We finally made a decision. After one more trip to the tile store this morning we picked a tile and ordered just over 50 square feet to cover the entire wall above the stove, where we’ll add open shelves and a vent hood. To find the right look and price we visited several local shops and big-box stores; the best designs we liked were at a local tile shop, but many of their nicest tiles were priced around $18–$20 per square foot. That’s reasonable for a traditional backsplash, but it adds up fast on a whole wall (50 sq ft × $20 = $1,000).
We found some beautiful, higher-priced options that didn’t fit our budget:
A smoky gray skinny tile that was $17.99 per square foot.
A moody gray glass subway tile priced at $18.99 per square foot.
A cracked-glass-style tile with a marble-and-ice aesthetic for $16.99 per square foot.
But tucked in the clearance section we found a soft gray penny tile with a very smooth finish and perfectly round shapes. It felt modern without being cold — more of a subtle texture than a bold, shiny wall. It read as clean and sleek while still warm and understated.
At just $5.59 per square foot, this penny tile is far more budget-friendly (50 sq ft × $5.59 = $279), and it still delivers the visual impact we want without blowing the budget.
Full disclosure about our tile-source story: we’ve used The Tile Shop before during a bathroom remodel and they helped us with grout and supplies. They later became sponsors of our site, and they offer a 10% discount to our readers and to us with the code YHL10. That lowered the price even more on this purchase, which was nice.
Because this wall will be a main focal point in the kitchen, we wanted a choice that felt deliberate. Choosing an affordable penny tile lets us save on materials and reduce labor costs by installing it ourselves. We’ll use stain-resistant grout and sealer for low maintenance. The tile is porcelain and non-porous, so it’s highly stain resistant, and with a quality grout sealer it should handle kitchen splatter without constant scrubbing. We used a no-maintenance sealer in our last bathroom and didn’t need to deep-clean the shower tiles for more than a year, which made a big difference.
Our daughter Clara had a charming reaction when we brought the sample home. First she walked by and gave it a coy glance…
Then she pet the tile to feel how smooth it was.
She’s a fan, just like we are. After we paid at the counter she even led me back to the display for a final petting session — clearly a very persuasive little tile salesman.
Before we committed, we took the sample home and searched for examples of penny tile in kitchens to see how it behaved with shelving and appliances. We looked at how penny tile can work behind floating shelves and how it can read as texture when paired with other materials. We even found images that showed penny tile all the way to the ceiling for a bolder effect, though we chose a more subtle finish for our space.
At home we tested the sample with our cork flooring sample, the paint swatch for the wall color, a stainless-steel reference (to stand in for appliances) and a white tile representing the cabinets we’ll paint. The combination felt cohesive: the penny tile softens the palette and layers well with open shelves, a range hood, white cabinetry, cork floors, warm wall color, and other finishes we plan to use.
We won’t install the backsplash until most of the kitchen is finished — cabinets, counters, and appliances need to be in place first — but we’re doing some demo and appliance moving tonight, so we should have more progress photos soon. It’s a slow, methodical process, but choosing the right tile made a big difference and we’re excited to see how it transforms the space.
Have you bought tile for a backsplash, floor, or bathroom recently? How many stores did you visit before deciding? We rarely spend this much time on paint, but finishes like tile, flooring, and countertops tend to require more thought because they’re long-term choices that define a room.