Faux Wood Backsplash Reveal

Detail of painted backsplash.

   

Before:  Plain drywall "back splash."

For this Metamorphosis Monday with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch  (here), I wanted to share my recent faux wood back splash project.  More details about my inspiration are (here) at this former post.  But for a quick review, here is the original inspiration photo from Pinterest:

But to recap, basically I wanted to replicate the look of reclaimed wood.  As you can see in the after photo before, I thought that the different tones would tie together the natural cherry cabinets (not as dark as they look in the photos), the vintage fabric in the glass front cabinets, and the dark countertops, as well as fitting the asthetics of my 1930s cottage/bungalow.

Back splash after.  I resisted the urge to overstyle and decided to show cluttered counter as it really exists for truth in blogging.

 

I started project by laying out boards, using a pencil and level.  I used pencil because I wanted the dark line to help suggest the shadow line between boards.   I based the proportion of boards on the 4" granite lip, as well as the traditional size of real boards used in this application.  I did vary the sizes from 3" to 6" to give the illusion of random boards.  In a faux finish like this, imprecision actually helps the illusion.  I further decided to give a border around the "board" over the sink to highlight the area and give interest, as this is the first thing you see when walking into kitchen.

 

Above, I've started laying in color.  I wanted to primarily use light greens and aquas to tie together my pale avocado walls and the aqua walls in the adjoining room.  I did want some warm wood tones to peek through to relate to the wood cabinets.  In some cases, I actually finished the "boards" to look like wood before layering paint over them for that weathered peeling paint look.  I also added grain lines with a rocking roller tool.

  

Here is the completed back splash topped with a tinted polyureathane for durability.  The slight tint (golden oak) helps give the illusion of age .

I ran the boards hoizontally over the stove to give interest and also help with the illusion of using actual reclaimed material:  when using such materials, usually you have to adapt because of limited quanity.

The beautiful plates were a gift from Visual Vamp, Valorie Hart.

And now the fun part:  accessories.  All along, I wanted the back splash to provide a good background for these beautiful Majolica plates that work well with my green walls.  If they look familiar, it's because they used to grace the before kitchen of the fabulous Visual Vamp:

A beautiful plate, crocks to hold utensils, and a vintage lamp:  what more does any cottage kitchen need?

After 4+ years of no backsplash, I've very happy with how this turned out, especially since I was able to complete the project with very little money---I already had most of the needed paints and supplies.  I'm also glad I waited until I found the perfection solution.

Faux Reclaimed Wood Backsplash: Update

 A couple of days ago, I started on my "reclaimed wood" back splash, where I planned to replicate the look of these doors on my drywall backsplash:

Young House Love

 Here is the painted drywall "back splash" before:

As of Sat. morning, here is how the main section looks:

The glare is from the protective polyureathane.

I plan on devoting tomorrow to finishing, and if so, will have a longer post explaining how I did it.

Backsplash Inspiration: or How to Pick a Backsplash in 5 years or Less

Kitchen photo from a couple of years ago.  Minor changes since then, but still no backsplash.

As a professional decorator and decorative painter, I often get called on in to fix bad decisions clients have made in building or renovating.  In fact, one of the most common mistakes homeowners can make when it comes to designing their own homes is by deciding on some non-essential items too soon.  The deal is there are so many decisions to make when designing a home, so many more than people realize:  from big decisions like how big to make the living room to minor ones, like what color outlet covers.  At a certain point toward the end of a project, most people suffer a sort of decision fatigue where it's almost impossible to make another choice, any other choice.  Then, what usually happens, is that a lot of people start making quick impulsive decisions just to get "get'er done."  What I learned is that if you don't love an item or at least are convinced that that item is the right one for the application it  is better to just wait if it's not absolutely necessary.  Usually the right one will come along eventually.

Case in point:  my backsplash.  When we remodeled the kitchen 4 years ago (I can't believe it's been that long), one thing that we didn't select was a backsplash.  This was for various reasons:  cost, Thomas's aversion to most tile, and my fear of becoming bored with an expenisive selection (I do like change, and I can't afford to change out a pricey backsplash very often).  I did toy with some tile options, but the only two that I thought I could commit to long term just didn't work out.  One, a beautiful hand-made irregular glass tile in a beautiful avacado green was just too expensive:  even with a designer discount it was close to $100 a foot and the other tile ended up being too busy (luckily a friend had used on a project and left me have 4 sheets of it to test---they ended up being this table top).  The other option that we almost went with was a fun decopage project like this table; but I was afraid of the difficulty in removing it when (notice I didn't say if) I got tired of it.

So, to make a long story longer, I've spent the last couple of years on backsplash alert--keeping my eyes open for inspiration.  Finally, it's hit.  We went to a local coffee house where the walls are made up of reclaimed barge board in various colors.  We both liked the look of it, and I thought that the various colors could tie together the colors in the room.

It's hard to tell from picture, but there is a lot of distressing and color vation in the different boards.

I thought about using real wood, but again didn't want the cost, the hassle, or the permanency.  Then, another inspiration:  Faux bois---I could fake it like Eddie Ross did on this table top:

 

Fromwww.eddieross.com

And, finally, this morning, I found the perfect color inspiration in this faux barn door from the blog, Young House Love:

from young house love

So, this weekend, I'm gonna bust out all my half used paints in the right colors,

and my rocking grain roller,

a little polyurethane for protection and ease of cleaning, and then get this backsplash party rolling.

I'll keep you posted.

Plates + Hangers = Instant Backsplash

Here's a sneak peek at my latest project in collaboration with my friend Donna. We're working on a fabulous pad for a single girl, but with a twist--the twist is that the pad is a rental. Because of this, we're obviously avoiding making any major changes to the cottage apartment. One of the biggest problem areas is the kitchen, as is typical in a lot of rentals. The cabinets are oak in a medium finish and the counter top is a cream formica---not exciting finishes, but I've seen (and lived with) worse. Furthermore, there is no backsplash, just 4 inches of formica and sheetrock. Luckily, our single girl loves blue and white and had a large collection of plates. A coat of a beautiful soft blue paint, some plates hangers, a few nails, and voila: an instant backsplash. For interest, I used a variety of different patterns. I also overlapped some of the pieces, but there was an ulterior motive: the large bowl is hanging over an outlet and hiding the plug to the coffee maker!

In this case, because of the nature of the apartment and the client's taste, we've gone for a cottage inspired look, but the idea could be adapted for other styles. We're putting the finishing touches on the rest of the cottage and I should have some pics by this weekend.