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):
This moody gray glass subway tile was $18.99:
This pretty cracked glass tile was $16.99 (it looked like a mixture of marble and ice cubes):
This soft tiny glass mosaic tile was $14.99:
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.
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).
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…
Then, naturally, she petted it.
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…
… 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?
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.
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…
Katy. says
We used the EXACT same penny tile in lt blue from The Tile Shop for our backsplash and I loved it! I did the whole project myself, no Hubs help required. We have since bought another home and rented out the last one and our renters said the tile was one of the things that made them choose our house. Great choice! I would recommend a tile snapper tool if you don’t already have one. The pennies are very easy to trim. Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tile snapper recommendation!
xo,
s
Katie says
That is the exact tile I used in our kitchen for the backsplash. It was a great price for a great look! We also have white cabinets and grayish granite countertops with dark floors. If it’s anything like mine, your kitchen is going to look awesome!
Heidi P. says
Thank you! I’ve been struggling forEVer with the idea of tiling anything in the kitchen because of the caulk/grout idea. (I hate having to clean caulk ’cause it’s sticky/grippy.)
Susie says
Clara has excellent taste!
Amanda says
Love the tile! I have gone to our local carpet store and requested if they have any leftover glass mosiac tile from bigger projects they have completed. Someone else’s leftovers have become wonderful (and cheaper) backsplahes for our bathrooms.
Valerie says
We recently redid our kitchen and got penny tile from the Tile Shoppe too (I think the color we got was called ‘milk’ or something like that)! It totally wasn’t what we thought we wanted but I love it. That is, I love it currently sitting in the box. We haven’t actually put it up yet.
Maura says
We spent months pricing tile and then another three weekends making it happen. One of our hardest, most meticulous projects to date but we LOVE it. http://coleandmaura.blogspot.com/2011/02/project-backsplash-mission-complete.html
YoungHouseLove says
That’s amazing!
xo,
s
Allison says
Hey there! I posted the other day about the shower I tiled for the house we are building. Just wanted to share the floor I just did. I love it except for the grout color that didn’t match the sample!
http://mattandallisonkelly.blogspot.com/2011/10/tile-floor.html
We’re planning on having a white vanity with Ikea butcher block counter.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow, looks amazing!
xo,
s
aimee says
Thats the exact same penny tile we used for our kitchen backsplash! It turned out amazing and I am in LOVE with it. Hope you love yours as much as me :)
Cinderella Becky says
This is the first time I’ve commented but I’m a HUGE fan & read your blog too much. I LOVE the penny tile – especially the goldish(?) metal around each piece. It adds a really texture to the smooth tile. I love whites & grays in the kitchen – they’re timeless. Great find!
Lisa says
Love the tile selection. I found this picture on Michele Dunker Interiors website http://www.micheledunkerinteriors.com/portfolio/1.php
Simply classic and beautiful!
YoungHouseLove says
So pretty!
xo,
s
Felicity @ Our Little Beehive says
I loved the first photo, but I’m loving the circles too. We went to as many tile shops as we could find and brought home at least 40 samples before settling on a mini marble subway tile for our kitchen. The coolness definitely tones down the warm, off-white cabinets and the super-spotted granite counters our previous owners installed. I couldn’t be happier with our choice. I hope yours works out just as well!
http://www.ourlittlebeehive.com/2011/05/that-was-easy.html
YoungHouseLove says
Gorgeous! I love that backsplash!
xo,
s
Erika says
This is the weirdest coincidence: last Saturday I was on vacation in Paris, and I was looking at the tile in the subway station. At first I thought it was hexagonal, but when I looked closely, I realized that it was actually penny tile (thanks, I know that’s the term now!) It reminded me of a honeycomb, and I thought, “Sherry from YHL would love this!”
YoungHouseLove says
That’s hilarious! It was meant to be!
xo,
s
Pamela says
Okay, coincidentally Paris has been on my mind the past few days & I’ve been Googling Paris info.! I just want to live in (& fabulously decorate) a fairly small, cool Paris pad with all the amazing architecture & surroundings. Is it too much for a girl to dream of such a life in the very near future (one who doesn’t know an ounce of French & no funds to pursue it??). Small workable details. :)
Kim says
Sorry if you’ve answered this already, but what about the countertops?! Are you going to reuse what you have or go with something different? It’s looking pretty amazing so far….you’ve got me hooked on the penny tile and the floating shelves. Love. Love.
YoungHouseLove says
We realized that we’d need to spend a pretty decent chunk of money on matching granite for the peninsula and since it’s not really our stye we hate to pony up cash to buy more of it. So we’ve decided to craigslist what we have and put that towards something that we love!
xo,
s
Katie says
You guys totally saved the day for us!
We are in the middle of doing our kitchen as low budget as possible and the $20 per sf tiles we loved were not working with our numbers!
Not only do we love the penny tile look (which we never considered before) we loved the price and the tile shop customer service was AMAZING!!!!
Thanks so much for sharing your great ideas!
Nicole says
I love the look you are going for. Beautiful. However, I have used the penny round tiles before for one of my clients in a bathroom. I had it installed on the floor and then in the shower on the walls and it was a nightmare. I used a very good tile guy too. Once it is grouted you could see all of the imperfections of the tile and how it was spaced. I would definitely recommend an experienced tile installer at the very least. Good luck!!
