At the Finish Line!

After many months putting together all the details we finished the last big project, the backsplash!  We had found back splash tile on sale at HomeDepot for $3.67 per square foot. This was a great deal so we went to great lengths to get enough tile to complete the job! We called and visited Home Depots all over the area and got more than enough to finish the kitchen.

We ended up with a teal glass color tile that makes the teal spots in the granite pop. We used a tile adhesive and a trowel to stick the tile on the wall of the kitchen. For all the edges and around light switches we needed to cut individual tiles. We used a hand glad tile cutter that snapped the tiles smaller to fit the spaces we needed. We also grouted the tile by rubbing it on the tile with a rubber tile float and wiping it off the tile surfaces with a wet sponge. Then we needed to seal the edges where the tile met the granite. We used painters tape first; this created a clean line when we pulled off the tape.

The tile made the kitchen finally look complete! We still have to install the under the cabinet lighting and finish some moldings by the door, but everything else is finally done! We added handles to the cabinets and drawers, which cost about $60 per box at Lowe's and we used exactly 3 boxes. This relatively small cost really made the cabinets look great and blend in with the stainless steel appliances.

This kitchen renovation actually took several months to complete, my boyfriend and I both worked full time and both taking classes so this didn’t help with timing of course. All the late nights and time without a functioning kitchen were worth it. We have a beautiful kitchen and we were able to get nicer appliances, flooring, and countertops by doing all of the other parts on our own!