If you love your home, you are always looking for ways to spice up the various rooms in which you spend the most time. If you love to work on your car or truck, it’s the garage that will grab your focus. If you are a woodworker, you probably spend hours in your workshop working with wood. If you love to cook, your mind and attention turns to the kitchen space.
If you are anything like my wife and I, there isn’t a whole lot of money left after paying our bills each month to spend a lot on any type of upgrade, in the kitchen or otherwise. We love to read home decor and kitchen magazines and have seen many different types of kitchen backsplashes displayed prominently throughout these magazines. So, we decided to make some changes to our kitchen backsplash, but we didn’t want to break the bank. We wanted to create a unique focal point that would tie in the rest of the colors and dcor of our kitchen. I can tell you that we didn’t spend a lot of money to make a significant upgrade in the dcor of our kitchen. Instead of jumping right into it, we looked carefully into the many options that we had for this area of our kitchen.
image by kissyplusr
Metal Options
One very popular option for a kitchen backsplash today is to use metal. Yes, metal! Of late, various options of metal materials are available for the backsplash of your kitchen. You can buy them in large sheets or smaller panels at your local big box store so you don’t have to go to a specialized kitchen or home store to find them. If you buy the panels or larger sheets, you can install them with double-sided sticky tape or adhesive using a caulking gun. Stainless steel, aluminum, pewter, bronze, and copper are popular metal options because they are easy to clean and are durable. Metal panels are also becoming very popular on basement and garage walls because of their durability and clean look.
With a set of tin snips you can easily tailor the metal to fit the dimensions of your backsplash or to cut holes for electrical outlets. The panels can also be installed on ceilings in your bathroom or bedroom if you find a style that works for you. You could probably complete such a kitchen backsplash upgrade in an afternoon for probably under $200 without any help from a kitchen contractor. If you have the DIY desire and are willing to take on the project, a metal backsplash could be in your kitchen’s future.
Ceramic Tile Backsplash
Installing ceramic tile on your kitchen walls in the backsplash area is another extremely popular option that is available for the homeowner. This is a little more detailed and intricate as it requires you to cut the tiles to fit your backsplash area and to oftentimes make room for electrical outlets which is the same as using the metal option. In order to cut the tiles, you will have to either buy or rent a tile cutter which includes a diamond blade saw.
We actually bought one of these when we installed ceramic tile on our kitchen and bathroom floors. You don’t have to spend a lot of money but it requires some skill to use one and you would need to have an intermediate level of DIY skill. There are many different types of tile from which you can choose but you should be able to find a style and color to match your kitchen’s decor and the effects will be dramatic. A very popular style of ceramic tile backsplash is commonly referred to as subway tiles which resemble a brick faade. You can buy them in various dimensions and colors but this style adds a clean and stylish backdrop to your kitchen which is what makes them so popular.
One of the best aspects of ceramic tile backsplash is that it is so easy to clean and that is a very important factor when it comes to any area next to your kitchen stove. Spills and spatters will always find their way onto the backsplash area so being able to easily clean this area is an important consideration. As long as you seal the grout, which is the material that is applied between the tiles to fill in the spaces and to reinforce the tilework, the grout will not discolor from frequent cleaning with soap and water.
Paint or Textured Wallpaper
This is probably the easiest and most economical option for the homeowner. One thing that you have to consider with paint and wallpaper is that they need to be washable. As previously mentioned, the backsplash is an area that can get messy and greasy because it is bordering your stove top and will need to be cleaned often. Painting this area is a quick and affordable way to introduce color to an area that may have previously been neutral or bland. All it requires is that you order the paint color of your choice from a local paint or big box store, buy a brush, tape off the bordering areas such as your cabinets and countertop, and you’re off and running.
We decided to use textured wallpaper for our backsplash area because it was economical for us to purchase, the various styles, colors, and textures were numerous, and we could just attach it to the existing tile which was outdated. Not having to remove the old tile that was there for years was a huge consideration for us and saved us a tremendous amount of work. This option adds another dimension to the painting option because, especially in the backsplash area of your kitchen, texture makes a huge difference. My wife was able to find a color and texture that worked perfectly in our kitchen and we’ve had that particular backsplash for about 8 years now and it still looks brand new! What is also great about it is if you aren’t happy with it after a few years or if you buy new appliances that are a different color, you can just cover it.
If you are also considering the various kitchen backsplash ideas available today, one thing I can tell you is, if you choose wisely, the difference it will make to the decor of your kitchen space will be dramatic. You’ll also wonder why you didn’t upgrade this highly-visible area of you kitchen many years earlier!