Natalie says
I just refinished my bathroom floor in white porcelain penny tile- I love the look but just a heads up… its harder than it looks! Working with these very tiny tiles is not for the faint of heart. I know you folks are very accomplished DIY-ers so I’m guessing you’ll have an easier go of it, but just a word to the wise- make a straight edge and magic square your best friend and be certain to keep every sheet of mosaic square to each other and the seams will stay hidden. It’s easy to get off pattern and start seeing seams if you aren’t really diligent. Good Luck! I’m sure it will look amazing!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip Natalie! We’re nervous but hope we can take it slow and come out victorious!
xo,
s
Heidi says
Love your kitchen plans! Now I’m wanting to use penny tiles in my master bath remodel. The vanity I’ve picked out is white with a white/gray marble top. Without having seen the tiles in person, it looks like there is a brown edge to the tiles and I’m planning on using a white, gray and green-blue color scheme in my bathroom. Would you use these tiles with that color scheme? I trust your amazing taste!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, they’ll blend right in. The ring is super small and almost looks steely gray with grout. I think they’d look great!
xo,
s
Chris Wilson says
Glad you found something for a good price, the penny rounds have character and the subways are a classic but this will be more interesting! I have been LOVING your blog… I wanted to suggest that sometimes you can find the clear glass tiles for less and then just paint behind it… Our kitchen has lots of clear glass tile and we painted Oyster Bay behind it and it is the PERFECT colour…and to be honest a bit unintentional!
Emma Johnson says
Love the tile choice. I know y’all are pros at tiling, but don’t forget how easy it is to tile walls as opposed to floors. No backerboard and all that jazz. It’s slap on some mortar and go (for most walls). My husband and I tiled the kitchen and master bathroom while I was 8 months prego (nesting ya think?)and tiling the wall in the terlit room was my favorite. That’s how people in GA say toilet, btw.
Here’s my post:
http://adventureswithbande.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html
and my only complaint is that I’ve got a few tiles popping up in the kitchen. My guess is that the tile is so large that a few didn’t set well. I blame the men assisting, cause I was running the tile saw. Can’t wait to see the next step. I’m waiting on the edge of my chair!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh such a fun project!
xo,
s
Charlene says
These tiles are gorgeous! We are at the tiling stage of our kitchen remodel and were planning on going with white subway tiles, but now I’m seriously leaning toward a white penny tile!!!
Kelli says
Do you know if every Tile Shop location gives this discount or only online? I live near Memphis and want to be prepared for any funny looks when I tell them YHL sent me! haha Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
It should work in stores everywhere!
-John
meredith says
love how this is all coming together. totally what i would do if i had a handy husband, but since he’s not, we’ll wait till we can pay someone to do it!
we used a similar penny tile for our bathroom backsplash and also accent tile in the shower and i LOVE it. it was also right around $5/sq ft which made me very happy! we ended up going with an off-white tile color with gray grout which really makes the tiles pop. here’s a small post about it in case you’re interested! i need to take some better pictures now that i have my wide angle camera lens…
http://patrickandmer.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-year-new-bathroom.html
YoungHouseLove says
Gorgeous!!!! I love it!!
xo,
s
kat says
great post. did you get the color gray or moss? your images show a close up of the moss. is the moss color reading gray? just wondering, the gray color is not on the website you provided but i did find it on another tile website. thanks
YoungHouseLove says
It’s called moss but it’s not green – it’s gray!
xo,
s
Christie DeSilva says
The penny round tile in moss looks so green and solid in color on the tileshop website, but it looks so gray’ish and not a flat color in your pics. Is it green’ish? Is every tile the exact same color? Seriously thinking about ordering it but nervous about the color after seeing it on their website!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s completely gray in our house (and in the store). No idea why it’s called moss!
xo
s
Christie DeSilva says
Thanks guys! Well, I’m a little embarrassed to flat out “copy” you but I really do like this penny tile best out of any that I’ve seen, and it’s a great price with the YHL discount! I’m really surprised shipping is only $30 with how heavy it is too. If my order had been bigger, shipping would have been free to boot. :) Phew. Can’t wait. I’m nervous I’m not going to be as detail-oriented as you guys and be quite as good at squishing it around to make sure there are no visual lines. Wish me luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, it’s awesome stuff at a great price! Good luck Christie!
xo
s
gailhauman says
I have this exact gray penny tile around fire surround and love it. Tons of compliments. Great choice.
Danielle says
I just happened to pick up a copy of HGTV magazine last week and was amazed when I saw your kitchen. I’m renovating my basement and decided to tile the entire wall above my beverage center. I have been online looking for months for just the right tile when boom! There it was right in front of me…your tile store penny tile. I went out the next day and bought 20 sq ft of it. Thank you so much for the inspiration!
YoungHouseLove says
So glad!
xo,
s
Kathy says
Sherry,
I am looking for 20 sq ft of the Tile Shop Moss Penny Rounds, and will pay cost and shipping if you had any left from your wonderful project. There has been a problem with the importing of these and they
will not be available until October, but I need them now. Looking forward to your reply, even though this request is rather late. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry Kathy, we don’t have any extras for ya!
xo
s
Kathy says
Thanks anyway!
Marion says
Is the color you used for the tile the ‘moss’ you show in the picture? Your tile looks like soft greys but the moss on the website looks really green. I’m looking for the soft grey color and wonder if this is it.
YoungHouseLove says
In person it was 100% gray – no green at all!
xo
s
Marilyn Steever says
So is the “Moss” color the gray penny tile that you used in your kitchen?
I want to make sure before I order it. It looks greener on line. Thanks!
Marilyn Steever says
just noticed the same question was asked before! thanks!
Marilyn Steever says
One more question! What color of grout did you use and was it from the Tile Shop?
YoungHouseLove says
It was called Mobe Pearl (also from The Tile Shop).
xo
s
Erin says
Hey There!
I was trolling your site looking for the list of discounts codes that I know I saw somewhere on one of my daily visits to your blog. Do you still know if The Tile Shop still honors the YHL10 10% discount? Thanks so much!
-Erin
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t think they’re running it right now. So sorry!
xo
s