A Designer Kitchen Backsplash on a Budget

The kitchen backsplash is a definite design feature inAll of these can be purchased at your local home
today's modern kitchen. There are many materials tostore for about $25.00 or better yet maybe you
choose from, glass mosaics, marble, marble mosaics,have a neighbor you can borrow them from.
ceramic tile stainless steel and even 24 ct. gold platedOkay let's get started:
tiles.This is the fun part; we are going to break the tiles.
If you are on a budget here is a way to create aIt might be a good idea to wear some gloves and
really beautiful backsplash design.eye protection for this; some broken tiles can really
This takes a little bit of time to do, but material costsget sharp.
are very inexpensive or totally free depending onYou can break them with a hammer or a piece of
your sources.wood or you can lay the tiles on top of a pencil and
This is a broken tile mosaic that I have personallypush down from both sides and this will snap the tile.
installed in one of the finest restaurants in SouthAdjustments can be made using your tile nippers.
Florida.Apply the mastic to a small area of the wall at a time
First you need to decide what colors of tile, stone,and just start sticking the broken tiles on the wall
marble, glass tile, whatever you can find that appealskeeping in mind the ratio of all the different tiles you
to you.are using.
Many tile stores have closeout sections with veryYou will never get this ratio 100% correct but it
inexpensive colorful tiles that you can buy for a song.doesn't matter, after all this a custom mosaic mural
You need to figure out a ratio of the material andwe are making.
apply it to the square footage of area to be workedIt is worth it spending time trying to keep the grout
on.joints between every tile close to the same size if
Most full backsplashes are between 16 inches and 18you can, cutting, nipping and fitting as you go.
inches tall, so if you have 10 lineal feet of fullAfter the installation is complete, let the mastic dry
backsplash you have approximately an area of 15for 24 hours.
square feet.Mix up a small amount of grout and apply it to the
Then decide on what is your dominant color tile youtile with the grout float, pushing it into the grout
will use in the splash. Let's say that a beige color tilejoints and then going across it with a diagonal motion
is 50% and then you decide on your other colors andto clean off the excess and still leaving it in the joints.
the percentages you want to install of these.Let it set up until it is semi hard and then begin
So for our hypothetical backsplash we have beige tilewashing it with a damp sponge in a circular motion.
at 50%, a brown tile at 20%, mauve color tile atTry to keep the joints smooth as you leave an area
15%, a biscuit color tile at 10% and a gold coloredand move on to the next.
highlight tile at 5%.After finishing that there will me a lite haze. Let it dry
You can apply these percentages for each tile to thea little longer and then take clean damp sponge and
square-foot area you need to cover and add a littlewipe it across the tile and then use the other side of
waste factor and then this will give you how manythe sponge and wipe, rinse the sponge and repeat.
square feet of each individual tile you will need.Wait two days until the grout is cured enough and
Now we're almost ready to apply the tile but firstseal the joints with a penetrating sealer. This will
you will need multi-purpose mastic, a pair of tileprotect it from an over enthusiastic cook.
nippers, the grout color you have chosen, and aThen stand back and admire it! You should have a
grout float.fantastic kitchen backsplash that will be totally unique.