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When your doctors tell you that you need major surgery in two weeks, is your first instinct to remodel your kitchen? No? Just me? Cool cool… Do I have any experience in kitchen renovation? Nope. Was I doing it so that I didn’t have time to think about the surgery? Maaaaaybe.  Do I love the end result? Yup.

When we moved into this house, I vowed to redo the kitchen and it was high on my priority list. The walls were yellow. Like, really yellow. I have nothing against yellow, but this particular shade reminded me of stomach bile, so yeah…it had to go. We moved in six years ago – I’m just now getting around to it. #StoryOfMyLife

Turns out, I am terrible at remembering to take before pictures! Luckily, Zillow never forgets. Yellow walls, black counters, vinyl-wrapped white cabinets, and my nemesis – linoleum floors.

My kitchen remodel project started when we needed to replace our refrigerator. We went with a white refrigerator because (1) Our kitchen doesn’t get much natural light, and (2) stainless steel with 4 kids = MANY fingerprints and the constant battle to keep it clean. You may think that white would get dirtier, and typically that is true. However, this fridge has glass front panels so you can just wipe it down with Windex – SO EASY!

After we replaced the fridge, I noticed that the vinyl wrapping on the cabinets was starting to peel off. I didn’t like the cabinets anyway and was excited that this was my chance to get new cabinets! Then I priced them out, and yeah…. I settled on painting them. It’s much more cost-effective! I couldn’t decide on a cabinet color while the walls were yellow. I knew that the cabinet color would look much different with yellow walls than it would with a different color wall. So, I opted to paint the walls first.

I went with Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey. This paint color basically goes with everything. It takes on grey tones as well as beige tones. There is no blue tint with this grey color. We used their Emerald Interior Acrylic Latex Paint because it provides excellent coverage, is washable, and contains anti-microbial agents that prohibit the growth of mold and mildew. With so many boys in this house, anti-microbial anything is a must. I love this color so much! Don’t tell my husband, but we are going to paint the rest of the downstairs walls this color. He loves painting. So much. SO MUCH. Not. 

After the walls were painted, I found out I needed surgery and that I had 10 days to finish up this project since recovery would be lengthy. Some may have called it quits at this point and decided it was good enough. Well, not me. I decided that I wanted a tile backsplash so I might as well do that now. Why not? Seems logical. Do I know how to tile? Nope. Luckily, there are tons of tutorials out there, and it’s actually fairly easy. I mean, why pay someone to do something that I can for sure do myself. Probably. Most likely. The most difficult part was cutting the tile with a wet saw. Did I own I wet saw? No. Do I now own a wet saw? Yes. I purchased this wet saw and it worked so well! If I were using very large tiles, this would not be sufficient, but for smaller tiles, it worked like a gem!

The counters were originally installed with a quartz backsplash that matched the countertops. I decided that had to go too – I think it looks better when the tile meets the counter directly, but that’s just a personal preference. So, I removed the backsplash and got to work with the tile. In order to remove the quartz backsplash, I used a very sharp utility knife and a prybar. You will start by cutting through the caulking along the edges. Slide the prybar behind the backsplash and slowly (and I mean slowly) move the bar back and forth to loosen the adhesive. You may need to heat the adhesive in order to soften it and a hairdryer works perfectly for this. Warning – if you get impatient and pull it off too quickly, you will damage the drywall and have to patch it. Not that I know that from experience or anything…. Watch the video for a quick demo here:

You can read below for my step-by-step instructions on how I installed the tile. I love how it turned out! The cabinets still aren’t painted – surgery and recovery put a pause on that, but it will happen soon! 

Gather Supplies

For this project, I used the following supplies:

• Degreaser
• Mortar
• Tile Trowel
• Tile Spacers
• Wall Tile of Your Choice (with 20% allowance for errors)
• China Marker
• Wet Saw
• Tile Nipper (optional)
• Tile Grout
• Grout Float
• Grout Sponge
• Caulk

Prep Your Walls

It is very important to start with clean and dry walls. I love using this degreaser to remove all unseen filth. If you have textured walls like I do, I highly recommend this electric scrubber. It gets into the crevices and reduces the manual scrubbing. It’s seriously a game-changer for cleaning bathrooms and floors as well.

Install Tile

I went with this Subway Tile from Lowe’s. At only $0.15/tile, it was a cost-effective and stylish option. I needed 36 square feet of tile for this project. I always purchase 20% extra to account for errors which are mostly a result of my poor math skills. I purchased enough tile to cover about 42 square feet.

I knew that I would have exposed tile edges with this project. There are a few different ways to handle exposed tile edges, but I opted for a bullnose tile for the exposed edges. Bullnose tiles (and any trim tile for that matter) are more expensive, so measure correctly! I ended up purchasing a case of bullnose tiles. Lowes sells them by the piece, so I was able to return the tiles that I didn’t use.

You will want to use tile spacers to ensure equal spacing between tiles and between the tile and the countertop. I used these for spacing between the tile and the countertop and these between tiles. The width of the spacers is totally a personal preference.

When selecting mortar, ensure that you are using mortar that is sufficient for the size of your tile. I opted for ready-to-use mortar instead of the mortar that you need to mix. Yes, it’s more expensive, but the convenience is worth the extra money in my opinion.

You will also want to get a tile trowel that is adequate for the size of the tile you are using. There are many posts about this, so just do your research first.

Pick your starting point – I opted to start in a corner, but you could pick an edge as well. For the first row, spread mortar on the wall. I did one layer with the flat side and then another layer with the notched side. Lay down the spacers that you chose to go between the tile and the countertop. Press the tile onto the mortar using firm and even pressure. Add tile spacers between tiles. For cutting around outlets, edges, etc. Mark the tile directly with a china marker before cutting. I often measured incorrectly and needed small adjustments that were easier made with a tile nipper instead of the wet saw.

For the second row, if using subway tiles, it is preferred to stagger the tiles vs. flush installation. Continue each row in this fashion. Wipe off any excess mortar before it has time to set. After all tile is installed, you will let it sit for at least 24 hours before adding grout.

Time For Grout

Again, I opted for premixed ready-to-use grout. Convenience always wins out. A wide variety of colors are available, I went with a MAPEI Flexcolor in Warm Grey. You will need a grout float and a grout sponge. You will basically dampen the tile with the sponge, force the grout into the spaces between tiles with the float, scrape off excess as you go, and then wipe clean with a damp grout sponge every 5-10 square feet. I did not put grout between the tile and the counter. I opted to fill this gap with caulk.

Finishing Up

After your grout has been set for around 24 hours, you can add any caulk that you need to. For the space behind the kitchen sink, I used this caulk as it is made specifically for kitchens and bathrooms and provides a 100% waterproof seal. However, it is not the easiest caulk to work with – you cannot wipe it with water and must use mineral spirits instead. So, I only used it behind the kitchen sink and used regular latex caulk for the other areas.

Final Result

I am in love with the result!

Cost Breakdown

Total Cost = $305.00

• Degreaser $6.00
• Mortar $39.00
• Trowel $6.00
• Spacers $11.84
• Tile $72.50
• Wet Saw $69.00
• Tile Nipper $16.00
• China Markers $6.00
• Grout $55
• Float $9.00
• Sponge $4.00
• Caulk $10.00

You can cut the cost down by purchasing mortar and grout that you need to mix vs. the ready-to-use product. Also, if you don’t need to purchase a wet saw it would be less expensive! I looked into renting one, but it would cost around $40 for 4-hours, and I knew I wouldn’t be done within that timeframe. Now I have one for future projects!