sure it can.. you might break a few pieces thou.. first it helps to use a sharp knife or razor blade to cut the mesh around any pieces you want to remove.. then get yourself a chisel and hammer and gently try to chisel and pry each piece off.. you might find that some pieces come off fairly easily.. some might be tougher.. depending on how careful you are you might just need to patch up a few spots in the drywall vs. cutting it all out and replacing..

post some pictures..

Morton, my tilesetter had to remove some tiles 2 days after they were installed. He used a screwdrive and a hammer and cracked the tile into small pieces and chiped them out then replaced them with the new tile. You can't tell where it was done. The dry wall wasn't damaged enough to warrant replacing it or even patching it.

Okay, this is my first time posting pix so let's see if I am successful. Here is a pic of the counter, backsplash, and a side panel of cabinet. I like the combination of materials, at least:
{{!gwi}}

But I don't think I like it going to the ceiling. I think I should have stopped it at the top of the high cabs or even lower. Keep in mind that the cabs do not yet have their dark doors on. Also, their will be a flat, euro-style hood in front of the backsplash.
{{!gwi}}

I think I should have stopped at about the height of the horizontal cabinets, or maybe at the tops of the high cabinets. I don't like the negative rectangle of space above the fridge cab.

DH thinks it is fine.

hmm i dont know..i like it.. it is a real Wow factor if you ask me.. at least thats what i thought when i saw it.. i think if you stopped at the cabinets the reaction might have been.. "hmm.. i wonder why they didn't go all the way up"..

to me the negative space makes it stand out that much more and clearly defines that space as the focal point of the kitchen..

here is an idea to test it out.. get yourself a piece of cardboard or something.. paint it the wall color and cover up the top 2 rows of tile you think you want to remove.. or really use a sheet, piece of paper, whatever you have that you think works.. id do something like that to test it out before tearing down all that tile..

I think the problem, if there is a problem, might be with that strip of white crown going across the top of the splash. Maybe if the splash went all the way to the ceiling, you'd like it better. Esp. if the hood is a chimney style (I don't know what a 'Euro style' hood is.)

Anyway, it would be best to wait until all of the other elements are in place before deciding to rip it down or change the crown. I have a feeling that it's going to look great the way it is.

Ya know - I like it going all the way to the top - my opinion. When the vent is in it will visually change the "look" and I'm thinkin you'll really like it going to the ceiling.

Morton, how about a ragged edge starting from the ceiling and doing the waterfall look down to the top of the cabinets. That way you only remove some of the tiles. Similar to how I ended my Fire and Ice.

Jodi-

Thanks for the feedback. Agree that the crown is not really in keeping with the contemporary look, but it runs throughout the ground floor of the house and thought it would look odd to take it out. Here is a link to my "euro-style hood."

Here is a link that might be useful: My euro-hood

Jodi, that is what my husband said to do. I think it's an interesting idea. Would you waterfall over the cabinets, or waterfall so that the top of the backplash is narrower than the width at the base? I'm concerned that if I waterfall over the tops of the cabs it will look like a mushroom cloud-- not a good effect over the range! Don't know if my description makes any sense!

I do wish that Fire and Ice came with a bullnose piece! There are some decorative pieces on the Jeffrey Court web site, but they are not end pieces, and it's not clear they would match the tile.

I think I know why you don't like it. The tile stops where the cabinets start but the wall above those cabinets on the left & right have no tile.

It actually doesn't look that bad. Not perfect, but I'm not sure what else you could have done...maybe stopped at the same level the range hood will end? There are no wall cabinets on either side so it makes it difficult to pick a stopping place. I don't think stopping at the top of the tall cabinets would look as good as what you have right now. I think it might look like you ran out of tile and had to make-do.

I like it as it is. It defines the space. The only thing that I would do would be to edge it with some strips of stainless to "finish" it. It's going to look much different when the hood is in and the doors are on.

It is not difficult to remove the tiles if you feel you need to later, but before you do so, perhaps you could attach the doors and suspend the hood in place to make sure you really want to make the change.

I have a sneaking suspicion you'd regret taking them away.

