How to Paint a Tile Backsplash

Hello fabulous readers!  I am soooo excited to be sharing this awesome DIY home project with you today.  This is one I have been wanting to do for a long time, like pretty much since we moved into our house over a year and a half ago.  My dream kitchen would have white cabinets, wood butcher block counter tops, and a light seafoam green backsplash.  One of the first things we did in our house was paint the cabinets white.  Check.  When we moved in, there were already granite countertops in the kitchen and since we know this is not our forever home, it would be stupid to take out granite.  So I'm going to have to live with it.  But I wasn't necessarily stuck with the tile backsplash.  Here's what I was dealing with:

  

I knew that I didn't want to go so far as to rip out the current backsplash and re-tile.  I have never done anything like that before, and neither has Mr. B, but I really did not want to be stuck with this yucky brown for the remainder of our days here (and who knows how long that will actually be!).  So I got the idea to paint the tile to give it a whole new look.  Luckily, in our basement, I found a whole box of leftover tile left by the previous owners, so I was able to make a test strip.  I bought this paint from Martha Stewart's line:

Because the tile is not ceramic and doesn't have a shiny finish, I didn't prime, I just slapped some paint on my test strip.

I really liked the finish and I left this test strip propped up in the kitchen for a long time before I decided to take the big plunge.  With our extra time off during the summer, I decided to go for it!  First step was prep, removing outlet covers and taping off the plugs, then covering the counters with paper to prevent spillage on the granite (like the Christmas flare?):

From then, the job was pretty easy.  I gave the tile a good wipe down before painting, and got to rolling.  I used a small roller, and it took about three coats to get full coverage.  I used a small detailing brush to get in the grout and the tight spaces.  And here's the finished look!

I am absolutely thrilled with the results and I'm not exaggerating, this project was super easy and it made a HUGE impact in the overall look of the kitchen.  The whole kitchen feels lighter and more open, and definitely much more modern.  Is it a perfect look?  No, but since I know this will not be where I am living for the rest of my life, I am totally satisfied with how it came out (although I will say it has made me hate the granite even more than I already did!).  So what do we think?  Like the look of painted tile?  I hope so!

If you want details on my recipe utensil holder, click here for the tutorial, and if you want to know what I'm baking with those yummy ingredients on my kitchen counter, come back later this week!