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Why We Chose Penny Tile For Our Kitchen Backsplash

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

Here are a few things that we loved, but the prices just weren’t right for our budget (this smoky gray skinny tile was $17.99 per square foot):

1899 Tile Tiny

This moody gray glass subway tile was $18.99:

1899 Tile

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

1699 Tile Glass

This soft tiny glass mosaic tile was $14.99:

1499 Tile

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 definitely felt modern but not too cold – just clean and sleek enough while still saying soft and reading more as a texture than a big repeating tile on the wall.

Penny Tile Display

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

559 Price Tag For Ours

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 really 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’s going to be a main focal element in the kitchen, we figured it wouldn’t be a drop in the bucket project, but we’re happy 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 definitely think it’s going to be one of those makes-the-room choices. So excited.

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

Clara Tile1

Then, naturally, she petted it.

Clara Petting Tile

It’s very smooth. She’s a fan, just like mom & dad. Incidentally, it’s porcelain – so it’s completely non-porous, which means it is extremely stain resistant and we’ll be using stain resistant grout and sealer so it’ll all be nice 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 didn’t 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…

Clara Petting Tile Again

… 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’s rewind. Before pulling the trigger and whipping out the ol’ wallet we ran home with our sample and googled “penny tile” just to check out a few other kitchens with something similar. Here’s a nice photo that shows how it might look behind floating shelves. And here’s 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’s 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 love 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’s our tile sample getting cozy on the faux-sheepskinned ottoman in the living room. Looks right at home, right?

Penny Tile1

Pennytile2

And here’s 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 couldn’t be more excited.

Counters5

But before we can get our tile on (and share all the as-we-go steps), we have to do pretty 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’re planning to do some other demo/appliance moving tonight though, so if all goes well we’ll have those pics to share tomorrow! Slowly but surely. Or as Clara says “slowly, slowly” (if you ask her what a sloth says, that’s her answer).

Has anyone else bought 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 definitely seem to take us some time! How do the people on Design Star make all these decisions in five minutes? Maybe because it’s not a room they actually have to live in for years to come? Maybe that’s where the pressure comes in? Then again, they do have Vern and Candice and Genevieve judging them on national television. So yeah, there’s that kind of pressure…

Comments

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Maybe around January? Since we’re doing it all ourselves and have a huge list of major projects (add a peninsula, get new counters and floors, paint the cabinets, retile the backsplash, etc) it’s gonna take some time. Our last kitchen took 113 days to complete and we had a ton of hired help on that- so I bet this one will take longer because it’s bigger and we’re doing more on our own…

      xo,
      s

  5. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    I love it! White kitchens feel so clean and fresh to me! And you can change the decor up and completely change the way the room feels without changing anything major at all.

    Dana over at House Tweaking is using a really similar penny tile in her bathroom!

    Reply

  6. jennifer says

    i love penny tiles! if i ever have to remodel a kitchen again, i want to use those. in our last remodel we used white subway tiles, but penny tiles seem so much more fun!

    Reply

    • kristy says

      I was just going to say Dana @ House Tweaking is using the same tile!

      I’m lobbying for the green-ish penny tile for the flooring in our upcoming bathroom remodel. I saw it at overstock.com, and will definitely price compare with The Tile Shop before we purchase!

  8. Tae says

    I love the idea of open shelving, and the penny tile is going to look so good!! Are you planning to add an extra beam to the kitchen like the photo in your post this morning? Is there just that one beam running through the kitchen right now?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      There are actually three running through so we think we’ll just leave them all where they are (adding another one would mean spacing them all out again).

      xo,
      s

  10. Jen M says

    Oh, love that backsplash! Dana over at House Tweaking will be using the exact same tiles on her bathroom floor. I even think she’s using the same colour.

    Reply

  11. Jill says

    I’ve been a huge fan of your fantastically informative blog for a long time now. Figured it was time I broke the silence and gave you some props! The penny tile is fabulous. I can’t wait to see the completed kitchen! Keep up the great work, you two. :)

    Reply

  12. holly says

    fabulous!! i can’t wait to see it all come together. i have a feeling, if you’re anything like me, you’re sitting all criss-cross applesauce on the floor staring and smiling at your little sample scene. you are, aren’t you? you are.

    we had a big tile choosing experience last month, thanks to two tiny leaks under the shower pan in our master bathroom. to fix them, we had to demo most of the bathroom, so while we were at it, we gave the whole room a facelift. take a look and let me know what you think! i’d love to hear your opinion!!

    http://shootingallens.posterous.com/introducing-the-new-master-bathroom

    Reply

  13. Cortney says

    So exciting can’t wait to see it finished! I love the shape, I have a thing for circles, well anything geometric. I actually have never seen this type of tile before. I love seeing everything all together.

