Backsplash Ideas beyond Tile

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Kathleen

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I need to do some minor upgrades in the kitchen (until I'm really ready to bite the big bullet for a total kitchen makeover.) Plus, I love my huge old stove and keep waiting for someone who can refurbish it to move to the area.

My kitchen is really small and I have a small wall fan for ventilation. I want *something* behind my stove and I would prefer something other than tile. My two thoughts were pegboard (with all thanks given to Julia Child) or a retro-looking metal sign (Breakfast Served All-Day!)

With the pegboard, I could paint it with contrast paint. With the sign, I could simply take it down and scrub it.

That being said, I'm open to other ideas. What's behind your stove???

Here is a picture of the area and my beloved Caloric stove.



 

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I need to do some minor upgrades in the kitchen (until I'm really ready to bite the big bullet for a total kitchen makeover.) Plus, I love my huge old stove and keep waiting for someone who can refurbish it to move to the area.

My kitchen is really small and I have a small wall fan for ventilation. I want *something* behind my stove and I would prefer something other than tile. My two thoughts were pegboard (with all thanks given to Julia Child) or a retro-looking metal sign (Breakfast Served All-Day!)

With the pegboard, I could paint it with contrast paint. With the sign, I could simply take it down and scrub it.

That being said, I'm open to other ideas. What's behind your stove???

Here is a picture of the area and my beloved Caloric stove.



Glass - both plain and decorative - is popular over here at the moment and it's easy to clean.

I have black tiles - b-a-d mistake. They show every splish and splash!
 
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The back splash behind my stove is tile.Just above it is a really tacky looking strawberry wallpaper.It hurts my eyes to look at it.

Home Depot has a large selection of contact paper.Measure, cut.If it doesn't apply right the first time you can peel it back and redo it.

I just redid a craft table using it.I only needed the top to be covered.Something that if I spilled ink on it could easily be wiped away.
The nice thing with contact paper you can use it on the walls and peel off later if you want without it removing the paint.I've done that in high kid traffic areas where they're always touching the walls.If it stained it wasn't a big deal because it was a cheaper alternative to wallpaper and paint.

When I was a kid we would cover our school books with it.
 
I was thinking tin tiles. However, you could take a piece of glass and paint the back of it or apply wrapping paper, tissue paper, etc. It could be cut to fit and then a frame put around it for mounting it to the wall. Easy to clean, or you could do something retro (a piece of retro fabric, some retro tea towels, adhere them to the wall and then put the glass over them).
 
Pegboard might not be such a good idea.

In order to use any hooks or brackets there needs to be a space between the wall and pegboard.

Great place for nasty's to grow. :(

Since you're planning to redo it in the future I suggest waiting until then and spend your $$$$ for a good, easy to clean surface.

Give it a good coat of paint in a color that doesn't show the splatters for now and chose an easy to clean surface when you go for the redo.

Stainless Steel and tile are behind stoves for a reason.
 
My mom had a laminated Monet print as a backsplash. You could do a wine cork basketweave pattern in a frame, then pin up anything you want, or spray it with clear lacquer to make it water resistant. I have a huge bulletin board I made like that years ago.

My current backsplash is a piece of sheet metal that I spray painted. Cleans up very easily.
 
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I would get an appropriate sized piece of plywood and put a china/porcelain mosaic on it, made from broken plates from Goodwill. Odd patterns that match my color scheme. Once the mosaic is on, grout it.
 
You have a spare look going. That's fine. I like that base, because I can change up the feel with changeable art. No pegboard. Can you imagine trying to clean a greasy pegboard? If that were my kitchen, and if I didn't want to make a major change in style, I would install some lighting for the range work area. And in such a small kitchen, I might think about painting a ferrous metal board (make sure a magnet sticks well) so I could stick up a recipe or note or magnet hooks. For a tough, scrubable surface, a powder coating outfit can do a very tough surface, and they offer a very wide variety of textures and colors.
 
K-girl and Munky, where's the love for Lowe's?? :LOL: Disclaimer: Our daughter works for Lowe's. Lowe's lets her pay her bills. It's nice to not have to support your kid. End of promo.

...My kitchen is really small and I have a small wall fan for ventilation. I want *something* behind my stove and I would prefer something other than tile....
Love the stove Kathleen. If you're hoping to remodel soon, maybe just painting behind the stove with a gloss paint to make it super-easy to wash? Maybe to mix it up you could use painter's tape to create a grid, checkerboard, or plaid pattern with the same yellow on the walls alternating with white.
 
...I thought this was a really cute idea, with using a vintage print vinyl tablecloth........check it out...

Budget Backsplash Project: Vintage Vinyl : Home Improvement : DIY Network
Kayelle, I read the article linked. The caption under the photo said "The vinyl is easy to keep clean but is not recommended for the area over the stove." I'm guessing they're afraid it could be a fire hazard. If you want to play it safe, you could probably cover it with the aforementioned piece of glass.
 
How about steel pegboard? It comes in a variety of colors and sizes and is inexpensive.

Work Bench Systems | Adjustable Height | 18"W x 19"H Pegboard Panel-Blue | 249286BL - GlobalIndustrial.com

30WRK400BUW_Standard_Blue_Steel_Peg-Board_Tool_Organizer.jpg
 
Regardless of a pegboard's material, I can't imagine I'd want one behind my stove. Too many holes that will collect crud.
 
I have a back splash painted with high-gloss paint and hung a platter from a trip to Mexico above it. Easy to clean both.

I agree that it would be a good idea to do something simple now and plan for something more elaborate when you re-do the kitchen. That way, you can really plan for it to go with the rest of the kitchen. I just saw a kitchen re-do on the website The Kitchn where someone had redone their kitchen but not planned for the area above the fridge. Now it looks like an afterthought, so she's having to figure out how to make it look like it belongs. Much better to plan the whole thing at once, if you can.
 

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