C&C at Home :: Kitchen Backsplash Ideas
Can I first tell you that I’ve never had a kitchen backsplash in any of my three homes? Not a single one that I have been a part of purchasing have had a backsplash. Is that odd or normal? I think I first found it odd that our kitchen didn’t have a backsplash, but then I remembered back to our previous homes and none of them did either. Do you have a backsplash in your kitchen?
Our Current Home
We moved into our current home 8.5 years ago. Reynolds was just shy of being three months old, and let me first say that anyone who has ever moved with a newborn…well, you know. It.is.hard.
Lest I digress…
The kitchen in our current home was updated probably 10 years prior to when we purchased it, and it was fine. I had told Andrew that I couldn’t move into a house that needed both bathrooms AND a full kitchen renovation, so we opted for the house that needed new bathrooms and had a good kitchen.
One Thing It Lacked: The Backsplash
Our kitchen had cream colored cabinets and Corian countertops that coordinated, and while I didn’t love them, they were fine and often we would get compliments on the finish of our cabinets.
The one thing the kitchen lacked was a backsplash and I always wanted to add one. I think the hardest thing for me was figuring out what style backsplash I wanted because y’all know there is a plethora of choices out there, and it can certainly be overwhelming. Per the usual, I started a Pinterest board to house all of the ones I really liked.
All the Options
If you didn’t know, everything from mirrors, to metal, ceramic, marble and wood can be used as a kitchen backsplash. And if you’ve seen the new peel and stick choices available, those are usually made of vinyl. In all the color options, shapes and sizes imaginable, just the thought of having to figure out both a color and a material can be seriously dizzying.
In the kitchens we renovate, I most often go with a standard 3×6 white ceramic subway tile. Some of you may think that’s boring or typical, but it’s a classic look that most peope don’t mind and it caters to so many different style preferences. So whether you’re sytle is traditional, modern or the transitional in between, a subway tile is a win-win option.
For our own personal kitchen, this Christmas Andrew gifted me with a ‘minor’ upgrade to our space. We had all of our cabinets painted white, both inside and out, we installed new granite countertops, and just this week were able to complete the look with a new backsplash! Being a fan of the transitional style, I did choose a subway but I went with the bigger option, the 4×12. Why? Because I knew my space could handle the larger tile without it being too much.
We have a long run of cabinets to the left of our refrigerator which helped solidify the choice of the larger tile and I think it’s gorgeous.
Tile + Grout
You can totally change the look of your backsplash by changing the color of the grout lines in between the tiles. For example, in my new backsplash above, a more traditional look would have been to use either white or a light gray grout, but I wanted to tie in all the dark gray/blacks found in the granite and the new black knobs together with the grout. My tile guy even called to ask me, “Are you sure you want black?” “Yep!” I said. It’s actually a little lighter than black, Gunmetals is the color, and again, it’s perfect and exactly what I hoped it would look like in the end.
If You’re Choosing
Here’s my two cents on choosing a kitchen backsplash. Do what you love and what will make you happy. If you like the look of pressed tin, DIY it. Or if you want something that will stand the test of your fluxuating decorating styles, go with a subway and maybe a contrasting grout. Maybe your kitchen is dark and the best way we all know to bring in light is by using mirrors – give it a try! Nothing is totally permanent.
If you’re totally stuck with no ideas, scour Pinterest or the internet for all the ideas. Start your own board and then step back to see what is the one look that keeps reappearing on your board – there’s your answer!
