2.26.2012

Will break d.i.y. rules for subway tile...



My parents came to visit this weekend.  My dad is a handy guy. 
I got my act together and had supplies on hand just in case he
was inspired to do some d.i.y. for me {his only favorite daughter}.


When we purchased our current home almost 11 months ago, it came with maple cabinets
and an island painted navy blue and granite, lots of granite. I knew the custom
cabinets were not reaching their full potential.  Before moving in we
had the cabinets painted Benjamin Moore's White Dove and I changed the hardware out
to a combination of handles and knobs in antique brass from Restoration Hardware.

The kitchen showed great improvement but the granite tile backsplash just 
didn't make sense for the classic white kitchen-look I was going for.

This weekend, my dad installed a subway tile backsplash, right over the 
existing tile........yep, you read that right, we tiled right over tile.....


Because the original tile was flush and quite straight, and removing the granite 
would have been laborious and have made a great mess....we chose to break
all sorts of d.i.y. rules, cause we are rebellious like that {well not my straight-laced papa, but
yours truly who took full responsibility as the mortgage payer}.


The photo above is proof of our great rebellion!


I chose to do a gray grout - I love the definition.  


What a difference $50 worth of subway tile from Home Depot can make!
***
Now, for the winners of the Flea Market Style magazines.....

Rachel Pallas &Shannon!
** Please email me at jillbeth{at}aol{dot}com with your addy
and I will get you your magazine! Congratulations!



41 comments on "Will break d.i.y. rules for subway tile..."
  1. WOW! That looks fantastic. When we remodeled our bathroom, our tilers applied new subway tile right over the existing tile and it worked great. I love your subway tile with the grey grout. Very classy!
    Claudia

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  2. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT! I'm pinning these photos for sure!

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  3. I love it and I don't blame you for doing it that way. No one would ever know.

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  4. It looks great! And I'm really impressed with your dad's skills that he could accomplish that in a weekend. What a great guy :)

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  5. LOVE the new tile! And love the fact you just tiled right over the granite!!;) AND Yay so glad I won too! Thanks Jill~ xo Rachel :)

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  6. I now believe that anything is possible! It's absolutely gorgeous! You and your Pops did great.

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  7. Subway tile has always been on my wish list. I have wood cabinets and I just don't know if it would look good. Yours turned out awesome! Yay for handy dads

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  8. Jill I love the tile, it looks great! I also love the bottle of Erath Pinot Noir, one of my Oregon favorites! Cheers!

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  9. This looks a million times better! I'm not a fan of granite backsplashes as they look too modern to me.

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  10. Congrats to the winners of FMS!! Im off "AGAIN" to try and find the FMS. I think I have looked 20places..
    Your backspash is beautiful!!!Did the thickness of the granite cause problems at the ends where your c-top stops? Nice job..

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  11. Looks so good I'm pinning it! Shortcuts can be lifesavers!Looks fantastic. I hope you'll come link this up at my linky party tonight. Link up once, appear on 4 blogs!

    ♥Linsey

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  12. Beautiful! What a difference it makes to your kitchen. You can't ever go wrong with white subway tile!

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  13. Oh my goodness Jill, what a beautiful and simple change! Love it, and so smart to just tile over the existing stuff! Yeah for dads!

    Allie

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  14. I'm in LOVE! Great job! We are just starting a little reno in our kitchen and will be putting up a subway tile back splash.. I hadn't thought about gray grout.... I might have to think about it. Great work!

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  15. What an improvement!! I am not a fan of granite countertops AND granite backsplash. Just too much. ;) Glad it worked out to tile right over the granite. :)

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  16. Looks absolutely gorgeous!!! Love dads who get our diy projects done!!!

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  17. OH, you have no idea how happy this post has made me. I ahve been wanting to take out my granite backsplash (previous owners)and put in subway tile but did not want to deal with the mess, plus dh says "no one gets rid of granite". Ha!! Just showed him your post and now we are all set to tile over our granite with white subway tiles. Thank you, thank you and thank you!!

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  18. Love it Jill! It looks great! I'm so happy you did gray grout - gives it a warmer feel!

    Didn't comment the other day on the awesome cover shot on FMS! What fun! I need to pick up a mag!

    Meg

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  19. Love it, you rebel, you! :)

    xoxo laurie

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  20. I love the look. I have the white cabinets and the beige granite. The subway tile would work for me. I noticed the darker grout immediately and love it.

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  21. Looks great. I am so excited to find and follow new special places. I have no doubt I will enjoy engaging and supporting this wonderful space you have created. Thank you for sharing, I am so glad to meet you. I hope you will find some time to come visit me soon. Cheers SpecialK XoXo

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  22. Looks great!!! I have that same granite which I love but it is busy. I have been looking for tile my backsplash for a couple of years and finally settled on white subway tile which my husband doesn't like. I'm going to show him your pictures and maybe he'll like the contrast of the grout you picked too.

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  23. Whoa....smashing!!! Looks so much better.

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  24. Wow Jill, that looks AMAZING!! I have been contemplating putting in white subway tiles in my kitchen (when we finally decide to update it) I always thought that I wanted white grout with white tile...but I think you have converted me. I love the contrast!!! Great work!

    ♥ Ashley

    atparsons.blogspot.com

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  25. Oh my goodness, that subway tile looks gorgeous - and perfect - in your kitchen!

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  26. Oh yes....YES....Y-E-S....hahahaha....One of the ONLY times grey is good though....**wink**....!!

    Cheers,
    Tamarah :o)

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  27. Hi! I'm Gennie! I've never posted here before. I just want to say that I think you made the right choice going with the subway tile. It looks awesome! It so helps to have a handy man in the family. So grateful my hubby is handy. It has helped us save so much money over the years. Love your kitchen too!

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  28. Subway tiles are a common sight in bathrooms but, I think, they also look good in the kitchen. Tile over tile. Hmm…that was quite a risk Jill if it’s convenient, I could only give my support. Hehe. However, I’m concerned with its stability. In any case, with your new backsplash, you are a step closer to the white-kitchen look you want. :D

    Alana Geikie

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  29. Hi,

    I have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could e-mail me?

    Brian

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  30. You’re right. Taking down the original tile would only take most of your time and can be messy for a DIY project. Tiling over tiles is actually practical, and I’ve seen quite a few people do it for the sake of quick remodeling. They didn’t seem to have a problem, so all I can offer you now is my late congratulations. =)

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  31. Nice article and great knowledge. Thanks for the share. I love this story and enjoy with your words!
    subway tile

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  32. Wow!!!looking great.one of the beautiful bathroom and kitchen I've ever seen. nice info and also nice share.
    subway tile

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  33. Hello! I'm considering doing this over my existing tile backsplash. I was wondering how you treated the edges? I see that the tile didn't quite cover your granite on the edge when you were installing, what solution did you come up with for that? Any info would be appreciated!

    Thank you!

    __

    www.daytodayblogcom

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  34. what did you do to cover the edge?

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  35. Any chance you remember the name of the color of the grout you used?

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