DIY: Tiling the Kitchen Backsplash

Welcome to Quince Cottage! Or, welcome back, if you've visited before.
Today we're going to talk about tile. More specifically, how to add some visual interest without breaking the bank or taking on a monumental project.
In a later post, we'll show you how we handled the rest of our backsplash with thin-brick, but for now we're focusing on the short wall behind the sink.
We didn't want to carry the brick through here, because architecturally it wouldn't have made much sense. But a plain old sheetrock wall is so ho hum, not to mention it can get stained from all the sink activities AND it's not exactly waterproof.
We considered subway tile, but we've BTDT and wanted something more interesting. Pinterest has been peppered with cool tiles lately and after some browsing, we headed out to Traditions In Tile at Brier Creek in Raleigh. This is a specialty tile store so their selection was far more extensive than the big box home improvement places. The staff was knowledgeable and friendly and we'd highly recommend them!
Our kitchen color palette is soft creamy white, gray, and bronze, with stainless steel appliances. It made sense to choose a tile that was warm white and gray.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

The tiles came in either matte or gloss finish. We went with the matte because it looked softer and older.
If your tiles are patterned and mixed, like ours, lay out the design you want before you start setting them.
Happily, these tiles come mixed in a box and one box was more than enough to cover the area. Obviously before you purchase anything you need to do the math, length x width, plus at least 10% over that for breakage. A 12" x 12" tile came fairly close to filling our space, but there was a sizable gap both top and bottom. You'll see how we addressed that later on.

First you'll want to remove outlet covers. Because the tile adds thickness to the wall, you'll also need to bump your outlets forward using plastic spacers. These can be found at any big box home improvement store.

After you're done with the outlets, draw a level pencil line along the wall, so you'll have a guide for laying the tile. Why yes, those are bats on our dining room wall - we actually did this project back in October...

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Butter the back of the first tile with mastic adhesive. This is the adhesive we used.

Available at Lowe's © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Then you'll butter the back of your first tile with the adhesive.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Be sure to have a couple of damp rags available to take care of any blobs that fall off your notched trowel. Good idea to cover your counters with newspaper too.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Use the notched edge of your trowel to make grooves in the adhesive as seen above, and then stick the tile on the wall. Be sure it's lined up correctly and then press firmly for a few seconds. Repeat with each tile, using spacers between tiles and below them to keep them in place.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Cutting the tile to fit around outlets is best done with a wet saw. Measure twice, cut once! You can see that we used narrow stock trim pieces to fill much of the gap between granite ledge and the top of the tile, leaving only a reasonable amount to be filled with grout. We painted them our trim color first.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

After the tile has set, (wait at least 24 hours) apply grout, wipe off the excess and any remaining "haze" with a dampened sponge and allow the grout to dry thoroughly (at least 24 hours is a good rule of thumb).
The final step is applying a bead of caulk between the counter and the bottom edge of the tiles. This fills the gap and keeps any water from getting between your wall and your counter.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Here's what it looks like all finished!

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

As always we like to share a cute Irish JRT photo with you before you leave. Here's Buster in his preferred sleep position...

Buster © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Don't forget to follow us on IG here and play along with our hashtag, #MagpieMonday where collectors share their favorite obsessions and we choose a favorite to feature in our gallery.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Quince Cottage Style is #agrarianchic - a mix of old and new, rustic and opulent.

Our goal is to make our new subdivision house look inviting, beautiful, 

and as though it wasn't born yesterday!