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Bright Green Door

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How to Paint a Tile Backsplash

June 6, 2016 By BrightGreenDoor

Hey friends! I am so happy that you’re here today! If you follow me on instagram you may have seen that last week I decided to take a big gamble and attempt to paint my backsplash! I’m happy to report that it turned out amazing! Maybe you hate your backsplash too? If so I am so excited to teach you how to paint a tile backsplash!White Painted Backsplash

This is what I started with. A dated an dingy tile backsplash, that wasn’t horrible, but also didn’t fit my modern style.
Tile Backsplash- How to Paint

I started this project the way every DIY seems to start, by cleaning with my favorite product ever, Melaleuca “Tough and Tender.
How to Clean Tile Backsplash

**This post contains affiliate links** Then I picked up a box of Rustoleum “Tub and Tile Refinishing Kit“. I had used it once before to refinish a tub and was pretty happy with the results. It only comes in two colors, but thankfully I wanted a white backsplash.
Tips for Painting a Tile Backsplash

The way this paint works is that you mix part A with part B to activate it. It starts out really runny, but after mixing for about 5 minutes it thickened up. It’s still fairly drippy though so I recommend taping off your counters well. After taping everything I used a foam brush to edge the top and bottom.How to Paint a Tile Backsplash

It recommends keeping a wet edge, so after I’d foam brush a section I’d switch to my little foam roller and quickly roll that same section, working my way down the counters.Painted Tile Backsplash

After two coats it had really good coverage and looked great! When I removed the tape I used a razor to scrape away a little bit of seepage beneath the tape. I also caulked the edge to give it a really clean look.
How to Paint a Backsplash (27)-2

I can’t really decide if it looks like subway tile or painted brick, but whatever you want to call it I am SO much happier with my lighter and brighter kitchen! Eventually I’d love to replace the countertops and install a really beautiful backsplash. For now though, this $25 fix will have to hold me over!Painted Tile Backsplash

After painting the backsplash I really loved how much brighter the kitchen was, so I also decided install a white beadboard side panel onto our pantry!White Pantry Side Panel on Wood CabinetsThen the story sort of follows along the lines of, “If you give a mouse a cookie”. Next I decided to remove the cabinet that existed where I now have that gorgeous magnolia wreath. The the finishing touch was that I removed the glass front doors beneath the counters and replaced them with beadboard. I was able to use one $25 sheet for all three spots!
Modern Kitchen with White Cabinets

When we eventually replace the countertops we’ll do an overhang breakfast bar at the peninsula. I liked the idea of kids legs kicking the beadboard much more than glass front cabinets!
Wood Kitchen with White Accents

I love our kitchen so much more now that it has the white backsplash and white accents!Modern Dining Room Scandinavian

Just to show how much of an impact this made I decided to compare some side by sides!
DIY Painted Tile Backsplash

This next “before” shot was before we replaced the Tuscan curvy handles. These modern Euro pulls are SO much better. DIY Painted Backsplash

This one shows a better shot of the cabinet and glass front doors that we removed. Even though the glass doors were pretty the cabinet was so shallow that it couldn’t hold much and just looked cluttered.How to Paint a Tile Backsplash

Here is one final before and after shot showing the panel we put on the pantry.How to Add White to a wood kitchen

While I was shooting these I couldn’t help but take one shot of our backyard. It has been raining for days and everything just looks so fresh and green right now! I will admit that doing dishes with this view does make the job a bit better.Kitchen View into BackyardThank you so much for stopping by and reading this post! If you’ve got a backsplash that you hate, I’d definitely encourage you to paint it! At only $25 there isn’t much to lose, and you might love it as much as I do!

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Comments

  1. kemleydeKemley says

    June 6, 2016 at 9:02 pm

    This is such an awesome idea to paint a backsplash! I never even considered that. I really want to paint mine now! It’s amazing what a little white paint does to a space.

    • BrightGreenDoor says

      June 8, 2016 at 11:49 am

      Totally! Thank you so much! You should totally paint yours, it was such a simple and dramatic fix!

  2. Karen Cooper says

    July 11, 2016 at 5:33 am

    This looks amazing! I’ve been thinking about doing a little DIY kitchen remodel and this would be a great way to change up the backsplash. Thanks for sharing! Definitely going in the ideas pile 🙂

    • BrightGreenDoor says

      July 12, 2016 at 7:57 am

      Thank you so much for your sweet comment. Good luck with your mini kitchen remodel!

  3. Amy says

    May 10, 2017 at 11:54 am

    Hi!
    Do you have seal this after or just two coats and done?

    • BrightGreenDoor says

      May 10, 2017 at 6:27 pm

      Nope just two coats and done. Almost a year later it still looks exactly as good as when we did it!

  4. Tisha M Nusbaum says

    July 21, 2017 at 10:00 pm

    Would this type of paint work for the countertop too? Not sure if it’s durable enough for a work surface area.
    Thanks!

    • BrightGreenDoor says

      July 26, 2017 at 2:03 pm

      I’ve done it on countertops, and recently shared an update post. Here’s all the details: https://www.brightgreendoor.com/hows-it-holding-up/

  5. Alicia says

    July 28, 2017 at 5:58 pm

    Hi there! I want to paint my tile backsplash but the kind of tile I have is very shinny! Do I need to sans it at all? Or can I just start painting this stuff on?

    • BrightGreenDoor says

      July 28, 2017 at 7:07 pm

      Mine wasn’t shiny, but for yours I would probably sand first, just to help rough it up. Good luck! I’m sure it will look great!

  6. Ashley Lord says

    August 8, 2017 at 5:37 am

    I’m wanting to paint just one dark piece in my mosaic tile. Is this something I can do with a small paint brush??

    • BrightGreenDoor says

      August 8, 2017 at 1:21 pm

      Totally! I think it would work great!

  7. Leisa says

    September 17, 2017 at 2:05 pm

    Where did you buy the Tough and Tender cleaner?

    • BrightGreenDoor says

      September 17, 2017 at 9:37 pm

      I order it from melaleuca, but here as an Amazon affiliate link for it: http://amzn.to/2xeHPyC. 1 bottle goes a LONG ways!

  8. . Elaine says

    September 24, 2017 at 10:39 am

    Love your backsplash and your fearlessness!!! Looks fantastic!!!!Can you tell me if this rust oleum you used had a strong odor? I need something with no odor.. thankyou

    • BrightGreenDoor says

      September 24, 2017 at 6:04 pm

      Thank you! Yes it has a VERY strong odor. I’d definitely go for a chalk paint. Many are low or no VOC and they adhere really well to so many surfaces. With a high gloss sealer it would look great.

  9. Nancy Thompson says

    March 11, 2018 at 9:10 am

    For your counters you can use a granite overlay. It is much cheaper than solid granite countertops. You do not have to remove existing counters. You can even try epoxies that mimick granite; it is even less expensive.

    • BrightGreenDoor says

      March 11, 2018 at 2:38 pm

      Thanks! We ended up replacing the countertops for quartz, but it wasn’t cheap. We actually sold that house in December and moved to a new one! Here we are again needing to replace our countertops.

Hi, I’m Jess!

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