CHOOSING A KITCHEN BACKSPLASH TILE

I knew when my husband and I were prepping for our kitchen renovation project that it would be time consuming and difficult but I really didn’t know how difficult or time consuming until we started. Especially when it comes to picking a Kitchen backsplash tile.

If you recall about a year ago we renovated our kitchen. Giving it a complete makeover. Although it’s been a year and we both loooove our kitchen we still had some finishing touches we had to tackle. One of them being the kitchen backsplash tile. For this past year we lived with bare walls and when I say bare I mean BARE! Just look at this pic below:

After months and months of searching for the right kitchen backsplash (through Home Depot, Lowes, Floor and Decor and even some mom and pop tile places) we finally found the one! I really struggled to find the right backsplash because this was going to be something we would have to live with for a very long time. So I wanted to be 100% sure what we chose we would love.

One day we were out spending some quality time with our girls (pre COVID19), we decided to stop by Floor and Decor (it was next to the bookstore we were heading to). While perusing, I did see some backsplash that I liked when my husband pointed out a really nice clean sample tile. I loved it! I immediately knew they were the one!

Since we were in the middle of our family outing we decided to come back another day and pick up the tiles then. Which also helped us to go home measure our walls and figure out how many boxes we will need for our project.

My husband Harvey and I have some experience working on home renovation projects (our previous home was a total fixer upper, which we reno’d before I started blogging) so I was confident that he could knock this project out in a short amount of time.

Before you head out to buy your back splash, I want to share with you some tips for Choosing your backsplash.

First thing we did before we even chose our back splash, we measured the entire area that was going to be tiled. We then created a budget with a little bit extra for any forgotten tidbits. If your not careful you can easily spend thousands of dollars on backsplash alone and we didn’t want to go over budget (not that we’d spend that much but you get the idea).

After we decided on a budget and took our measurements, we then did some window shopping at various stores like: Home Depot, Lowes and Floor and Decor (that’s were we found our backsplash and no we’re not sponsored, I just like my tile that much!) We definitely took our time in finding the “perfect” tile. As I mentioned before I didn’t want to get something I would hate for the next few years.

When choosing your tiles, I do recommend bringing home samples to see if it’s a good fit. Once you find your tile you can always bring back the other tiles for a refund (just make sure they offer refunds).

ORDERING YOUR BACKSPLASH TILE (HOW MANY BOXES)

When ordering your tile you need to take measurements of the space you plan on tiling. It’s important to decide ahead of time if you are doing an entire wall or partial wall. Make sure you measure the entire length of all your walls combined, then measure the height.

Once you’ve determined the length and height of your wall make sure to add a percentage for any cut pieces, broken tile or pattern matching (if your tile has a pattern) . Then your ready to order your boxes.

Since we are only placing tiles underneath the cabinets we only had a small area to cover which totaled 4 boxes.

WHAT SUPPLIES YOU WILL NEEDED

Along with your tiles, you need to be aware and budget for other supplies for this project:

• Spacers
• Grout
• Adhesive
• Edging
• buckets (for water)
• Sponge (cleaning the grout)
• Grout applicator
• Grout float
• Adhesive spacer
• Trowel
• Rags (for cleaning up)
• caulk
• Tarp or newspaper (optional but recommended to protect your surface)

TIMELINE FOR TILING

Regardless of the size of your kitchen, make sure to give yourself enough time to finish the project. We scheduled to finish the project in about a week but unfortunately for us our daughter had broken her arm and we had to take her to the ER and the orthopedic surgeon for her cast. Which took about 4 hours each day.

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Even if you don’t experience any bumps along the way, you will still need to account for any cut pieces of your tile as well as drying time for the thinset and grout.

STARTING THE PROJECT

Now that you’ve chosen your tile, collected your supplies and made a plan… next is the fun part—applying the tile. Next week I share a step-by-step guide to applying the backsplash! I hope I gave you enough information to help you decide on your kitchen backsplash. Let’s knock this project out together!

Thank you so much for stopping by. Make sure to head on over to my YouTube Channel and subscribe for inspirational renovation videos. And if you have any renovation projects you’d like to share make sure to tag me on Instagram @hipncreative I would love to see your work! Have a great day and I’ll see you on the next post!