mirrors?

I know you said you don't want paper, but I had paintable paper that I painted with a copper metallic paint, then added a sealer over top. It was great. I cannot tell you how many people really thought it was copper back there. I will show you a photo from the "old" kitchen. It's hard to see--not such great photos.

{{!gwi}}

This is actually the one area that you can "go cheap" and still be happy. Many people here have gone to Home Depot and Lowes. What matters most is how well it coordinates with your cabinets and counter and how much YOU like it. There are so many choices for tile out there.

Besides different tile prices, the simplicity or complexity of the the backsplash design you pick can impact price. I used plain 3x6 white subway tile. The tile was inexpensive and because I didn't have any kind of accent tile or design behind my range installation was also inexpensive.

Think about your granite and how much is going on there. I have a lot going on in my granite (Bianco Antico), so I wanted a very simple backsplash.
Have fun choosing!

SusieQ-60,

There are creative ideas you can do with very little money.

1. Use chalk board paint. It is a fun way to create
excitement without breaking the bank.

2. Regular high glass scrubbable paint.

3. Broken pottery

4. Any material you have that you wish to put on the
wall from Wood, to old Rulers, to cork board or even
layers of flat rocks to create a backsplash.

5. Paint Faux tiles

6. Tin, Beadboard, plaster or wood

Here are some visuals...

Rulers

Wood

Mosaic

Paint DIY faux tiles

Pretty!!!!!

Venetian plaster look. This is the before from DIY
later painted to match the counter but with a texture
to create a tuscan feel to the kitchen

Chalkboard Paint

Broken Plates to create a beautiful BS

Smooth stones can be a wonderful BS

Beadboard

Paper

Paper. Yes this is a paper design glues on to the walls.

Boxer, do your talents ever end? Those pictures are great!

Boxerpups - thank you so very much for the great reply.

I was actually thinking of going for beadboard. I really like the look and it's definitely in keeping with the "countryish" feel I'm going for. I read up on it alittle, and the one complaint I seemed to hear was the fact that it gets dirty/yucky in the grooves. A suggestion was to put some type of acrylic top coat on - I assume I can find something "waterproof" to put over it?

Honestly, the hardest part about using the beadboard would be convincing my husband and builder. They are both a little old fashioned when it comes to these things, and I've already seen that they think my ideas are a little "new fangled." (I know they think a backsplash "should" be tile.) Can you provide some good talking points so that I can convince them I'm not making a silly decision and that using the beadboard would be a good, economical, and logical choice?

Thanks again.

Oh yea - When I'm trying to convince them about this, what type of colors do you think I should consider? I posted my "sage with coffee glaze" cabinet color last night. My countertop is probably going to have alot of creams and maybe some browns. I've decided that one of my non-negotiables is that wood-look-alike ceramic tile (probably a dark color) and I have a very large collection of off-white/creamy colored every day dishes that will actually be kept out - I'm having no uppers on my window wall. Just open shelves (from the cabinet maker, matching my cabinets) and I will stack my collection up there. I'm not sure what color to paint the walls, but I figured I would wait on that. Do I have to paint/prep the beadboard before it's installed, and if so, I'm not sure what color to go with. (Wow - that was a whole lot of typing!!!!! I think I'm sounding pretty needy right now.)

Well, you can tell your husband that no matter how cheap you go on the price of the actual tile, the install is never cheap.

Beadboad sounds great. Did you consider doing the beadboard the same color as the cabs? Might be hard to match the finish if doing it DIY.

Personally, I love the cute new wallpaper selections available now.

You can also install a stainless steel backsplash. If that looks too industrial for you, you can get it powder coated in any color you like.

I personally don't know of anyone that's used this, but IKEA has something called Fastbo wall panels specifically for backsplashes. They are laminate. They have stainless looking ones and some solid ones. Wilsonart also sells metalic sheets of laminate for backsplashes too.

IKEA:

We are going with plain subway tiles either from Daltile or Lowe's. I cannot believe the variance in prices on "designer" tiles, when the Lowe's and Daltile look really good at literally a fraction of the cost. Also, one way to increase your cost is to get handmade tiles, cause (a) they're handmade, and natch, more expensive, and (b) they'll cost more to install due to their handmade irregularity. Just a heads-up in case you see some handmade tiles you love since handmade would provide you with the country look you want.

Regarding beadboard backsplash, I'd have to agree that the grooves seem like they'd be a trap for grease and splatter. The whole point of a backsplash is to make the grease and splatter from cooking easy to clean up, and thereby make your life easier, so it's kinda going against the backsplash's "raison d'etre". But I seem to remember someone found ceramic tiles that look just like beadboard! Even when you got close-up so that you could realize they weren't actual beadboard, well, that was part of the cool charm. I cannot remember who has them, but perhaps google, if that is of interest to you.

I found beadboard-look ceramic tile, but it's from Ann Sachs, so it is going to be $$$. I think there may be other brands that have something similar though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Beadboard Tile at Ann Sachs

Wow alwaysfixin...THANKS for the research. I'm off to do somemore of it!!