A kitchen backsplash is a wonderful place to have some fun with tile.  You can really add some of your personality to the room and get some tile that makes you happy every time you’re working on a new recipe. 

Many new homes are built to be spacious, but often to keep the list price low they will leave out some of the more luxurious details like tile.  That was the case for this Nashville home that was just finished last year.  The homeowner has been planning how to make it her own with new paint colors and asked me to do her kitchen backsplash.

You can see in these pictures how much different it looks from the original basic white walls that were the norm for this house when my client bought it.  The tile was basically a mixture of small glass tiles, sold in 12″ square sheets to help with installation. 

Mixed in with the glass are also some stainless steel capped tiles.  When finished they really add some ‘sparkle’ to the design because they are somewhat reflective and almost look like little mirrors until you get close to them.  They are actually small ceramic tiles with a stainless steel piece adhered to the face of it. 

Installing a backsplash is usually one of the easier tile projects because tile can be installed right over the drywall if it’s in good shape.  The saves much of the prep time.  Watch out, though, it’s easy to underestimate how much grout it takes with these smaller tiles.  There are a lot of grout lines to fill!  It’s usually best to break the grouting into smaller chunks so it’s more manageable.

This same homeowner had me add a backsplash around her large tub in the master suite.  It’s only 12″ high, but it really adds some character to her bathroom, which I’m sure will be getting painted soon as well.  These tiles are a mixture of glass and stone.  It’s hard to tell in the photo, but the glass is actually a little thinner than the stone tiles which adds some texture to the tile that is really cool. 

There are any number of tile designs out there to fit your situation and personality.  With a backsplash, there’s usually not a huge area to cover, so I always recommend to get some tile that you’ll love and enjoy.