The Kitchen Backsplash Plan

Folks, when I designed the cabinetry wall in our main living area, the intent was for that cabinetry to act like an accent wall; a nice and solid dark gray statement from one end of the room to the other.  Well, the living room side looks the part... and then there's the kitchen side.

(Issue #1) The kitchen side just looks too disjointed!  It's not a strong statement, it's lacking.

(Issue #2) We've talked before about doing a tile backsplash up to the base of the hood.  News flash, that's been rejected.  Without upper cabinets, there is no real transition line for the tile to stop.  Also, remember how I wanted green tile (something bright to bounce off the dark gray)?  Well, the further we get into this project, the more we are valuing the flexibility of our choices.  What if I hate green tile in a year?  I don't know if I'll like it after a month.  I don't want to be stuck with something bold.

(Issue #3) Tile is expensive.

(Solution) I stumbled upon this great image and it made me feel that I want MORE dark gray!  (Such a junkie, I know.) I want the kitchen side of the cabinetry wall to be as strong of a statement as the living room.  This image inspired me to ditch the idea of tile and to start dating dark gray again.

(Plan) So we're going to put a large piece of MDF, painted the same as the cabinets, right on the wall behind the hood and just fill in that whole open white square in all gray.  This will help carry that dark gray line all across the room.  Then, we're going to use a remnant piece of stainless steel from our island countertop and run a short backsplash straight across the bottom.  Why didn't we think of this months ago?!

This plan will be relatively affordable, since we're just buying a board and a bit of paint, but it is guaranteed to be a swear inducing nightmare for Tyler.

In fact, when I posed it to him it was like this:

me: so do you think we could do it?  Will that work?

him: (sigh) yes.  It's possible, but it's going to be really challenging. You know next time we need to have this figured out before the cabinets are installed and then we wouldn't be in this mess.

me:  But, honey, we're amateurs!    


(fancy image from pinterest)