Kitchen backsplash........

One of the jobs we had to do with this house was install a tile back splash in our kitchen.  To get the builder to do it was going to cost around $900 and that was just using a white or cream subway tile like this one:

(image credit)

There is nothing wrong with subway tiles we have used them in the past, but we wanted something timeless and would stand the test of time.

We went with a natural stone mosaic.  The variety of stones and sizes made it an interesting tile that came in 12" x 12" tiles, that didn't need grouting.  As this is a natural stone it is a lot more expensive than a man made tile.  It should have been $15.95 per square foot; we got it for $13.50 per square foot.

We did have to seal the tile and should reseal it once a year; but that is a quick and easy job to do that doesn't take a lot of product.  It is however expensive as we paid $50.80 for 1 quart; but as I said it will last us years:

It did take us a couple of weekends to complete the job, only due to dh's lack of time as he works generally one morning on a weekend.

 Yes we do have a "junk/drop" area in this part of the kitchen.

Although I wasn't 100% sure on my choice, the more I live with it, the more I like it.  As it is natural stone and marble, there are "odd" things happening in the colours and everything is not perfect.  However I think that adds to the character.

I pulled out the bill and in total we paid $788.06 for the whole job.  We bought everything from Faiola Import Company in Brampton Ontario.  We have bought from them a few times now; despite the fact we have moved away from the area.  They always have a variety of tiles and at prices that are comparable too other tiling stores.

We ended up getting a far superior product for less money than the builder would have charged us.

A little more about the kitchen......

When we were out and about on the weekend we called into Lowes and picked up one of the light fixtures to try out in the kitchen.  These are the ones I want and they were even featured in the "This Old House" magazine July 2013 issue on page 38.

Now we cannot put up a back splash until we have had the upper cabinets redone and that won't be happening until September.  I have been on the lookout for tiles though.  I love the look of Subway tiles, like we did in the laundry room here:

Dh isn't keen on having them in the kitchen.  So I found these mosaic tiles.  I am not 100% convinced, but do like them.  Just a little worried they may be a little dark.  They work out to under $6 a sheet, one foot square, so they are a good price.  The glass mosaic tiles which are all the range would look much too modern in our kitchen.

We are having the kitchen island picked up this week to get painted so will show you that when it comes back.