If you’ve read my blog for a while, you’ll know that I live in a new build house that has a super location, but no character. You’ll also know that I love a bit of painting and DIY. The kitchen-dining area is probably my favourite part of the house. It faces south, so is light and bright and it has bifold doors out onto the garden. The walls and ceiling are white, but I have a two pieces of painted furniture, one of which is the rather fabulous cocktail cabinet I upcycled last spring.
Since then, I have wanted a kitchen splashback to go behind the sink. The aforementioned cocktail cabinet is an aqua colour. I wanted the splashback to tone in, but to be a softer colour; I decided upon duck egg. There are plenty of ready-made and bespoke options. However, the ready-made ones didn’t work for what I wanted; the bespoke ones, (because I wanted it to cover the whole width of the wall), needed three cutouts for sockets. That added significantly to the cost. It was out of budget and I’d have felt obliged to stick with that colour scheme for years to justify it. So, I decided to do my own DIY kitchen splashback.
(I’ve exaggerated the description really. My DIY kitchen splashback is nothing more than a painted area above the sink. But, I’m really, really pleased with the result).
So this is what it looked like at the start. Plain white walls, oak effect surfaces and the fabulous copper sockets that Ian put in for me a while back.
We decided to take the splashback up to the bottom of the wall cupboards so measured it and put masking tape along the width of the wall at that height. I wiped the wall with sugar soap to make sure it was grease free. (The area immediately above the tap had washing-up liquid residue so I gave that area a light sanding too). I lined my painting tray with foil, (I always do. It saves on washing up and means paint doesn’t end up in the water system), and began. I used a tapered brush to cut in along the edges and around the sockets, and a roller to do the rest then let it dry overnight.
The second coat is always more fun and much easier. I’m a patient woman, but when I’m doing things like this, I want it done now, so I got my hairdryer to speed things up. There is after all, little more boring than watching paint dry. Once it was dry, it was time to remove the masking tape. Some areas next to the cooker had a little bit of peeling (kitchen paint contains plasticiser so it peels rather than flakes), which needed touching up. But, the main part, the join between the white and the duck egg was pretty much perfect. Never have I been so jubilant.
It needs some shallow shelves and some accessories to finish it off and I’m thinking of changing the cupboard handles from brushed steel to copper. When it’s all finished, I’ll share a photo or two. But, I think you’ll agree that this is a very easy way to create a DIY kitchen splashback.
Notes:
Copper sockets: Sockets and Switches
Vintage Duck Egg Kitchen Matt paint: Johnstone’s
2 comments
Hi Lizzie, thanks for your posts. Keeping up with yourself and 3 or 4 other bloggers and what you are all going through makes interesting reading in these strange times. Love the tip about lining the roller tray with foil when decorating. We have managed 2 bedrooms so far but kitchen, hall and downstairs loo are next one the list once bedroom curtains are finished – hopefully today if the cotton I ordered last week turns up. However it is your splashback that is really making me write today. We re-did our kitchen 10 years ago and wanted a glass splashback in a specific colour. There were several companies that we found who could colour match but they seemed ridiculously expensive. In the end for about £120 I think we found a glass company who could cut the pieces of glass we needed, including cutouts for wall sockets. We did a template for them them. We then painted the back of it with the Dulux paint we had used for the ends of the island and as a feature. My husband then fitted the glass panels behind the tap and sink and also the hob and hey presto. 10 years on they still look great. So if the paint alone doesn’t work this may be worth considering. Stay safe and enjoy having Poppy and Harry at home.
Hi Sue, lovely to hear from you. I hope you and your family are all well. It sounds like you’re keeping busy with decorating too! Thank you so much for the advice about the splashback. Such a good idea and one I’ll definitely use if the paint job doesn’t hold up. So far so good but it is only a few days in!! Take care and stay safe and thank you so much for reading. It means a lot xxx