the backsplash

So, we've been living with it for over a month now, and I don't think it was a ginormous mistake. This was the fear that had paralyzed me for months. I wanted to put a backsplash into the kitchen, but was terrified that I would make a huge mistake in material or installation. Finally, back in August, I got the nerve up and took the dive. Cori and I went back and forth for months about what we wanted. Throw in the extra consideration that we will eventually be selling this house, and I was in agony. In the end I played it safe, pretty traditional. Again, just wanted to stay in theme with the other super traditional finishings around the house that we don't intend changing. My dream kitchen would have creamy white cabinets and a sparkling glass backsplash with a light contrasting color on the countertops. Everything in our kitchen now is very dark and rich. So we kept the wall colors light and wanted the backsplash to follow suit. It doesn't have a huge impact, but I was intentionally staying away from a bold statement. It is definitely an improvement from the before:

Using the tile saw ended up being no big deal which is good because there was a lot of cutting to do.

My favorite part of this project is the tiled-in window pane. I couldn't get a great picture of it with this camera - shooting into the light and all. But the window sill just makes me so happy.

I nearly had a full blown panic attack when we started drilling into the cabinets to install this hardware. Definitely letting Cori fly solo on that job the next time. All in all, it was a great project to take on. My self confidence in these kind of DIY projects has climbed significantly. We don't plan on doing any more projects in this house, but I'm stock piling ideas for a future dream home.