I have done this in kitchens AND bathrooms!
Paint it the finish you want and seal it with multiple coats of varnish, oil or water-based. You can even either paint grout lines in, or carve out grout lines.
I have done lots of faux painting -- making something look like it's something else -- and it is very effective.
You can paint either the wood or the resin.

I am so glad you posted this. I was thinking of doing something similar for the edging for the tile counter I am going to do.

I think your bronze looks great. What kind of paint did you use? I hope you post pictures when your finished.

paintergirl94 - do you have any pictures.

What a great idea! I looked at some of the "trim" pieces available in tile and balked at the price. Would never have thought of this. Two questions - for the island edges, what do you use to seal it that will be strong enough to withstand the abuse? (We have oak trim on ours that has held up amazingly well, and I'm trying to decide what to use on the "new" rest of the kitchen (recycled)which is cherry. For the backsplash inserts, how will you attach them to the wall and at what stage? Would love details. I hope this works!

Hi, thanks for the replies, keep them coming! I have not yet tried to re-create the finish with paint. The liner in the picture is resin from Lowes - a great bargain for under $3. Problem is that I need 100 of them - ouch!

I was asking about simply using the wooden version of trim the same way I would install the resin - right into the mastic. I was not going to attach them to the wall with brads, ect. because the line would be between two tiles, my field tile of tumbled Marble and my listello of granite. Paintergirl, have you ever done this? Used wooden trim as if it were a resin liner? Here is a picture of it. The counter sample is in the upper right.

Stefb, for the island, the edge trim is going to be painted and then sealed with polyurethane. I figure Jim (builder) will use both adhesive and brads to attach it to the edge, since there will be a plywood base under the cement board and tile.

This is a good solution to the problem of not having bullnoses for a niche area. Gotta think on this!

I like the idea and think it would work well. I think I'll copy the idea! One thing to remember - the liners - whether resin or wood - need to be kept away from your stove. Resin will "melt" and wood may get too hot. Just a heads up! Can't wait to see your results!

The thing to consider is the different expansion and contraction rates of the wood vis-a-vis the tile, especially in an area exposed to heat and steam. In that sense it's best to keep them separately applied (i.e., not embedded in the same mastic/mortar bed) to avoid the tile cracking or wood popping off.

I used strips of reclaimed wood as trim for the tile on my bathroom walls. I tiled up to where I wanted the wood, made sure the wall was wiped clean of mortar beyond the tile, then nailed the wood onto the wall. They are joined with a silicon caulk that matches the grout. Using flexible caulk instead of rigid grout at this seam is essential to buffer the differential in movement.

My bath project prior to staining the wood:

Circuspeanut, that is what I was afraid of. Mine would be imbedded in the mastic and surrounded by tile, so maybe I should just spring for the resin. It must be affected by temperature the same way that rock, ceramic, and porcelain is, or it wouldn't work, either.

Love your oak molding, though! I used maple trim around my tile in our last kitchen, and it has held up well without having the caulk between it and the tiles.

In my kitchen, the cooktop is on the island, so there would be no cooking near the resin/wood molding, but it is on an exterior wall, and in Michigan, that wall will get cold.

I was going to do that before I found tile accents that I liked and didn't break the bank. The hubster wasn't totally on board with it, however.

It sounds like it will be beautiful when finished!

Would you mind telling me about your experience with Green Demolition? Were they easy to work with, and were you able to see your kitchen before you purchased it? Any thoughts you had would be appreciated.

Hi Eustacem,
Green Demolitions could not have been better to work with. I live in Michigan, though, and their closest store is in Pennsylvania, near Lancaster. I had my eye on this kitchen online for several weeks before a price was assigned to it. I watched it come down to a price I was willing to pay and I called. I had called earlier about a couple of other kitchens. I was even considering two different kitchens at two different stores that I would have combined to make my one kitchen. Whenever I called, the workers were able to walk to the kitchen I was asking about and do my measurements right then. When I called about the one I ended up buying, the worker went over to it and answered my questions honestly. He said that it seemed really solid, needed clean-up, but had a lot of features for the price. He was even able to tell me what size truck to rent to get it home. In the end, I hired the son of a friend of a friend to fly to Connecticut. I had the guy at the Budget Rent-a-Truck place pick him up at Hartford (he did it for free!), and then my guy drove to the store in Norwalk. The store staff did much of the loading and helped him tie it all in. It arrived safe and sound here the next morning.

Green Demolitions will not tell you this, but each item in my kitchen had a price listed on my receipt. It almost seems that I could have said "I don't want the counters, sink, cooktop or hood" and maybe they might have taken some of the price off. But maybe not. What would they do with a 23 year-old greasy downdraft vent?

I know how old the cabs are because their original manufacturing paperwork is stapled to the back of many of the cabs. They were made for a certain design shop in August 1987. I think the family name is on my paperwork, so that is rather cool.

Be sure to look for quality cabs if you do shop at GD. Mine are Quakermaid. My kitchen is the "Quakermaid Butcherblock and Beadboard Kitchen," almost halfway down the photos in the "sold" tab under the main "Kitchens" heading.

Here is a link that might be useful: $5000 and less sold kitchens

Any other opinions? Where do you buy your wood trim?

paintergirl94 - Did you find any pictures? I would love to see some ideas.

Was surfing around tonight and wondered if this would work:

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=79

Here is a link that might be useful: Rustoleum Stone

The thing to consider is the different expansion and contraction rates of the wood vis-a-vis the tile, especially in an area exposed to heat and steam. In that sense it's best to keep them separately applied (i.e., not embedded in the same mastic/mortar bed) to avoid the tile cracking or wood popping off.

Simply nail the wood rather than sticking it on with mastic, and then caulk it to the tile on either side, instead of grouting. No big deal. If you'd rather not have the nail holes, then use a construction adhesive on the wood, like PL400 or Liquid Nailz.

Thanks, Bill, I was hoping you would find my question. I knew that the expansion and contraction rates might be different enough to cause problems. I was hoping it would not, though. I can see that nailing or adhering with liquid nails and then using a caulk bead would solve the problem. My problem is that I am a rank amateur, this will be my first solo tiling project. I am also pretty lousy at laying a clean bead of caulk. When you've only done it a few times, spaced years apart, you never get good enough to do it well! I can imagine that this is why most of us hire others - the mess-up factor is just too high. I think I would be too challenged by various roadblocks - like how do I make my wooden trim piece follow a straight line when the 8 ft trim is not straight to begin with!

I have good news. The second tile store I hit on Saturday morning had an inexpensive 8" ceramic liner glazed in a bronze color. It is a plain bar liner, which DH likes better. It cost only $1.44 per piece!. Their order people will be back tomorrow, and I can order it then.

Barbcollins, I have seen the stone-like spray paint. I have bought the metallic ones, on plain and shiny, the other to look like "hammered" metal. I have not tried them, and may return them to the store.

Re- the caulk, you can do one of two things-- either tape off the wood, as well as the edge of the grouted tile, lay in your bead of caulking, and then take a spoon or butter knife, scrape off the excess, and then you have a perfect caulk joint, OR, you can use a latex caulking the same color as the grout, don't worry about taping it off-- lay in the bead, take your finger and wipe the excess off, and then use a grout sponge to wash off the rest-- it'll look just like a grout joint. Using the latex, it's not difficult at all.

nancy - that's a great price considering you won't have to do the painting, wiping down, and outer coating to protect it - or the caulking!

but if you do have to caulk, make up a mock board of what bill said and practice first!