DIY Faux Tile

As a navy wife you learn to do many things by yourself that you would have never thought you would do.  In the last 10 years we have become efficient plumbers, gardeners, painters, and exterminators all while keeping up with all of the mom duties.  The hardest job for us to tackle by far was the exterminator. We have killed palmetto bugs the size of Volkswagons and have had to deal with the random dead bird of frog that our pets have brought in to share with the rest of the family.

I have yet to find a DIY product that intimidates me, but I have been getting the urge to try bigger and better things. In the last couple months I have learned to use a power sander, a compound saw, and a nail gun.  During my husbands last underway I got the urge to spice up my kitchen a bit.  I have been wanting to add a tiled backsplash to it, but I ran into a couple problems.  The first, being I have no clue how to tile anything and second, we live in a rental home.  I really don't want to spend the money to tile. 

I had been online looking for quick and easy ideas and came across a blog about painting faux tile on your kitchen walls.  After a little research I thought I would give it a try.  Let me just tell you that it was very easy and came out great.  I will share some of my pictures with you but if you really want a better understanding please visit the blog that inspired me.  Sawdust and Embryos

First, I started off by taping the perimeter of my backsplash area and then painting it a solid white color to give the finished product a clean grout line. 

Second, I began taping out tiles.  i cut my tape to 1/4 inch and measured out each tile the size i decided. I think I went with tiles that were 1.5 inches in height but the width i did not measure. I just made them as i went. Then I started painting random tiles and mixing my paints together to create different looks.  I bought the bottles of craft acrylic paint from walmart.  I used 4 bottles of browns and tans and 2 bottles of reds to accent.  

So, i just kept going.  Mixing and painting. Random colors in random places.  I used the cheap foam brushes so I could just toss them when I got done.  I hate cleaning out a brush.  Finally the wall looked like this.

After the paint is almost dry I began peeling the tape off and this is what it looked like.

It really didn't take too long.  I did it all in about 2 afternoons.  Although those afternoons were about a month apart.  I am so good at starting a project and not finishing.  My kitchen looks so much better and I have scrubbed it and the paint seems to be holding up well.

Check back next week for another project!

Love,

Alyse and Kristen