I haven’t shared a kitchen update in a few weeks but I’m going to make it up to you today…our subway tile backsplash is up and grouted and looking pretty fabulous (if I do say so myself).
This project, like our granite countertops, has been a long time coming. We bought our tile from Floor & Decor back in August and it’s been sitting in the dining room waiting for its turn on the kitchen reno to-do list. Shopping and picking out our tile was the easy part. Putting it up, not so much.
*This is a sponsored post by Floor & Decor but all opinions are 100% my own.
We tiled the whole window wall, from the countertops to the ceiling, and it was a slow process. Because it’s a large space, with two windows, we had to cut a lot of tiles and there were issues getting the tile straight with the uneven ceiling, but it all worked out in the end. Here is the backsplash in its ugly stage.
Before we even started tiling, we painted the walls with a bonding primer, recommended by the helpful people at Floor & Decor. We took this extra step because there is plaster on our walls, that has a few small cracks, and we wanted an extra layer between the tile and the plaster. It has a thick, gritty consistency so it will “grip” the mortar and tile.
Once the primer was on and dry, it was time to lay out the tile so we could figure out where to start. After a whole lot of arguing discussion and measuring, we were finally ready to start tiling.
It took 2 weekends to tile the window wall and another weekend to tile the stove wall, which was a much easier job. The following weekend, we started the grouting process.
We were going to try a premixed grout but decided to go with a unsanded grout, in powder form. Early on in this process I decided that I wanted to use a colored grout and, because we have a small kitchen and the tile would cover a large portion of one wall, I didn’t want to have large grout lines and risk it looking too busy. To keep the grout lines minimal we didn’t use plastic spacers, each tile had little nubs on them that acted as our spacers, so we had just enough room to add grout.
The decision to go with the powder grout turned out to be a good one for us. It was very easy to mix with water and the price of one bag, enough to grout both walls, was so much cheaper than the premixed. The unsanded grout was also very easy to “push” into our tile spaces because we were able to control the consistency of the mixture.
The color I chose for the grout was a warm gray. When it went up we were a little nervous because it looked so dark, but as it dried it lightened up to a pretty warm gray. Exactly what I was hoping for.
I’m really happy with the results and I’m even happier that this project is done. A few more big ones on the list, lighting and building cabinet doors, and we’ll be in great shape. My goal is to be done by Christmas but that might be wishful thinking on my part. Fingers crossed.
Have you tackled any projects lately that you’re glad to be done with?
I want to thank Floor & Decor for partnering with me for this 2 part post series, you can read my other post about my shopping experience here. It was a pleasure working with them and I’m thrilled with my new tile.
Yolanda
Curious why you started with a row of cut tile. Did you do that so you would have full tiles under the window? Did I miss it? I do love the look of the whole wall, as it looks bright and light!
Kristi
Great question, Yolanda! There were a few reasons why we did it the way we did. One reason was because we wanted whole tile under the window and because, if we would have started with a full tile on the bottom, there would only have been a tiny sliver on top. We just split the difference to make it look even. Hope that makes sense.
We loved how the wall turned out too. It made such a statement in our small galley kitchen.
Thanks for stopping by.
Holly Milton
What is the actual name of the grout color for your subway tile and brand? I love how it doesn’t stand out too much.
Kristi
Hi Holly. The actual color was Warm Gray. I loved that there was a bit of a contrast to the white tile. Here is the link from the Floor and Decor website. Hope this helps. https://www.flooranddecor.com/mapei-installation-materials/mapei-93-warm-gray-keracolor-sanded-grout-100035898.html#start=51
Kate
Hi Kristi, This is my first visit to your blog, and have really enjoyed reading about your beautiful kitchen renovation. I have looked and looked and cannot find where the size of the subway tiles were mentioned. We are going to re-do our backsplash in a few more weeks, and are trying to settle on a size. Thanks!
Kristi
Hi Kate and welcome to Chatfield Court! So glad you found me. I’m sorry that I didn’t list the size of the subway tiles. They are just your standard tiles, 3×6, and I got them from Floor & Decor. Hope that helps and if I can answer any other questions you might have, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Thanks so much for stopping in and best of luck with your backsplash redo. 🙂
kbhousebythesea
Your backsplash looks great! I love the look of backsplash tile going all the way up to the ceiling. Definitely a big job, but well worth it, I’d say!
Kristi
Thanks so much! It was a hugee job but we love how it turned out.
Thanks for stopping in. 🙂
dkhalcomb2
Oh Kristi, I love the finished tile. You can come do mine if you like. LOL
I have two big projects waiting to be done while it is cool out. My louvered closet doors ( wash and paint) and my Front door (Wash, sand and paint} This Spring I will start stripping wall paper, ugh! I have two small bathrooms and the kitchen. I wish I could affor to tile the kitchen, maybe in a year. Your kitchen looks fabulous so far. Debbie
Kristi
Thanks Debbie! We love how it turned out but I think we’re done tiling for a while. 😉 It was a lot tougher than we thought it would be.
I don’t envy you having to remove wallpaper. Not a fun job but I’m sure your rooms will look great when you’re done.
Thanks for stopping in and I hope the rest of your week is good.
Nancy
Dennis did all the tile work in our new cottage and studio, so we understand the work involved. Your subway tile looks great. I love the gray grout you chose. Very classy, Kristi. xo
Kristi
As I recall, Dennis did a whole lot more tiling than we did. He’s a superstar.
I love the subway tile. It’s something that I’ve always wanted in one of our houses. Hopefully I’ll get to enjoy it for a bit before we up and move. 😉 Thanks for your kind words my friend.
Jessica [Havok]
It’s beautiful! So bright! (and probably much easier to clean than painted walls – I’m not sure how splatters end up all over my kitchen, but they do, and the only things I’ve found to clean it up ends up eating at the paint. xD ). I’ve loved the look of the subway tiles, but always wondered why people went to so much effort for a bathroom that you won’t really get to enjoy…but in a kitchen, it makes so much more sense! 😀
Kristi
Thanks Jessica, we love how it turned out. We had spots all over our flat painted walls too and it drove me crazy. That’s true about putting subway tile in a bathroom and not being able to enjoy it but, I have to say, I want it in my bathroom now too. 😉
MaryJean
Ooow! I like it, so shiny! My son is a landscaper and he said if he could put shiny stuff in the mulch he would make a fortune! We do like shiny stuff! ;))
Kristi
It is definitely shiny, and shiny is always good (I think 😉 ). It will be nice to be able to wipe it after my messy husband cooks. The walls were painted with a flat paint before and we could never clean the spots off, and there were a lot of spots.
Kim
My hubby is a tile genius, so I know exactly how much work this is. You guys did a fabulous job, it looks amazing. Subway tiles are my favorite, classic.
Kristi
Thanks so much Kim! We could have used your genius hubby for the window wall, man it was a bugger, but we are happy with the way it all turned out. I’ve always wanted subway tile and now I have it. 🙂
brendakula
You guys have been busy! It looks fantastic!
Brenda
Kristi
Thanks Brenda! I’m so happy with the way it tuned out, and that it’s done. 😉
Vel
Looks clean and fresh! You can never go wrong with subway tile!
Kristi
Thanks Vel. I’ve moved into houses that had fruit or some funky design on a backsplash before so I knew that I wanted something timeless this time.
Brenda, Florida
Oh, it looks wonderful! Congrats on a good job!
Kristi
Thanks so much Brenda! We are really happy with the results.
Kim
That looks so good. Not fun doing it, but so worth the work!
Kristi
Thanks Kim! It was hard work, and no fun, but I love the results.