It was an easy way to remind people where we live for the party Saturday night -- just look for the ginormous sign in the yard! It was up till yesterday morning and I honestly kind of miss it. It made me so happy to see that every time I pulled up to our house. I love my husband. Even though I'm so getting him back at his next big birthday in a couple years! :)
So onto the new backsplash. This is when I'm glad I take my time to do renovations because I will often make changes along the way. All along I've planned to do a subway tile backsplash. I wanted to see the granite in before I decided for sure on the design and color. Turns out there's like four versions of white subway tile, just at Lowe's. Who knew?
Well the night before I was going to purchase the tile and get started, I was just not feeling it. I wasn't excited about it like I've been every other step along the way. My plan was always to tile up to a certain point and then perhaps plank the wall above it, to bring in the design of the fireplace and the island.
But that was feeling too busy in my head. And the tile just wasn't really me…so I did some more research. And I realized the photos that I've pinned and saved that really struck me had one thing in common -- planked walls:
I just love them. They are simple and clean but still have a farmhouse vibe that's feels warm. There's a big part of me that loves symmetry and clean lines and I'm just naturally drawn to planked walls. (Or shiplap, the term that has become popular again thanks to Fixer Upper.)
Here's a another one of my favorite images:
My original plan was going to be super cheap -- I was going to to use the underlayment I used for over the fireplace in the family room. It's about $14 for a four by eight piece and I would have needed a few.
But I noticed something I didn't have to worry about before -- the area behind our stove was now exposed. We got a slide in range last month and because the burners are closer to the wall than before, I had to consider some safety issues:
I came across this image on Pinterest and dug a little deeper. I emailed the designer and she shared that they don't use wood, but hardi plank siding:
It is composed of brick and cement and other similar materials (fiber cement siding) that make it fire resistant and non-combustible. Brilliant.
I was bummed when I first got her response because I assumed it would be crazy expensive. I did some research though and it turns out it's actually a great price -- an eight inch wide by 12 foot long piece is only $7. When you're siding a house that would get expensive, yes. For a wall in the kitchen? It's a DEAL.
I did some more digging and found another designer who uses it inside as well:
It offers that great wood planked look because it's so wide. The front of it has the look of wood too:
But that's not the side you want to use. Along the top edge it has lettering that is hidden when installed like siding. You want to flip it over and use the back. I like this side better anyway -- it still has some texture but it's not as pronounced:
This weekend was crazy busy but I was able to get most of the kitchen done. I have some smaller pieces to trim down under the cabinets and around the window:
Within seconds of it going up I was in love with it. I loved it even unpainted, I can't imagine how much I'll love it all white. :)
So far I've spent a little over $60 on it and I have to go get one more piece. Not bad for the impact it's going to have in the room! I'll prime it and paint, but before I do that I'll caulk between each plank:
They butt up pretty close to each other but because this is a kitchen I want to make sure nothing can get behind them.
The area over the stove will have a vent hood soon but here's an idea of how it looks in that area:
LOVE it.
I'm dying to get it finished up. The area around the lights and window trim will be the hardest, so I saved all of that for today:
I keep saying this along the way, but after this is done I'll REALLY feel like I'm almost there. I have lighting to add to the cabinets and shelves to hang on the wall, but after that it's just painting the cabinets, which will be the biggest part of course. But I'm getting SO close!!
I wanted to share this with you because it's such great option in general -- the price is fantastic and it really gives that nice thick ship lap look. I'm really excited about it! There are some things to consider when installing it and I'll go over all of that soon, hopefully later this week!
See the end result and more on how to install a cement board backsplash here!
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