Tag: kitchen backsplash

Kitchen Backsplash Project Part III – Filling in the Tile “Murals”

Post author By Carolyn Hasenfratz Winkelmann
Post date September 15, 2015
1 Comment on Kitchen Backsplash Project Part III – Filling in the Tile “Murals”

Kitchen Backsplash Project Part III – Filling in the Tile “Murals”

It’s a good thing I make detailed notes as I work, because this kitchen backsplash project underwent a two and a half year hiatus! I didn’t really plan to neglect the project for that long, but in 2013 and 2014 I did a lot of art and craft shows and my studio space and time was necessarily diverted to that pursuit rather than home improvement projects. In 2015 I’m doing fewer shows and determined to finish some of what I started earlier!

The next step in finishing my kitchen backsplash is to complete the tile work in four frames spaced at intervals above the strip. These are inspired by Spanish and Mexican tile murals in their shape and placement though they don’t attempt to depict any kind of representational scene. In the interim I had carved some new rubber stamps of ancient petroglyph designs and made some small stoneware tiles from them which I decided to include.

Using paper templates, I laid out my designs on trays in the studio, then transported them to the kitchen.

As you can see in this picture, since I last worked on the tile strip, I installed a narrow shelf above the back of the stove. This is made from a piece of recycled flooring. I painted it in a color harmonious with my intended future paint scheme and sanded the edges for a slightly distressed look. I used corner brackets to mount it to the wall, attached with screws so I can remove it when it’s time to paint the wall. It is meant for holding some of the small Southwestern-themed collectibles that I keep in the kitchen. Later on I’m going to install another shelf above this frame with hooks on the underside for displaying a favorite set of collectible coffee cups.

Here is the frame partially filled with tile. Using a pencil and ruler, I marked where the large tile in the middle would go then worked out from the middle and the edges. I dabbed a bit of tile cement on the back of each piece and pressed it in place. Normally with tile work a quantity of cement is spread out on the surface first before the tiles are placed, but my way of working is slow so I wanted to make sure the cement didn’t dry before I could finish an area.

After the tiles are allowed a sufficient time to dry according to the directions on the tile cement bucket, the next step is to grout the tiles!

Tags ceramic, handmade tiles, home decor, kitchen backsplash, mosaic tiles, salvaged tiles, tile backsplash

DIY Home Decor Upcycling

Kitchen Backsplash Project Part II – Beginning Work on the Walls

Post author By Carolyn Hasenfratz Winkelmann
Post date September 14, 2015
2 Comments on Kitchen Backsplash Project Part II – Beginning Work on the Walls

Kitchen Backsplash Project Part II – Tile Design and Beginning Work on the Walls

After absorbing inspiration and stockpiling tiles for my kitchen for three years, how did I begin the process of actually getting some tiles on the wall?

I’ve been intending since I moved in to my condo in 2004 to eventually repaint the kitchen. The paint in this room is rough, and even worse, it’s pink! So it has to go and until it’s repainted it doesn’t matter to me if I mark it up with pencil or tape.

To begin my designs I cleared everything off of the counter top and used a ruler and pencil to mark where I wanted strips of tile. This work would be too much to be completed in one work session. It being necessary to use the kitchen in between work sessions, I had to devise a way to design and install the strips in sections.

I decided on a repeating pattern that would appear at intervals, with more free-form arrangements in between. I measured where the repeating elements would go and decided how many I would need, then I went into my studio and designed one of the repeating sections. Then I made sure I had enough of those tiles to repeat the pattern the required number of times. Choosing the tiles from which to create the repeating patterns could have been an overwhelming task, given the number of tiles I had accumulated – I had been collecting them for multiple projects, not just the back splash. For help I referred to the swatch page I had made for my kitchen to help me keep in mind what look and feel I wanted for the room. I hung up the swatch page nearby and sorted out tiles that seemed to fit. That narrowed down the selection and from those I was able to come up with the repeating pattern. I laid each section out on a tray in my studio and carried it into the kitchen to install each section, then repeated until all the recurring sections were in place.

After that was done, I filled in the spaces between the repeating segments, then added a strip in a terra cotta color above it.

A strip similar to this would be very easy to do with purchased or made to order tiles of a uniform size. Since I was including a lot of salvaged tiles however, I had to do a lot of piecing, cutting and nipping. I’m very pleased with the result and I think it was worth the extra effort – it would not be to everyone’s taste but is exactly the kind of look I wanted. There is no way anyone would be able to replicate this design exactly even if they wanted to!

While I had the tiles out, I decided to do a strip by the pantry as well.

I drew an outline of the area to be tiled on the paper that covers my studio table, then filled that in while working out my design. When I was satisfied, I placed some of the tiles on a tray, carried it to the kitchen, and installed the tiles one section at a time. I marked the wall with pencil lines before beginning so that I didn’t go out of the allotted spaces while installing.

