Kitchen upgrades make a difference

Once the dust settled from moving into our newly purchased home, we found ourselves free to make small updates to our house to make it our own. We had an overwhelming urge to put “our mark” or “personal touch” on things.

One of the things I love most about our home is the kitchen. Most of the older homes in our area have galley kitchens meaning they are small in space and limited to the most common upgrades you frequently see. Our kitchen, however, is very open. This was one of the main reasons we were drawn to the home when we were house hunting. It overlooks the spacious backyard, which is shaded in part by a mature silver maple tree. I love that I can be in the kitchen and my 4-year-old son can be in the backyard. I can keep a watchful eye on him while he enjoys being outdoors.

Upon purchasing our home, we immediately began making updates. We replaced the flooring throughout the living room and put fresh coats of paint throughout the entire house, but the kitchen was the main part of the home we focused the most. We ripped countertops out, laminate flooring came up, and we painted cabinets. We installed all new appliances, made room to install a microwave above the stove and changed the outdated light fixtures. I love that we made our kitchen 100 percent our own.

One update I want to focus on is installing a backsplash. I consider this part of our kitchen to be the part that makes everything come together. Installing a backsplash is a fairly easy project but can be time-consuming so take that into consideration before you begin. If you are like me, consider ordering take-out over the span of this project. With the trouble it takes to cook, I did not like the thought of creating two messes.

We started our project by picking out the type of tile we were going to use. I chose to stick to two home improvement stores, Home Depot and Lowe’s. I only looked at those two simply because I didn’t want to make the search for tile more of a drawn-out process than it needed to be. I knew what I liked and what colors would work for our kitchen. In the end, I chose tile from Lowe’s. In my opinion, Lowe’s had more choices and options. I chose a tile that had a slate appearance; I wanted something that was neutral and going to match the grey tones I had already established in the kitchen.

I knew I wanted the backsplash to go pretty close to the cabinets hanging directly above and figured it would be about the length of one pre-packaged backsplash tile square (about 12 inches high). On a side note, Lowe’s will cut tile for you. I can’t tell you how handy this was.

After measuring, I had them make the cuts I needed. They limit it to just a few cuts per purchase, but I was able to sweet talk my way into a few extra. I used premix tile mortar to stick the tiles to the wall; going around the outlets (removing the covers). Once I had the slate backsplash down, I decided to add a splash of color with a blue/grey glass tile to the top of the backsplash. The color makes the overall backsplash stand out and ties the entire kitchen together.

Once the backsplash was completely dry (about a day), I grouted the entire top portion of the backsplash using premixed grout. These come in different colors; I chose an off-white color. The bottom portion of the backsplash had no spaces between the slate tiles, therefore grouting was not necessary. After the grout was in, I used a wet sponge to wipe the excess off the tiles. I used a tile sealer for the slate portion of the backsplash because it is an area that will come into contact with food and water, and I didn’t want to integrity of the stone compromised. The sealer is easily applied with a brush. After everything dried, the outlet covers were screwed back in place, and our backsplash was complete.

By making small changes in your home, you can make a really big statement. One of the first things people say when they come into our home is how they love our kitchen and how “comfortable” it feels. I take pride in saying we truly are making our home our own. A backsplash can look like a daunting or overwhelming task, but with a little time and patience, you can achieve the look you are going for. Get ideas from magazines and home improvement shows, I’ve learned that it’s definitely not impossible to make a few upgrades yourself. You don’t have to depend on contractors or outside help to make your home your own.