Well, the guy at the tile store advised me to take the tile over the high cabinets. I ended up not going that route because the tile was covering a lot less than we thought it would (I'm running out), and I thought I would then have a wierd end to the tile above the oven cab. If I take it over the oven cab I think I quickly back myself into having to tile the entire wall. It would be a dramatic look, but might be more WOW than we want-- like living in Camelot! And yeah, it's really expensive. I can always add tile down the road, though; I've gotten a couple of batches and there is enough variation that it matches fine.

Buehl, if I had it to do over again I would go up as high as the hood as you say. I hate to rip out all that tile now. This is the only thing I did on the fly as I wanted to see how it looked going up-- bad idea! I think I will probably see how it is once all the elements are up.

Are you planning on molding above the adjacent cabinets? I don't think youu will even notice any of this once the molding and vent is in place. I would hold off on changing anything as I think it looks great.

BTW your kitchen looks stunning-what a great choice of materials.

I think it looks good. Its really attractive and will look better when the cabs are finished.

Possibly repaint the crown with something not quite so white - three step closer to the wall color or the tile color? Still some contrast, but not quite so much. I wouldn't do all the trim, just the crown.

Is it possible to to add to the top of your cabinets on either side of the tile to fill the space - kind of like a stacked cabinet look? I think the wall of tile is stunning and is such a great focal point.

I like both Bmore's idea to paint the crown something closer to the tile color or Pepper's idea to stack a cabinet--an open bookcase type of cabinet--something with ends that the white crown can die into and then remove the crown atop the splash & take the tile to the ceiling. Or a plain trim piece like a 1x3 or 1x4 painted to blend with the tile if you leave the tile just short of the ceiling.

Morton, my thoughts were to step the tile in starting at the top of the cabinets and going to the ceiling, so it is narrower at the top.

Jodi-

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm feeling a little less sick about this.

What do you think of stepping in the tile from the tops of the cabs toward the hood duct, to soften the look? The tile installer suggested this, saying it would be evocative of a chimney. I think it might look nice, but would be hard to get it right.

I have switched outlets over the tall cabinets, so eventually I could put some shallow, colored-glass bowls on top of them and illuminate them; don't know if that would look well. I'm planning on putting 3 Murano glass bowls on top of the horizontal cabs so stuff on top of the tall cabs as well is probably too much.

Tnanks, Jodi, I posted before I saw your feedback. So you are suggesting the "chimney" look, same as what the installer suggested.

Tile just got enhanced! I think I like it-- liked it a lot enhanced or not so that was a tough call. Will post more pics after it is grouted.

I'm not sure how hard it would be to remove tile or whether you should or not, I just wanted to say that the combination of counter and cab and splash is really stunning. Great choice.

I think it looks fabulous -- can you mock up the stepped waterfall using double-sided tape on the backs of the tiles, just to see what works?

And congrats on your Futuro Futuro hood -- I splurged on one and it's marvelous, really easy to install and incredibly helpful customer service.

Morton, post a clearer, closer, more straight-on pic of the area in question and I'll try to simulate the waterfall effect using Photoshop a bit later today.

Jodi-

I like it--very dramatic and has that ever-elusive "WOW" factor! I think a stepped effect would be nice as well, but really do like it the way you have it now. (just my 2 cents!)

I like it, but agree that the edges need to be "finished." To me, a jagged edge looks unfinished and like you couldn'e figure out what to do. After your doors are in, you can play around with what to edge it with--stainless, wood, etc.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm going to keep it straight up for now, and look into getting a trim piece to finish off the edges. Thanks for your offer to photoshop it, though, Jodi.

Ovens are going in! The stainless looks very nice with the tile, too. I'll post more pics once doors are on.

This silly backsplash has driven me to a (large) glass of wine in the middle of the day. If I were to keep a journal of how I spend my time with this remodel, 3 or 4 hours a day would go to "unproductive angst." Meanwhile, DH hangs blinds, moves furniture, fixes the satellite connection. I'm going to have to bring the laundry to the kitchen so I can at least fold while I stare at the backsplash. I would actually do that but there are 3 guys in my kitchen right now.

Morton, Jeffrey Court does offer glass trim pieces. I saw them used on a display board at Morena Tile in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

My suggestion: on top of the cabinets on both side: you could put up 'decor': plants: bottles: ect and have it all tie in. I believe that would look good. The tile looks good going up to the ceiling: I think it would not look so good stopping. Just my opinion. hope that helps. You may wreck the texture of the wall and then it won't match the rest of the walls/bigger mess.

