Monday, January 18, 2010

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

45 comments:

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

This looks so great! I'm totally amazed at how authentic it looks. Good work!

mustard seeds said...

That looks great!

Unknown said...

Now this is clever!

XOXO-

Mama Byrd said...

Totally rocked the budget friendly re-do's i love it and we are in the midst of getting granite and backsplash and you just saved me enough that I don't have to give up my mani's and pedi's now! Gonna try and rock this as well as you did!!!

Kate @ That's What Living Is To Me said...

My backsplash needs to be redone, and you have given me some good inspiration. Great job!

laurmela said...

Love it! Brick is so cool, even if it is faux!

Lori said...

WOW! That looks awesome! I love it when thrifty things turn out so wonderfully!

Katherine @ Grass Stains said...

You have GOT to be kidding me! It looks amazing. I love it, and I love it even more because you painted it. I wasn't sure about all the red brick, but you made a great decision. Yea you!

Shannan Martin said...

What a fantastic solution! Love it.

Amanda said...

It looks great! I think I like yours over the original inspiration, too!

S. L. said...

love it!

Connie said...

That looks amazing. What a great idea to paint it first...brilliant.

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Wow - amazing! Really. Truly! Love it!

XOOX
Jen

Karyn @ Candarbry Garden said...

I am amazed! (plus envious) That is a great little change. And the price is absolutely right! Now I am going back to look closer because we have very similar layouts and I am going to try and glean other Ideas from you... Thanks, Karyn

Greta said...

Wow - this looks great!

Stacey @ Fun to Craft said...

Wow! Great job!! It does look real!

Jill@Barnes Yard said...

Oh.Shut.Up.
It looks pretty fabulous!
-Jill

Lucrecia said...

WOW! I really was pretty set on beadboard - but now I'm second guessing that. LOVE this! And the price can't be beat!

Julie said...

Oh my ...how wonderful and love the price! Thanks for sharing with Made it Monday! Jules

Anny said...

This looks amazing! I love that you went such a light color too :)

Tonya said...

Shut up! That's awesome! I'll be redoing my kitchen in the next year or so and am totally tagging this as a fave! Thanks!

Basement Concepts said...

That backsplash really did turn out nice!! You mentioned you are finishing your basement...That is definitely a LOT of work!! If you are looking for design ideas feel free to check out our design center as we are adding photos from basements we finish all the time! http://basementconceptsutah.com/design-center/

Kimberly said...

No way. That is amazing! I'll have to see if I can make mine look even close to this nice!

Wendy said...

Great idea! Who would have thought?

Laurel @ Ducks in a Row said...

It looks fantastic and you can't beat the price!

Carrie @ Cottage Cozy said...

wow...great idea and great job. It looks wonderful!

Stay Cozy, Carrie

Sarah @ Hennessey House said...

GORGEOUS indeed! wow, it turned out amazing!

Delightful Dwelling said...

It looks great, I love the texture it adds to the space.

Jennifer Juniper said...

Mandy!!! Holy crap! This is a great, professional looking job on the cheap! I'm impressed :)

Heather Anne said...

Wow - that looks great! We just painted our back splash 'for now' and that was 5 years ago ... thanks for the inspiration!

Barbara Matson said...

I like the back splash but what I liked was your knife block! I like that it is painted with the shabby feel. I hate mine and might just do the same thing!

Unknown said...

Great idea! Looks fabulous! Bravo!

Cheers!
Tina

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

That is a great idea!!! I should totally do that at my house!

Michelle said...

Looks awesome...you guys did a fabulous job! Thanks for sharing such a great idea :)

Frugal Home Designs said...

Wow, I love it. It looks great.

Michelle @ Sweet Something Design said...

That turned out great! You guys did an awesome job!

Beth@The Stories of A to Z said...

How fantastic! I'm currently looking into backsplashes and will keep this in mind.

Ashley @ AshleysBusy said...

This looks seriously awesome! I'm in desperate need to put up some kind of backsplash. Maybe when we can fit it in the budget I'll try something like this!

Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence said...

I want to do this--thanks so much for sharing!

Tricia said...

Gorgeous is right! I love this treatment and the price point is amazing!

stacy@dooLITTLETHINGS said...

Oh my gosh! Mandy, I just stumbled on your blog. When I saw your soap dispenser against your brick backsplash I thought, "Oh. There's brick backsplash like Twice Remembered that I love! Wish I could afford to do that!" Then I clicked on this post and saw how you did it and almost gasped when I saw the total cost. Woohoo! I can handle $50. Thanks so much for sharing. I've been wanting to do this forever.

glass splashbacks said...

Preparing a sleek clean kitchen  environment with the provision of colour, interest and enhanced light is a challenging task. However, the task of decorating the kitchen becomes easier when the latest trend in kitchen decor, that is glass splashbacks are used.

Basement Finishing said...

That is a gorgeous idea for a backsplash! I had never heard of using the brick paver pattern in that manner, but it really does look stunning. Thanks for the pictures and description of how you added this to your kitchen, what a great project!

Anonymous said...

I can' believe what you do. Congrats! One question ? Will it stand up to water?

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