    Question if u get a chance? I remember reading somewhere you made your sheepskin rugs? What is the name of the type of fabric you used? Thanks so much!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I don’t know the name but I just went to a big fabric store (sort of like a warehouse) and felt them all until I found a faux fur that felt the most thick and plush so it would be convincing. So sorry I don’t have more info for ya!

      xo,
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Ooh that’s gorgeous! So sorry you didn’t know about the discount! We always list all of them on our sidebar with a title above it that says “Discounts” and mention them in our monthly sponsor posts – hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  17. Bree says

    It looks like you guys are right on track for another over-Christmas-major-reno, lol!! Love the new choices and I’m totally excited to see you guys tackle the kitchen!!!

    Reply

  19. Cara says

    Love your choice! We recently added a tile backsplash in our kitchen and we purchased everything from the Tile Shop too. We fell in love with a gorgeous tumbled travertine subway tile they had and they not only matched the big box store prices, they beat them! So impressed with their customer service!

    Reply

  20. Lindsay @ A Design Story says

    You guys crack me up.. I just picked out that same tile today for a client… so funny! P.S. Your Home Depot Gal is the same gal I use {and my dad’s construction comapny uses}. I am in Sarasota, Fl and I always call her for my cabinets and they ship them to my project here! Funny…

    Reply

  22. Emily Z says

    Love the tile!

    We were actually looking for a greyish greenish blueish tile that was glass, but it was way out of our price range.

    While wandering through Goodwill I came across two full boxes of tile that was ceramic, but a similar color to what I had wanted. Ten bucks a box. Fifty percent off. I tiled the whole kitchen for ten dollars of tile. We love it. Makes the kitchen feel finished.

    Reply

  23. lauren says

    i love this blog for inspiration. We are closing on our first house on November 22, and i want to take some of the existing cabinetry down for the open shelving too…or just get new pulls and paint the cabinet. Loving the backsplash. And thanks for showing me that its not TOO complicated to remove cabinets/pantrys. (though Im sure its harder than you make it out to be)

    Reply

  25. rosie says

    I feel so in-young-house-love-style! We did our backsplash in our kitchen with a combo of handmade subway tile (from the Habitat Restore for a whopping $12) and the penny round from the Tile Shop (about $60 with the YHL 10% discount) a few months ago. Our tile is all white and we absolutely love it and I love the texture and interest the little circles make in the all white palette :)

    Reply

  27. Lauren says

    Love the Tile Shop! My hubs even did their tiling class before putting in our backsplash. And yes, we agonized over that choice. Looking at several different stores AND online, but we kept coming back to the greens and grays that we went with. Can’t wait to see your progress…and I’m so glad we’re done! Bathrooms are our next big project.

    Reply

  28. Rachel says

    Perfection! It is going to look amazing! I can totally see myself going for this type of tile in our next kitchen. (We chose white subway tile this time around–can’t beat 22 cents a pop!)

    Reply

  31. Katie says

    Love it! In fact my Hubby and I were looking at that same tile about a month ago for our bathroom which is the exact same layout as your first houses bathroom. : ) I just can’t decide if that is better for the floors or the walls in that tiny bathroom space…?! Any help or thoughts would be awesome!

    Good luck with your kitchen!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, it would be gorgeous as either! Maybe do the floor and go with white subway tile for the walls (since that doesn’t work as well on the floor)? Or go with it on the walls and do some of that awesome dark brown wood-looking tile (it comes in planks and looks so cool)!

      xo,
      s

    • Katie says

      I think you’re right, the floor would be best, and honestly, I was think white subway tiles for the walls, but we’ll see what we end up with, I will send pictues too when it’s done because your bathroom remodel was the first post I ever read on your blog! : )

      Thank you!!

  33. Rachel says

    I LOVE the tile choice, it will look amazing with the grellow walls! I can’t wait to see the progress as we are planning on updating our kitchen in the near future :)

    Reply

  34. Elizabeth says

    Love it! The penny tile is so interesting and will be a great texture for the room. Can’t wait to see it all come together!

