DIY "Renters" Backsplash with Vinyl Tile

This post is brought to you from the pre-Social Home Vault. 2007 to be exact. Not only is it an old makeover, but it's not my style. At all. So why am I posting it? Because I still think it's an awesome idea and hope that some of you renters out there may appreciate this post as much as my friend did, and can put your own spin on it to make it work for your space.




Now let's go back in time, to 2007. My friend, let's call her Sarah, just moved into her first 1 bedroom basement suite. She was in love. It wasn't anything special, but it was a place to call her own, and her first place other than a dorm room outside of college. 



The kitchen was okay. Just okay. It's obviously much better than a ton of other rentals out there, but it had absolutely nothing unique to offer. A beigey colour laminate countertop, white cabinets with brushed nickel hardware, white appliances and a tile-looking vinyl floor. Not awful by any standards, but being stung by the home decor bug, Sarah was itching to do something to it. And truthfully, the only thing she could really think of doing to spruce it up was a backsplash. 
Traditional tile was out of the picture for two big reasons: budget, and, it's a rental of course! Sarah wasn't quite sure what to do, so she left it in my hands to figure out and I (not having a place of my own to decorate) was more than up for the challenge! 
Trying to stay budget and rental friendly lead us in the direction of stick on tiles that we could create a mosaic with. We checked out some online resources and found this UK company which seems to have a really great product (since 2007 there must be a slew of other companies that create something similar).
The problem with this option was that Sarah didn't want to be spending a couple hundred dollars on a kitchen she might only be in for 6 months, and she didn't want to start sticking tiles to the wall of a rental for fear of completely ruining walls that didn't belong to her.
I started researching vinyl peel and stick floor tiles for use on a backsplash and actually found a couple places where it had been done (HGTV has a couple articles on it) and figured we might as well give it a go. We really didn't have much to lose.
THE TILE: We headed to the Home Depot and chose two remarkably nice stone-finish vinyl tiles. One in a rustic brown, the other in greyish beige. The colours worked together, and best of all, tied in both the kitchen floors and the counters. While I'm all about whites, sea blues and greys, Sarah is definitely more of a beige and brown girl. She loved the colours, however if you decide to recreate the project, your colour options are pretty endless.
We bought 24 tiles in total, 12 of each colour, with the intent to cut the into 4-inch squares. They cost about 1.50/ sq foot. We rented a vinyl tile cutter and got straight to work on many hours of precise tile cutting. I'm sure you could try this with an exacto knife, but trust me, it is worth it to rent a vinyl tile cutter!
 After taping up some of our cut tile squares with scotch tape to create a mock mosaic of how it would look, Sarah and I decided that the 4-inch squares we had cut just didn't do the trick. Two inches would have been much better. Back to the cutter we went to create some 2-inch samples.
The 2-inch mosaic mock up looked much better than the 4-inch, but there was something missing. We realized this right away but after putting so much effort into creating this two-tone masterpiece, Sarah was just happy to settle with what was already done. I wasn't ready to give in just yet, so I forced us (and our bloody, blistered, ravaged hands) to make one last trip to the store.
We lucked out and found even cheaper vinyl tile (60 cents each) in a glossy black finish. Total contrast from the matte faux-stone, but we figured with such a low price, might as well buy some and see how it looked. The glossy black balanced out the earthiness of the other tile quite nicely. We only bought 6 of the black tiles because we didn't want the black to take over the kitchen. 

THE INSTALLATION: You're probably wondering how the heck we put these tiles up if we didn't want to wreck the walls. We originally wanted to find some really thin plexiglass that could be cut with an exacto knife. That way we could fit and cut it to the backsplash, screw it into the wall, and cover with the peel and stick tiles. There would only be a few holes to fill in the wall when Sarah moved out and IF the peel and stick tiles didn't work out, then we could have just nixed the whole idea. Unfortunately plexi is not only expensive but it's also much thicker than what we were looking for.
Plan B. That plastic corrugated cardboard-like stuff. I don't know what it's called but it looks like plastic cardboard. It's sold in massive sheets at Rona for about 20 bucks (and only one sheet was needed for this kitchen). It is relatively easy to cut to size using an exacto knife and they sell a bunch of colours so you can choose something that best matches your kitchen.
We created a paper template of the backsplash and then traced onto the corrugated plastic and cut. Once the multiple pieces were cut and ready, we started the peel and stick process, leaving a few spots empty so we could screw the piece into the wall (and then cover with the tile afterwards.) After many more hours of peel-and-sticking, the big backsplash pieces were done and ready to be screwed in. When it was all said and done, Sarah was a happy renter, and DIY-tooth was satisfied. Sigh.


I certainly recommend this project for anyone in a rental looking to upgrade their kitchen on a budget and, more importantlytemporarily. You're making almost no commitment because if it doesn't work out all you need to patch are a few screw holes in your wall!  We were able to do Sarah's entire kitchen backsplash for under $100. Not bad, hey?

