How to install a tiled backsplash

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Roeshel

We’re finally shopping for tile for behind our stove area so I wanted to revisit how our kitchen has evolved and the tile we chose for our back splash as well as review the steps we took to install the tile. Our kitchen when we bought the house was outdated…

When we moved we only paint the walls green, inserted new SS appliances and range hood. We lived with it for 3 years then painted the cabinets and finally replaced the countertop with granite (Virginia Jet Mist). Working as time and budget allow sometimes mean waiting for the things we want.

We had a savings to get started on our dream kitchen (the dream where we have savings but the dream without winning the lottery.

The back splash:

Materials:
Venatino Polished Marble Tiles 12×12 mosaic, 5 Venatino Pencil Borders
OmniGrip Maximum Strength Adhesive
Tile Guard Natural Stone Penetrating Sealer
QuartzLock Grout – silver
FrogTape
Caulk

Tools:
Tile saw
Trowel
Float
Putty knife
Bucket
Sponge
Bucket
Paper towels
Rags
Caulk gun
DAP Pro Caulk Tool Kit

Back Splash Tutorial:

1. Apply caulk to gap where countertop meets the wall.

2. We used a DAP Pro Caulk Tools to make an even/straight line, but a using your finger (and water) works just as well.

3. Prep area. Cover countertop or clean as you go to protect the counter top.

4. Upper cabinets sit back further than the edge of the countertop. We wanted out backsplash to cover the entire area. We started at the edge of the counter for our backsplash. Decide how your tile edge will be finished. We used a matching border from the countertop’s edge vertically and ended at the bottom of the end of the wall cabinet. We mitered the joint where vertical meets horizontal.

5. Apply border and tile with OmniGrip Adhesive using a trowel. Coat the wall (can be done directly on drywall). OmniGrip is pre-mixed so there’s no guessing on consistency and this product works really well for a back splash.

6. To lessen breakage and crumbling when cutting (the vibration nearly pulverizes edges of the marble), we used FrogTape on cuts.

7. Apply pressure to ‘set’ tiles in place.

Another shot of how we ended the tile on the countertop/cabinet edge.

8. Let dry at least 2 days.

9. Seal tiles using Tile Guard. Wipe on with a rag. It dries within seconds.

10. After drying, prep area by covering countertops or clean as you go – dried grout {We chose Quartz Lock in a darker gray} will be hard to remove.

Have a bucket of water handy.

11. Apply generous amount of Quartz Lock to the float using a putty knife.

Quartz Lock is pre-mixed. We cover with a plastic grocery bag, then the lid with a tight seal and save leftover for a future project.

12. Add grout to spaces between the tiles, filling every gap, working in small areas going to next step and starting again with the next area. Smoosh it in the gaps.

13. Using a well-wrung wet sponge, wipe in a diagonal motion (except when necessary against countertop and cabinets), wiping away grout from tile. Grout should stay in the cracks and gaps, but be cleaned away from tiles.

14. Rinse sponge.

15. Repeat.

16. Let dry. Grout will hide imperfections/crumbled edges of marble tile. Don’t stress with tiny chips. Grout will disguise them. We have an old farmhouse, so our motto is “imperfection adds character”.

Before Grout:

After Grout:

Kitchen before:

Kitchen after:

We’re thinking of stainless steel tiles for behind the stove but I haven’t decided on the pattern or shape of tiles yet.

We just calculated that we’ll be in our house 7 years this summer. And we’re ready to put the finishing touches on the kitchen. About time, right? We’ll be removing the cabinets above the stove to install a proper vent. It means losing those two cupboards but more on a pantry coming soon too. What do you think?

I think the chef’s dream stove/range is on that ‘winning the lottery’ dream kitchen and he’ll have to make do with what we have but it’s functional. Sorry, Mr. DIY.

See more about our kitchen makeover at our Home Tour…

Sharing at Thrifty Decor Chick.

Tips for painting a herringbone patterned accent wall

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Roeshel

Apartment progress!

