Before & After: Kitchen Backsplash

My husband is fantastic. Three days before Christmas, he told me that my Christmas gift from him was going to be him installing a backsplash for our kitchen. (And that I would get to help!)  I’d mentioned a few months ago that I thought we should put one in someday. And he remembered! 



Our kitchen is pretty big. Which is normally a good thing. And it only took us a day to install the tile. With both our boys running around underfoot.


This is by no means a tutorial for doing your own backsplash, but just a collection of ideas that we used and are happy with.

Rent a wet saw. It saws in a pool of water. It cuts down on dust. We used it in the garage.

We didn’t need to cut and hang backer board, just mortar.

This is how we handled the corner. The wet saw (which we rented) to cut the tile doesn’t allow mitering at corners.


We found that the mortar wiped off of the countertop and other surfaces easily, so we didn’t need to mask very carefully.


We traced around the switch plates before removing them so we’d know how large of an opening to leave.


We had to use some shims behind the stove to keep the tiles in place as the mortar dried.
We sealed it with two coats of clear sealant. We also trimmed out the top near the window with some extra trim.

It gives the kitchen a whole new look. If you’re considering doing a backsplash in your kitchen, go for it.