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kitchen tile backsplash





#My Backsplash SOLUTION yep, you can paint a tile backsplash

You all know we have been busy working on our kitchen makeover.  Well, I am here to show you a bit more of the progress we have made!  Are you dying to know how I decided to deal with the UNFORTUNATE backsplash in our kitchen?  We PAINTED it.  Yep, you can paint a tile backsplash!  Read on to learn more!

Our tile backsplash was the kitchen element that I was most concerned about when we decided to tackle the kitchen makeover.  It just was NOT…MY…STYLE .  But you will recall that we are on a tight budget for this project.  That eliminated the possibility of ripping it out and replacing it with something else.  We thought about covering the tiles with stainless steel, or even stenciled wood, but the existing tiles are so thick, we could not come up with a good solution of how to finish off the visible edges if we covered them.  So, I was left scratching my head.

Meanwhile, we were trying to decide whether to stain or paint our kitchen cabinets.  General Finishes generously sent me samples of some of their products that we were considering using on our kitchen cabinets, including some of their AMAZING Milk Paints .  Their Milk Paints are high quality acrylic paints that are very durable.  I was sent three different gray samples, and we decided to use two of them to paint our kitchen cabinets.  That left me with a pint of the darkest grey color, Queenstown Grey, that I wasn’t going to use .

OR, WAS I?!

It occurred to me that I could PAINT the tile backsplash.  WHHHHHHAAAAATTT.   Yep, I said paint the tile backsplash.  Granted, it was not an ideal solution for us because there is really nothing I like about our backsplash tile AND we have the added challenge of decorative accent tiles featuring some kind of pre-historic lion and latin phrases, but I digress.  Painting would certainly improve the look by 500% and it would be FREE !

Here s a reminder of what the tile looked like before.

And for good measure, here s a close-up shot.

So, one day while my twin girls were napping, I went for it.  I figured that even if we hated it, we would not have lost any money and it couldn’t possibly be worse than what was there before.

How to paint a tile backsplash:

I started by cleaning and then priming the tiles.  Typically, you don’t have to prime prior to using General Finishes Milk Paint, but I was nervous about painting the glossy tile and wanted to ensure the best adhesion possible.  I used water-based Kilz primer.

Next, I painted the tiles with the General Finishes Milk Paint in Queenstown Grey.  It didn’t look fantastic after the first coat, so I started to get a tad worried.

Fortunately, the second coat provided phenomenal coverage and looked great.  I got the entire backsplash done with one tiny pint of this paint .  Finally, I applied three coats of the General Finishes High Performance Water Based Top Coat, flat finish, on top for added durability.  I elected to use the flat finish because I did not want added sheen to draw my eye to the backsplash, but most people would probably prefer to use a satin or semi-gloss finish .

And I love how it turned out!

Yes, you can still see the pattern of the decorative tiles, but holy cow, I am beyond happy with how this FREE transformation turned out.  The backsplash now kind of blends into the background and looks great with the granite countertops and light grey cabinets.

If I had purchased the product for this project, it still only would have cost me $30.  Not bad for a “new” backsplash!  As you know, I love a good side-by-side comparison, so here you go!

What do you think of this thrifty transformation?  Did you know that you could paint a tile backsplash?  Have you done it?  What other thrifty backsplash transformations have you seen?

You can check out some more posts about our kitchen makeover progress before you head out, like how we painted the kitchen floor. how we moved some cabinets around and how we created a high impact herringbone plank wall.  Stay tuned for the BIG kitchen reveal.  It is coming soon!  UPDATE: The kitchen reveal is done!  Click HERE to check out all the details!




Views: 212 | Added by: iviangame | Tags: You, Backsplash, My, Tile, Can, Solution, Paint, yep | Rating: 0.0/0
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