement for the wall switch plate covers. The white just doesn't look right. I'm thinking I might looks for some stainless steel covers to go with the appliances.

The project was easier than I thought it would be. I would definitely do tile work again if needed - especially when you consider all the money you save on labor.

This was our first tile project and I think it came out pretty good. There were a few miscalculations and cutting mistakes - but everything was correctable or hopefully something no one will ever notice.

But now it's done and we can sit back and enjoy. I have a slide show that shows before and after photos as well as some progress shots I didn't include here.