Herringbone Accent {on textured} Wall

I’ve shown sneak peeks of the apartment renovation progress and you’ve likely seen the herringbone-like accent wall in the kitchen area…

Base paint color: True Value Easy Care – Baby Elephant (soft neutral gray) & Accent color: True Value Easy Care – Sweet Honey

Since we own this rental space, I was able to get a little creative in adding a fun accent wall as a backdrop behind some open shelving. Before paint…

Yes…I have ‘plans’ for a DIY radiator cover but I must confess that I feel it’s a LOT ambitious and I’m scared. Working up the courage to give it a try sometime this month. Anyway, after paint {including painting kitchen cabinets and Rustoleum Countertop Transformations}:

The open wall space above the wainscoting was the perfect spot to display open shelving as a solution for more storage/organization in this tiny apartment. True Value’s Easy Care Platinum and FrogTape were all I needed to add some interest to a flat textured wall. The pattern also helps disguise the un-hidden pipes. I put together a quick tutorial video using my iphone {pardon the portrait orientation, poor quality…amateur videographer but working hard on getting better!} explaining how I achieved the herringbone pattern:

The wall was finished and I was so happy to be able to move forward on the renovation! Shelves are budget friendly Ekby shelving and brackets from IKEA…

{installation was super easy using the Master Mechanic Swift Driver!}

Woo hoo! And just when I felt super good about a little DIY success, something went wrong upstairs with the plumbing. The joys of DIY… I was just too exhausted and heartbroken to deal with it. My Mr. DIY fixed the plumbing issue in the bathroom above and Bri’s boyfriend, Steve, saved the day by patching the ceiling below. and I set about touching up the paint… Now, all done for real… If you missed it yesterday, I shared the hardwood floors before/after refinishing:

More apartment renovation, decorating and furnishing coming soon!

We were chosen by True Value to be one of the members of the 2012 DIY Squad. I have been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY projects. However, the thoughts and opinions expressed are completely honest and my own. I have not been paid to publish positive comments and no one has twisted my arm to participate. This is a sponsored post brought to you by FrogTape. The opinions are completely my own based on my own experience.

Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations {apartment progress}

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Roeshel

I am no stranger to painting cabinets (painted kitchen cabinets). I get a lot of questions about Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations and I love that I had the opportunity to test the product for myself. My honest opinion? I seriously LOVED the kit. Reason #1 – no sanding! That step is my least favorite (and most time consuming and messy) part of re-doing kitchen cabinets.

The apartment kitchen before was looking outdated and sad…(and super dirty!)

and after some clean up and the Rustoleum Countertop Transformations {review} definitely made even the cabinets look better…

but with such a small space, I really wanted to lighten things up.

I chose “pure white”. This kitchen is super tiny but I used Rustoleum’s how to measure guide to confirm that one kit would cover our space. It turned out to be more than enough.

I removed the doors and hardware. I used FrogTape to label my doors

and to prepare my space for painting (where cabinets met the wall and floor in certain areas).

Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations

The first step in the kit is ‘deglossing’. Simply generously apply the declosser to the wood (or laminate or even metal!) with the provided green scrubby. Rinse with a wet rag and let dry. This removed a lot of the dirt, grease and the “shine”.

The next step is applying the bonding coat (or … white paint provided by the kit). I started with the front side of the doors and while they were drying, moved to the cabinet frames.

Elevating doors made them easier to paint.

When painting doors, I find that after painting the edges, that running my finger along the underside helps prevent ‘drips’. This means painted fingers and old paint pants come in handy but if you skip this, you will definitely have drips/extra paint on the other side!

I gave everything 2 coats. I decided not to use the glaze which was provided in the kit since I wanted a clean white look. I think that if you’re not doing the glaze, that two coats is enough (because it will help achieve an awesome glazed look) but if going for the pure white, I recommend using a primer first (not provided) or giving everything 3 coats of paint if you have enough (which I did). I gave the outside of the doors (the most viewed area) 3 coats. The sides of cabinets, which are not seen, got two coats.

I removed my FrogTape as soon as I applied the last round of the bonding coat. I felt confident applying the clear protective coat without the FrogTape using an angled brush and didn’t want to pull off any of the bonding coat which can easily happen once paint dries.

Once the last bonding coat was dry, it was time to apply the protective coat. Only ONE coat is recommended. I brushed it on in the direction of the wood grain (do the same with the paint). It goes on shiny (wet) but has a beautiful, durable matte finish.

Once the protective coat is dry, re-attach doors and hardware.

I was going to just re-use the old hardware but I found an awesome deal at a yard sale with a bit of a prettier look. So new knobs for $2.00!

I think the result is beautiful. Painting cabinets is always time consuming but I found that the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations kit is a great easy way to give old cabinets a new durable look!

This is not recommended by Rustoleum but using the same steps, I even gave the dingy scratched fridge the same treatment. Time will tell if it will hold up but since it works on laminate and metal…I felt it was a safe option. I gave it a ‘light’ brushing of the bonding coat and a layer of protective coat. The fridge looked extra yellow and dirty next to the new cabinets. Who wants that? Now it looks brand new!

Once again, before: {I know – I keep sharing this before but with each new project, I want you to see the progress and what we started with.}