Kitchen - tile backsplash on cabinet end panels???

13 years ago

Our builder's granite installer, mistakenly installed the 4" backsplash on the side panels of the cabinets -- the oven cabinet on one end of the counter, and the refrigerator cabinet on the other end. Then they removed them, causing the wood to blister. They are trying to convince me to carry my backsplash tile over to tile the side panels of those cabinets. I'm not liking the idea of this. Has anyone ever seen this done? Any pros or cons? (For background: we had planned all along to tile from the counter up, but builder's design center insisted on the 4" backsplash -- said we could easily remove it.) Thanks in advance! I appreciate any help I can get.

Featured Answer

Jodi Johnson
Original Author

10 years ago

I wouldn't leave it alone, and the builder finally did step up and fix this. They installed a wood veneer on those end panels, and it looks beautiful! We also switched to a glossy white tile and it was incredible how much that brightened up our kitchen!

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Comments (10)

Jodi Johnson
Original Author
13 years ago
Note:Holding up the tile for a general idea on how it will look. Tile will be installed on the diagonal.
PRO
Unravel Design
13 years ago
I haven't seen the mosaic tile on a cabinet side panel before, only as an after thought. The blistering doesn't look too bad. Try a stain pen to cover it up, if this doesn't look any better I'd remove the 4" back splash and tile the entire area side panel included. This also might bring up the issue of how to cover the mosaic tile edge. See if you can get a quarter round transition strip to match wood stain from the cabinet makers. Hope this helps.
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User
13 years ago
Of all the places you need some sort of backsplash, that is the most important. Just from a daily damp rag, that finish on the side panels will look bad in no time. Just to make a point, if you left the backsplash off the back wall and washed it enough to wear it out, you could just repaint it and it would be good as new. You cannot do that with the end panels. Notice how easily they were already damaged. Are you going to take the 4" splash off the back as well? If not, then I would suggest putting the 4" splash back on. I like your tile and think it would look good on the side panel. The only problem is deciding how high.
Jodi Johnson
Original Author
13 years ago
Fred S - thank you - Good point to ponder. Yes, the 4" backsplash is going to be completely removed, the tile will go from the counter up.
User
13 years ago
The reasoning I have heard several times for using the 4" backsplash first is so the sides only have to have the 4" splash that blends in with the counter top. The tricky part may be not using the 4" splash and then changing tile height from back to side. If you run them both up to the bottom of the cabinets, the tile still sticks out past the 12" deep upper cabinet, so the question of where to stop it never goes away unless you go all the way to the ceiling. Your tile pattern and colors are one of the few I have seen that would actually go really well with a 4" splash on the bottom. I would take advantage of that.
handymd
11 years ago
What was your solution? I am looking to do almost the exact same thing.
Jodi Johnson
Original Author
11 years ago
We haven't installed it yet, but we decided to take one third of each tile, which is a row on our particular tile, and use that on the cabinet ends. That way it covers the damage and protects the cabinet. That way, I can remove the remaining 4" backsplash and have tile from counter to cabinet, as I wanted. We've been considering distressing the cabinets, which is why it's not installed yet. I guess I have analysis paralysis. : ) Best of luck to you with your project!
PRO
Kitchens For Cooking
11 years ago
They need to step up and get you a new panel for the side. A great finisher can match it to existing cabinets if you cannot purchase the panel. And don't do a 4" backsplash--it looks cheap. Go all the way up as you wanted. You seem to have great taste, they are behaving badly.
handymd
11 years ago
My plan was to tile the cabinet from the counter (sans 4" backsplash) up to the cabinet. For the edges, I'm planning on just using a tile pencil. My main concern is how to adhere the tiles to the cabinets since it's a thin veneer siding. I fear that the veneer might fail under the weight of the tile, which leads me to thinking that I might need to cut a line, and peel all of the veneer up so that I can adheer the tiles directly to the MDF below.