Jodi, thanks for the info on the glass trim pieces. I needed two more sheets of tile and also ordered 7 eight-inch coral-colored glass trim pieces. That set me back another $200. Ouch.

Well, here's what we did with the backsplash. My range is bumped out in an extra-deep cabinet run, and is vented with an island-mount hood. I took the backsplash down to the top of the cabs and ran a 10" shelf behind the hood. The shelf is the Ikea Lack shelf-- it is about 2 inches thick and mounts with hidden brackets. It so happens that I have outlets above my oven cab and fridge cabs, both of which are wired to the switch next to my range, by the toaster. I've toyed with adding lights to the underside of the shelf, but after taping up a couple didn't like the glare. I will probably put a couple of colored glass bowls on the shelf, and underlight them with some some thin (1/8" thick) LED disks from Ikea. As you can see, we still haven't painted up there yet-- the drywall had to be redone in that section after the backsplash came down. It was painful to redo it, but now I'm happy with the result.

I love it! Good for you...it's so easy for us out here in kitchen remodeling land to say "wait and see ...once everything is in you'll love it"! Although it turns out to be true many times, I don't know if we end up loving it or convincing ourselves we love it because it's too late at that time to do anything about it!! You knew what you didn't like and you changed it and boy is it great! Really, it is a great solution and is sooo much better than before...it's so hard to picture what to do, but when you see it like that you know that it's perfect, it's like a cozy cooking nook you've created with your tile..and lighting underneath sounds like a great idea..but if it didn't work for you may something very soft, low wattage, would work..not task lighting but accent. Great kitchen, I'm typically not a fan of dark cabinets, but I'm drooling over your kitchen. Thanks for posting and sharing!

That looks so good! Who came up w/ the shelf idea? Beautiful blend of textures and color. Can't wait to see the rest.

Now off to my own bsplash angst.....

It looks great! Glad you found a solution you are happy with and so glad you left most of it up! your entire kitchen is beautiful. Please post again when you are painted and accessorised!

That looks amazing! What a perfect solution. Your kitchen now has a spot in my inspiration folder.

Caligal, the shelf idea was mine, probably the result of spending waaay to much time browsing through the Ikea catalog. Unfortunately the inspiration to "hack the Lack" (sorry, I just like saying that) struck a day late. I guess those who are visually challenged (like me) have to see stuff up before we know if we like it. BTW, I think your kitchen is looking awesome and I know you will come up with a great backsplash; there are so many great possibilities with your space.

Was remiss in not thanking others for positive feedback-- it means so much when I was my own KD.

WOW!

What an elegant solution. Thank you for sharing that with us, it was neat watching in real time -- seeing your dilemma followed by the really inventive solution you came up with! I feel like every day in the kitchen remodel I'm trying to stay one step ahead of the disasters, trying to design on the fly and head off the problems. It's nice to have someone else mirror that experience, and it's comforting knowing sometimes those dilemmas produce the nicest, best, most creative results. Really, you should be so proud.

Wow what a difference. It looks beautiful, you did the right thing, and it turned out perfect. Love the shelf idea and your wall color also. Can you share the color and brand, it looks on my screen like a soft golden yellow. Love, love, love this backsplash. It is so warm and inviting, yet modern. What I love about the fire and ice is that everyone on here that used it added their own special tocuhes, and used different colored glass which makes all of them so beautiful yet so different. Marilyn

Thank you Evilbunnie (you make my screen name seem even more lame) and Marilyn. Marilyn, the color is Duron Millet #8212W. I believe that Duron is now owned by Sherwin Williams, and they will have the color formula if you do not have Duron in your area. It is the same paint color I had in my old kitchen, but it worked so well with my new selections that I kept it.

Wow! That looks perfect. I was sympathizing with you earlier because it really did look very heavy. Now it makes total sense. Its beautiful!

Terrific solution. It looks fabulous. Congratulations!

Wow thats a smart, clean solution! It looks awesome, great kitchen!

How high are your ceilings? thanks,
vic

It looks great! I liked it the other way, too, so IMHO, you couldn't go wrong with either choice!

Thanks for the feedback. Vicnsb, my ceilings are 9ft. At times the height can be a design challenge.