    Reply

  35. Jessica says

    Love what is coming together. Can’t wait to see it all.
    Do you ever want to change the wall color? Now that you have had it up and you are changing everything else in the kitchen, do you get the itch to change the paint too?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re currently super in love with the wall color but have agreed that since it’s the easiest thing to change at any point, we won’t make any decisions that hinge on the wall color (ex: we won’t pick a counter that complements the walls since they might change, so we’ll just pick our favorite counter and go for it and repaint the walls if need be). So far everything seems to lay in well with the swatch on top of the cork and the tile- but we’ll have to see where we end up!

      xo,
      s

  36. laxsupermom says

    Love the penny round tile! What luck to find it clearanced and for there to be enough tile available for you. I love hitting the clearanced section of our local tile store(Vestal Tile,) but it’s tough to find a clearanced tile that has enough availability to do large projects. The tile looks so good with the cork! Can’t wait to see it in.

    Reply

  37. Janelle D says

    BALLSY tile choice. Can I say ballsy? I think the light color you chose will keep it from looking too busy and with the smooth white cabinetry to balance the pattern it’ll look fabulous. :)

    Reply

  38. Amanda says

    EEEH! I can’t wait for the next kitchen post (tomorrow, tomorrow, the sun post will come out tomorrow)

    I’m not sure if that [funny] strikeout is going to work. We’ll have to see.

    I also can’t wait to get my own house/condo … place I don’t rent so I can redo it. If only I could convince my landlord to compensate me for redoing things … :P

    Reply

  40. Dina says

    Yay for penny tile! I love this stuff! Can’t wait to see what you guys do with it!

    Word of advice I received from a pro: the ‘seams’ can get tricky because there aren’t any spacers like you’d use for standard tiles. If you’re too close or too far they can look obvious from a distance. You can kind of see it a bit in the close up picture you have from The Tile Shop where the two tiles meet.

    The same pro also suggested trying a ‘subway’ layout to randomly space your vertical seams.

    I did my mother’s mudroom walls with this advice, and I was OCD careful, and also planned the horizontal seams to be behind her shelves wherever possible. In the spots that aren’t 100% perfect you can’t even tell because they’re hidden!

    Reply

  42. Megan says

    We just used the greenish version of that tile (bought from overstock, actually) in our kitchen. Love the gray, we have maple cabinets, so I reluctantly decided we needed a color. We also went from counter to ceiling and I think it looks great. Still modern but also sort of homey. And it was surprisingly easy to put up. Except for filling in the edges with the tiny half tiles. Curious to see how you’ll tackle that!

    Reply

  43. Carol N. says

    The song on the Target commercials (with Sabrina Soto) is playing in my head, “I’m in Love” with this tile! I just ordered some for the bathroom floor (crema marfil marble) and fireplace face (stacked granite split face) and it seemed to take me forever of looking at Pinterest and other places online. Love the penny tile and I almost went that route on the fireplace but decided that I had enough circles in that room already.

    Reply

  44. Mandy says

    OMG I LOVE all the stuff you have picked out so far. I can’t wait til you finish the kitchen, so I can move in!! :) j/k…kinda…

    Reply

  45. Theresa says

    can’t wait to see this up on your walls! i love following your step by step renovations of a room.

    p.s.- have you ever caught clara’s sloth impression on video? it sounds hilarious!

    Reply

  46. Allyn says

    Hooray for Eric Carle!
    And hooray for that tile! SO fun! I just want to reach out and touch it (thatswhatshesaid). As much as I love white subway tile, I’m super excited to see how something a little bit funkier is going to turn out. Way to be bold(er)!

    Reply

    • Devon @ Green House, Good Life says

      I think that’s the second season of Sarah’s House (the one where they found the 1970s suburban house, and Tommy said he passed, like, three working farms on the way to it). I watched the whole season online (hgtv.com, probably), so you should still be able to find it. (BTW, does anyone know if season 3 is coming stateside — by which I mean “online” –anytime soon?)

    • Tabitha says

      The third season has already been on… It’s when she redoes the country house and Sarah’s Cottage was the last set that played on HGTV in the US… you can probably check the Canadian website to see if they have episodes and her website has all the direct links… along with her portfolio (which is my favorite part)

  48. Loren says

    Awesome, I’d hedged my bets you were going to go with some kind of octagon tile before I even saw this post. Penny tile = close enough.
    Love it.

    Reply

    • yellowRose says

      i was thinking the same thing – i remember a reader redesign where they used a gorgeous hexagon/octagon (bee related anyway) tile in the bathroom and i was sure you guys would have been thinking of it when it came to tile choices

  49. kathleen says

    I was looking for a circular tile backsplash for our kitchen and the one i found at home depot was not glossy enough for me. I think it’s the matte kind for bathroom floors. This tile in white will work perfect for us! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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