Backsplash... the finishing touch
The backsplash is often just painted drywall, but in reality it could be something very special. If you have an older kitchen, especially one with peeling painted drywall as the backsplash, here is a great idea to spruce it up, until you can get the one you really want. Clean the area well with a degreaser of some kind, you will be amazed how much grease ends up on the wall, even around the sink.. give it a good clean and a good rinse. Make sure its dry... now this area is a bit awkward to deal with, so make sure your counter is totally cleared off, or you will be sending things flying!
Get yourself some painters tape, 1/8 to 1/4" wide is good and make yourself a grid with this tape, decide how big you want your "faux tiles" to be, and then tape it off. Take some drywall compound (I used the premixed stuff) and trowel it over the grid, lift your tape of gently before it totally dries so as not to crack anything, and there you go!.. You have some faux tiles!.. now paint them your choice of colour, you can paint over the whole area with one colour, or you can paint the grout ivory, your choice, but make sure after it is all dry that you varathane a good couple of coats. You will be amazed at the effect, your backsplash will have, it is more labor than it is money, but it looks really nice, and can spruce up a tired kitchen no problem, until you can afford to do the renovation of your dreams!.. I find when you know that it is a temporary fix, you tend to get creative.. or maybe you will like it so much, you will keep it!.. Mine looked great right up until the day I had a tiled backsplash installed, and that was really only because my "faux tiles" got damaged when my new counter top was being installed. The installer had thought they were just thin tiles, and was amazed at them!..
If you don't like the faux tile finish idea, you could also paint a faux finish, especially if you are trying to hide ugly drywall, just paint a good primer first, then use a sponger, or rags, or something to give it a mottled effect, then varathane it... this looks great also!.. This is much better than staring at torn wallpaper or chipped drywall while you are at the sink or stove! Get those ideas flowing, you don't need to spend thousands for this! A friend of mine installed peel and stick mirror tiles to make her kitchen look bigger... it is amazing, but the only drawback to glass and mirror is it needs lots of cleaning! Just simple changes can make the biggest difference. If you are planning a renovation 5 years from now, there is no reason to baracade your kitchen from people until then!.. get experimenting with some simple tricks and ideas.. you might end up keeping them!
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