Veronica Hughes: Finally replacing the kitchen backsplash

We are finally doing it! We are finally replacing the kitchen backsplash! When we moved in, we didn’t have a lot of money, and I had a faux finish mural business, so of course, I faux-finished it! I know you are super-jelly of our hot mess kitchen. And I mean mess, when I say mess. I could NEVER keep our house clean. Let’s go with Mr. Peabody in the Wayback machine and take a peek at how the kitchen looked through it’s backsplash changes.

Kitchen in 2009 with faux finish and grape mural

I still struggle to keep it picked up with these other people who live here. I also love looking at these pictures and seeing all of the baby gates and stuff in place. Talk about being on lock-down.

Old kitchen cabinets mural and decorative painting

It was a total Tuscan grape theme. Could I have more crap on my counter?

Painted on kitchen backsplash tile

Then, I really wanted tile, and we couldn’t afford it. so I painted tile on! It is slightly cleaned up, but it amazes me how DARK everything is.

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In 2009, beadboard wallpaper was super HAWT, so I did that.It was like an epiphany when I discovered it through Rhoda. It’s held up really well, and I still like it. I still have it in a few places in my house, but in the kitchen I am ready to move on.

Beadboard wallpaper in kitchen

I remember putting this up and thinking how much brighter my kitchen looked! At least there is less junk on the countertops in this picture, even if it’s taken with a point and shoot camera and is a tad bit blurry….

And then of course, was the big kitchen overhaul…

White painted kitchen cabinets and brass hardware for an updated painted kitchen look

Jennifer Rizzo kitchen painted white cabinets with brass hardware

It’s always crazy to look back and see how my tastes and times have changed.

Remmoving beadboard wallpaper from kitchen and replacing the kitchen backsplash with white subway tile with gray grout

The fun part (not really) of beadboard wallpaper is trying to remove it. It came off in layers, and even though hot water and vinegar worked it’s magic, there was still a lot of scraping.

I also found the old painted tile, which now looks completely different and opposite now with the white cabinets. We think the Kermit the Frog green paint was original to the very first owner. I cannot even imagine what that looked like with the super, dark oak cabinets in here!

Replace kitchen backsplash with tile

I have to admit, I’m a little sore today. The real treat was trying to get in the corner with short arms. As you can tell, this is my best angle. Ha ha. Getting this far makes me even more excited to be finally replacing the kitchen backsplash!

Getting in thecorner to remove wallpaper

So, I am super excited that I am finally going to have tile! Of course, I am going with subway tile and light gray grout. It’s very cleanable and crisp. We found a tile person who is going to work us in as a side job for cash. Yes, I could do it myself, but for the few hundred dollars it is going to cost me to have it done in a day, it’s totally worth it to me! It’s great to DIY, but as my friend, Jeanne says, it’s also great to PSE (pay someone else) when you can! It’s only 30 sq. feet, and evenwith 10% overage the materials are also going to cost less that $100. It’s a very do-able project!

So, I will keep you updated as we move along. He is going to fit us in between jobs, so it could be like this for a month. Ugh. but, it is what it is, and eventually it will be done.

The kids came home from school, and all they could talk about was how ugly it was. Ha ha. They are such little designers already.