Quick and Painless Backsplash Makeover
Even though I’m knee-deep in the painting-of-the-living-room project, I thought I’d take a break and update the backsplash in the kitchen. I hate how ugly it is, and because I don’t have the time, energy, or skills to do tile job on the backsplash, I decided to just cover it up.
My ideal situation would be bluish-green glass tiles, but that probably won’t happen until we fully makeover our kitchen.
Today, I picked up some contact paper for 5 bucks at Target and went to town, cutting and pressing it on top of the tiles. For the project, I also needed scissors, a tape measure and X-Acto knife.
It took all of about 10 minutes to do, between rolling out the paper, measuring, and pressing it into place. contact paper is really nice in that it has a grid on the back that makes for easy cutting and measuring.
I did take off the electrical cover as well as the soap dish that is drilled into the wall. It just made things so much easier than trying to cut around them neatly.
I trimmed a bit around the edges with the knife, as well as around the electrical socket, though I made sure not to cut off too much so it was sealed nicely under the cover.
Now honestly, it doesn’t look amazing up close, since you can slightly see the grout lines of the tiles, but who cares? I like that this was so cheap to do, and I still have yards and yards of it left for other projects, like lining the shelves. When it gets too grimy, I’ll just replace it either with the same pattern or something else. I’ve also considered cutting them to fit each tile, so the grout still shows, but that is much beyond my attention span at the moment.
It also goes so much better with the color of the living room than that turquoise.
Next up: dealing with this mess (Goodwill stuff and things to be put away).
Keepin’ it real, y’all, keepin’ it real.
Cassity Kmetzsch started Remodelaholic after graduating from Utah State University with a degree in Interior Design. Remodelaholic is the place to share her love for knocking out walls, and building everything back up again to not only add function but beauty to her home. Together with her husband Justin, they have remodeled 6 homes and are working on a seventh. She is a mother of four amazing girls. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.
>What a great idea!! And you did a wonderful job by the looks of it. Smart girl!
>Wow! What a difference?!
>It looks great! What a fabulous idea!!!!
>That looks really fun.
>Wow amazing…I don't think i have ever seen an electrical outlet behind a sink..that's funny!
>I love the print and I think it looks great! Very cool – and I love the price 🙂
>I really love your vintage counter/sink that spans the entire length of the cabinets. It really is fantastic and I hope you keep it. It would have sold the house for me.
>ahhhhh contact paper! great idea!
>Thanks so much for featuring my redo. I hope the possibilities of contact paper inspire everyone to do fun stuff around the house. You can't go wrong with how cheap it is! I actually ended up covering ugly yellow tiles in my bathroom with it too!
>Oh my word, this is just the neatest thing. Inexpensive and allows you to try out different colors and such, before and if you choose to really redo it. I love it.
>This is such a cool idea. My 1956 kitchen is getting a makeover this weekend! I bought some of this same Con-tact paper after initially reading your post, and can't wait to cover up the laminate backsplash currently up in our kitchen. Should be a HUGE change that the kitchen is dying for. Thanks again for the sweet idea!
This looks great. How long did it stay? How well does it clean? I want to do this and am curious about its durability.
Hi Amie! This was a guest post, so if you’ll go over to the guest’s blog (linked at the top) then she can answer your questions. Thanks!