Kitchen Backsplash

I've never been crazy about back splashes.
I didn't dislike them, they just didn't DO anything for me.

Until I saw Kim's - over at Twice Remembered.
I'm pretty sure everyone in blog land has seen this gorgeous thing, but if you haven't, hop on over and take a look at her backsplash.  It's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
And it totally inspired me.

I spent 2 weeks trying to track down thin brick pavers, like the ones Kim used.
I didn't have much luck.
A local masonry company told me they could order some for me, but they were going to be something like $3.00 each.
Far too expensive.

Then a Lowes employee recommended a product called "gaslight II hardboard brick".  He said he'd just sold a bunch of it to a man who used it to cover all the interior walls of a pizza restaurant he was opening.
It was very inexpensive, so I thought I'd give it a try.

It's a 1/4 inch thick compressed wood product that looks like brick and mortar on one side.
Here is what it looks like - lying on my garage floor.

To start, I gave it a coat of Rustoleum Primer, then a coat of Rustoleum Heirloom White.
I knew I was going to paint it a creamy color and wanted to save myself as many between the cabinets and the counter paint sessions as possible :)

While I did that, my saint of a husband cleaned the kitchen - then cleaned the kitchen OUT, so it was all ready to install the backsplash.

Then it was time to cut it.
We are in the process of finishing our basement.
as. slowly. as. possible.
It's expensive to finish basements!
Anyway, the table saw is down there right now, for cutting 2x4s when my husband is framing.
Ignore the disaster in the background, please.

We cut the brick-board using a plywood blade, turned to rip. It was messy business.  Matt was covered in sawdust after.

Once it was cut we cut out the holes for the outlets. Then we used Liquid Nails adhesive for the back of the boards.

Always be sure to spread your Liquid Nails around!

We used those tiny nails in some spots, in addition to the Liquid Nails.  Here it is all up.

At this point we used white silicone to seal the top, bottom and seams of the boards against the walls.
We set the nails and used putty to fill in the holes.
Then we left it overnight to set up and dry completely.

The next morning we gave it a couple coats of paint - a custom mixture made by Mandy, of course - and here's the finished product.

And here it is close up - with accessories :)

Gorgeous, right?

I am surprised at how authentic it really looks.  I don't think anyone would guess that it was a hardboard type of product instead of real brick! And it was so much easier than mortar and grout would have been!
Plus it was CHEAP.
$23.97 for the 4x8 foot Gaslight II panel. I have about 1/3 of it left.

$3.50 for 2 tubes of Liquid Nails
I had the caulk and the nails, but even if you had to buy everything for this project it would be under $50.

Linking up to...
Made it Monday at the Persimmon Perch,
Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Make Your Monday at Twice Remembered and
DIY Day at ASPTL