While working on the tiles, I gave some thought to the future paint scheme of my kitchen and picked out color swatches. I put the swatches and some notes in my idea book and also marked in pencil what color goes where on the kitchen walls.

Tags ceramic tile, handmade tiles, home decor, kitchen backsplash, kitchen makeover, mosaic tiles, salvaged tiles, tile backsplash

DIY Home Decor Upcycling

Kitchen Backsplash Project Part I – Introduction

Post author By Carolyn Hasenfratz Winkelmann
Post date September 13, 2015

Kitchen Backsplash Project Part I – Introduction

When I wrote in my previous article Decor Idea Book that my home decor would take years to complete, I was not exaggerating. I’ve been interested in tiles and mosaics since I was a teenager, but the real impetus for beginning to decorate my condominium home with tile was a visit in 2009 to Henry Chapman Mercer’s Fonthill Castle in Pennsylvania. Among other things, Mercer was a tilemaker in the Arts and Crafts era and his historic home is decorated with outstanding examples of the tilemaker’s art, both from his own designs and tiles he collected on his travels.

What brought me to the vicinity of Fonthill was a buisness trip to Philadelphia. I arranged with my employer to arrive a day early so I could visit Fonthill Castle. The morning after my visit, I sketched tile design ideas in the hotel restaurant while waiting to meet my boss for breakfast. Later on I gave some thought to how I would turn these designs into tiles. Mercer favored plaster press molds, but since I had a small company on the side for which I designed rubber stamps, I decided to turn my designs into stamps and use them to impress the clay tiles. See my tutorial Mosaic Table Table Top With Textured Clay Tiles to learn my technique for making tiles from rubber stamps. In 2015 while on the way back from a trip to the Northeast I was in the vicinity of Fonthill again, so I stopped in the tileworks shop to buy some tiles made from Mercer’s original molds.

One of my favorite places to vacation is the Southwest, and for awhile I was taking so many trips to that area on Route 66 that I was in Santa Fe for at least a day or two almost every summer. Although I’ve been interested in art and crafts ever since I can remember, my first visit to Santa Fe while on a family vacation at the age of 16 was a life-changing experience. It was so different, so exotic and so saturated with the arts that I decided then and there that art was to be my area of study in college and I did eventually graduate with a Fine Art degree.

Over the years I’ve been to Santa Fe enough times to have a favorite restaurant – Cafe Pasqual’s – and a favorite motel – El Rey Inn. In September of 2009 I was on a trip with my family on the way to Arizona and we stayed at El Rey. It was Mom’s first time there and she was enthralled with the grounds. Since tile work and plans for my own home were on my mind, we wandered the exquisite grounds together and took lots of photos, with tiles prominent in my photos for future inspiration. On this trip my brother and I also introduced my parents to our favorite suite at El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, NM, the Ronald Reagan suite, with extensive tile work in the bathroom. Everyone should experience these historic properties at least once in a lifetime – you won’t be sorry!

Since Southwest decor and good food seem to go together, I decided the proper place in my home for Santa Fe inspired tile work is in my kitchen. Over the next 2-3 years I made a lot of tiles for this project.

I’ve been augmenting my growing store of tiles with recycled tiles that I picked up at Leftover’s Etc., a teacher’s resource recycling center where you can get donated leftover art and craft supplies for a very reasonable price. Since the stock varies depending on what is donated, collecting tiles suitable for a specific project can take quite a while, so it suited me to acquire these periodically while I slowly accumulated a stock of handmade tiles. You might ask, why not just buy the tiles you need and get it over with? There are beautiful tiles available commercially – one could make a lovely kitchen with these. However, while I’m sure I could design a very nice backsplash out of commercial tiles, my preference for my own home is to express my love of ceramics by putting more of myself into the project. Another thing that makes this project more personal and special is that in addition to my collection of salvaged tiles purchased from Leftover’s Etc., over the years I had accumulated tiles from sources significant to me – I added in some that I recycled from an old farmhouse down the street from where I grew up that was demolished when I was in college, and some that I dug up from the construction debris-filled soil while working on my current garden. Whenever I work in my kitchen I’ll get pleasure from thinking about how I made or acquired the tiles in front of me.

The next major step forward in my kitchen backsplash project occurred in the fall of 2012. I had just returned from a vacation/sabbatical which included a one-week workshop at Arcosanti, an experimental community in Arizona that teaches concepts in architecture, sustainability, re-use of materials and many other topics of interest to me. Visitors to Missouri Botanical Garden will have seen some bronze bells made at Arcosanti. There is a ceramics studio on the site and many areas of the community are decorated with wonderful tile work.

To see more of my Arcosanti Photos, check out my online albums:

2012 Trip Week 2

2012 Trip Week 3

I went to Arcosanti to be inspired, and wow was I ever! Upon my return I was fired up to work on the backsplash due to what I had seen and I was satisfied that I finally had enough tiles to begin. Look for Part II of this series to see how I incorporated all these creative influences!