Any great DIY rental projects you have up your sleeves?

Comments

  1. This is going to be my next project because I just LOVE this idea. I have been looking for a way to add some life my rental's (boring) kitchen and this is perfect.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so glad! Almost didn't post this as I didn't know if it was relevant or not since we aren't renters anymore, but if it helped out just one person, then I'm glad I did! Best of luck!

      Delete
    2. Do you have any ideas for sprucing up the ugly renter cabinets?

      Delete
    3. Hi Brittany - I'v enever personally tried to, but perhaps you could cover with contact paper or removable wallpaper? Worth a go! :)

      Delete
  2. This definitely helped me as well! I'm moving into a townhouse next week and I love everything BUT the kitchen because it has no life. I, of course, can't paint it but this will be number one on my DIY to do list after we are settled. Thanks for posting this after all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No worries! If you end up doing it please send me photos!

      Delete
  3. Thanks for sharing this idea. I really love the ability to remove the entire backsplash if necessary. This means I can easily change the backsplash and/or return everything to normal when I move out. Very excited to try this. =)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have NEVER heard of this solution to livening up renter kitchens, I think it's absolutely brilliant. I will definitely remember this for my next apartment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you can make use of the idea! Thanks for visiting! :)

      Delete
  5. Love this idea - since I live in a house well over 00 years old and since I am a very lucky renter, that the landlord will pretty much let em do what I want/even paint our daugters room florecent lime green. So I am planning on just attaching it to the existing backsplash - after a good srubbing. One other idea with peel and stick tile that i bet no landlord would mind you doing - put it under any sink cupboard - works a heck of a lot better that anything else.

    ReplyDelete
  6. well...I like your idea...I actually tiled pre-cut 1/4" plywood...left out the grout in places I was going to drive fasteners into the wall..drove the screws in and touched up the grout...WaLa..a REAL tile backsplash...also broke up tile remnants and created a mosaic liner...it's beautiful!(have a system to recover your fastener locations later)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be the way to do it. Pre-cut 1/4 plywood and attach it over the pre-existing walls. If you attach it directly onto the wall and the landlord doesn't like what you've done, you will be paying the bill to put the kitchen back splash back to its original material. If you don't want the extra expense or work of doing it on plywood, I would suggest putting your project in writing with examples of what the end results are going to be and getting a signed approval from the landlord. Verbal okay's don't hold up in court if the landlord doesn't want to return your security deposit.

      Delete
  7. going to do this to my apartment kitchen asap! great post! p.s. I'm a guy bitten by the decor bug!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looooooove this idea! I am a first time buyer, moving into a new townhome. Love 90% of the home. Didn't care for the backsplash in the kitchen, but wasn't a deal breaker in the purchase. Going to make this backsplash my 1st project. I sure the new backsplash in the kitchen will make me 100% satisied with my new home. Thanks for the great idea!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome! Hope it worked out for you! Send pics if you have them!

      Delete
  9. I think this vinyl looks great. Especially for a mudroom or high traffic, dirty area. Would totally consider using it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for sharing this idea, Very excited to try this.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for this. I have been renovating my kitchen myself and the last thing I need to do is the tile. This has been very helpful! I may use the exact same tile colour.
    Luxury Vinyl Tiles Calgary

    ReplyDelete
  12. Pretty sure the plastic stuff is called polycarbonate, I'm pretty sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I actually think it's called coroplast which I believe is short for corrugated plastic! :)

      Delete
  13. Wow! That's such an ingenious idea! Though my local Lowe's and Home Depot don't carry coroplast and I'll have to get it shipped, I am definitely going to do this project! I found a great rustic kitchen from which to base my faux design, and depending on how the coroplast works for my backplash, I may try it elsewhere in my apartment. I'll start this weekend with a bit of paint and the floor panels. I hope to be able to show the finished before/after and will give you a shout out if all goes well.

    ReplyDelete
  14. That is great Gabriel! Please let me know when you post pictures! Would love to see :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Jen,
    This is a great idea, a few question if you do not mind answering them.
    So did you nail the cardboard in the wall and then glued the vinyl? how did you place the corrugated? screw or nails? how many? around corners, in middle, all over... sorry so many question but i really want to do this as i also rent and hate the plain color. what did you use to glue the vinyl?
    Thank you, hope to hear from you :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lolla! After cutting the corrugated plastic to the size of my backsplash, I stuck all the vinyl tiles on except for in the 4 corners and one in the middle. Once fully tiled, I screwed the plastic pieces into the wall (I had screws on hand but you could try nails). Once the screws were in, I stuck the final vinyl tiles over the corners I had left blank for the screws. Hope that helps!

      Delete
  16. As a wife to an Active Duty Soldier, mom to 7 and we reside on post, I love this idea!!! I will be doing this in our new home not only in our kitchen but also in the bathrooms. Once completed, I will send you pictures for sure!!! Thank you again!.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome! SO great to hear! Would love to see pictures :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for your comment! You made my day :)

Popular Posts