Why We Chose Penny Tile For The Kitchen Backsplash

We did it. Since this morning’s post we made one more trip out to the tile store and at last made a tile decision (we ordered over 50 square feet of it to do the whole wall above the stove where we will add open shelves and a vent hood as mentioned here). Our process was visiting a bunch of small local shops and big box stores simply to see what was out there. And we had the most luck finding stuff that we enjoyed at a local tile store (The Tile Shop). The only problem was that many of their vivid offerings were nearly $20 a square foot, which can work if you are doing a standard backsplash – but can certainly break the budget on a whole wall (50 square feet x $20 = $1000!).

Here are a few things that we enjoyed, but the prices simply were not right for our budget (this smoky gray skinny tile was $17.99 per square foot):

This moody gray glass subway tile was $18.99:

This fairly cracked glass tile was $16.99 (it looked like a mixture of marble and ice cubes):

This soft compact glass mosaic tile was $14.99:

Then in the back of the store in the clearance section we came across the prettiest softest gray penny tile with such a smooth finish and such clean circular shapes that it certainly felt modern but not too cold – simply clean and sleek sufficient while still saying soft and reading more as a texture than a big repeating tile on the wall.

And priced at simply $5.59 a square foot it was certainly a lot less of a budget breaker (50 square feet x $5.59 = $279).

But we should tell the whole Tile Shop story. At John’s dad’s recommendation, we used The Tile Shop as a resource when we did our bathroom remodel in our first house (they were truly helpful when it came to finding the right grout and supplies) and they later became sponsors of ours. So the coolest thing about finding our tile there was that they offer all YHL readers (including us) a 10% off discount on anything in their store (or online) with the code YHL10. So we scored an additional 10% off.

Since it is going to be a main focal element in the kitchen, we figured it would not be a drop in the bucket project, but we are glad to come in way under $300 for the tile and save money on labor by installing it all ourselves (with details as we go of course). We certainly think it is going to be one of those makes-the-room choices. So excited.

Oh and here is how Clara reacted to it. First she walked by and coyly glanced over at it…

Then, naturally, she petted it.

It is quite smooth. She’s a fan, simply like mom & dad. Incidentally, it is porcelain – so it is fully non-porous, which means it is extremely stain resistant and we will be using stain resistant grout and sealer so it’ll all be pleasant and protected against any kitchen spatter. Because I would not wanna be the sucker in charge of scrubbing all that grout all the way up the wall with a toothbrush for years to come. Thank goodness for no-maintenance sealer. We used it in our last bathroom and did not clean the shower tiles for over a year – no kidding. More on that here (you can even reapply it once a year to keep things über protected).

But back to Clara. After we went to the front counter and paid for everything she said “all done” and took my hand and led me right back…

… to the tile display in the back of the store. For one last pet-session. Is she a good tile salesman or what?

But let us rewind. Before pulling the trigger and whipping out the ol’ wallet we ran home with our sample and googled “penny tile” simply to check out a few other kitchens with something similar. Here is a pleasant photo that shows how it might look behind floating shelves. And here is some all-the-way-to-the-ceiling penny tile (of course this stuff is a lot bolder and more metallic than the finish we chose).

Here is some penny tile that looks nearly identical to the one we picked (found here). Ignore the fact that this is a bathroom and try to picture some dark cork floors, white cabinetry, and chunky white open shelves paired up with it. Yum. See what I mean about it becoming sort of a texture in the room instead of immediately reading like a big shiny wall of tile? I enjoy that it’ll layer in with all the other stuff (open shelves, range hood, cabinetry, counters, cork floors, soft grellow walls, the fireplace, art, window treatments, lighting, etc).

Here is our tile sample getting cozy on the faux-sheepskinned ottoman in the living room. Looks right at home, right?

And here is our sample tile paired with the cork flooring sample, the swatch card with our kitchen wall color, a Klean Kanteen (to represent our stainless appliances) and a white ceramic tile (to represent the white cabinets – once we paint them). Can you see it coming together? We could not be more excited.

But before we can get our tile on (and share all the as-we-go steps), we have to do fairly much everything else in the kitchen (the backsplash is one of the last things that goes in after cabinets are set and appliances are installed and counters are in, etc). We are planning to do some other demo/appliance moving tonight though, so if all goes well we will have those pics to share tomorrow! Slowly but surely. Or as Clara says “slowly, slowly” (if you ask her what a sloth says, that is her answer).

Has anyone else picked up tile (for the backsplash, floor, bathroom, etc) lately? Did you also hit up at least five stores and even check things out online before pulling the trigger? We never spend this much time on things like paint (which can easily be redone) – but things like tile and flooring and counters certainly seem to take us some time! How do the people on Design Star make all these decisions in five minutes? Perhaps because it is not a room they in fact have to live in for years to come? Perhaps that is where the pressure comes in? Then again, they do have Vern and Candice and Genevieve judging them on national television. So yeah, there is that kind of pressure…