Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Kitchen reveal part 3 - The backsplash

Hola amigas / amigos! I wish I was speaking Spanish because I was prepping for, or coming back from, a vacation in Spain, but no such luck. I'm been a bit absent from blogville this week, which can be attributed to the hard work we've been doing in the kitchen, and also the crazy hours I've been pulling at (my real-life) work.

Anyways...I have exciting news: the backsplash is done! And I'm showing you tonight!

All in all - the tiling was WAY harder than I thought it would be. Maybe not harder...but time consuming. And yes, harder. It's just not  like when they do it on TV. Anyways...enough griping...onto the important stuff - was it worth it? (spoiler alert: hell ya.).

Here's a look at our prep, and adhering the tile to the wall. The first part was easy - and enjoyable. The tough part came with all the cuts - the poor Mr. was outside on Saturday afternoon/night using a wet saw (of course getting wet in the process on one of the coldest days we've had this winter!). We used 1/8" spacers between each tile:

Once the adhesive was set (we let it set almost 48 hours...partially because of the trouble the devil outlet gave us, partly due to time) and then we grouted. I really liked the idea of a light gray grout because I like how the last picture above looks with darker spaces between the tiles...but we figured since (a)we're not pros (b) this is our first ever tiling job that white grout would be safer to blend in with the tiles. Had we gotten it done professionally and all the cuts were perfect I definitely would have gone gray on grout.

The grouting was TOUGH. This is not flat subway tile where you can just slap on some grout and scrape it off at a 90 degree angle. With the bevelled edges we basically had to put grout into each crevace and then smooth it.

The real reward comes about 2 hours after you sponge off the excess grout and you can wipe off the "haze" to reveal the beautiful shiny tile! The Mr. suggested the bevelled subway tile and I was 100% with him - I think it's a nice detail to a subway tile. Here's our (almost) finished product (still needs some caulking at spots):

24 comments:

April @ Money Pit Love said...

LOVE the backsplash ... the beveled subway tile is awesomesauce!

Rosa @ FlutterFlutter said...

LOVE IT!! So fresh and beautiful! Enjoy! :)

Keira said...

Looks amazing! Definitely worth the effort you put in. Love that take on a simple white subway tile.

Kim@Chattafabulous said...

Gorgeous and classic. Looks superb with the marble countertops!
www.chattafabulous.blogspot.com

Martina said...

I love the grout colour you chose to go with your tile, it looks very nice & even though it was tougher than you may have expected definitely worth it!

Anonymous said...

The tile looks so classic! Love the bevelled detail. It gives it a little "something, something"!

Ashley said...

Woah! I prefer the beveled subway tile way more than regular stuff - looks great!

dajana, all kinds of lovely said...

I 100% agree with you, Heather. Your DIY gets a "Hell ya!" I've never seen bevelled subway tile before and I love it. It looks très très chic. (:

Unknown said...

Awesome! I love the simplicity of subway tile! The bevelled edge adds a little something! Well done!

Katie said...

oooh, i like the bevelled edge! i think we're doing subway tile too. what size is your tile? 2x4?

Carol-Anne said...

We chose the identical tile last year for our backsplash and I couldn't love it more! Yours looks terrific and I can't wait to see the final 'reveal'!

Carissa @ the Fabulous Design File said...

It looks amazing! All the hard work definitely was worth it! (I'm still delaying the wet-saw cuts on my backsplash... ugh...)

designchic said...

I'm obsessed with the bevel...adds such dimension - so wish I had used that!

Carol@TheDesignPages said...

The bevel is so gorgeous. I could never, ever get sick of subway tile. Beautiful job:)

Anonymous said...

I bet the mr's inspiration on the bevel tile came from riding in the Paris metro system. Great choice! Reminds me of Paris and pain au chocolate's.

Vanessa@decor happy said...

Looks great and impressive that you installed yourselves!

Alena: Oh, Its Just Perfect! said...

OMG. That hard work definitely paid off!! It looks beautiful!!! xo

Lisa @ Lisa Moves said...

it looks great, I especially like the beveled edge.

Jenn said...

This looks amazing. I love a good white subway tile and you guys did a great job installing it.

Anonymous said...

I am very impressed at the job you and your hubs did! It looks phenomenal! So excited to see if all together.

Krista said...

Looks fab! Congrats on doing it yourselves. We're getting white subway tile installed tomorrow. No time or the patience to DIY it. I'd hate myself if we screwed it up.

Happy I found your blog today from the Blog Podium event attendee list. See you there!
-Krista
www.kjandco.ca

emily said...

Amazing! The tiles are perfect. You guys did a great job!

Anonymous said...

I've had a white tile backsplash (with white grout) for over 15 years. Amazingly enough, I never had one tiny problem keeping it clean. The "beveled" look? Why didn't I think of that? Absolutely Stunning!!

Unknown said...

this kitchen is soooo Gorgeous! and It is so modern and clean looking. I’m really impressed.
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