DIY Tuscan Kitchen Faux Wall Tile Project
Tuscan inspired colors are warm earth tones. They include colors like terra cotta, warm mustard yellows, earthy warm browns, glowing oranges with a hint of brown, and warm grays. Keep these in mind when you are choosing the paints for you faux tile back splash.
You will need:
Blue tape in Ã?¼” width (2 roles for a large kitchen)
Egg Shell Or Semi Gloss Paint (3 Colors, One base grout color, 2 earthy warm tile colors)
3″bristle brushes (3)
Roller brush
4 Paint trays
Glaze Medium
Scissors or exacto knife
In a high-end kitchen with authentic Tuscan wall tile look you would normally see an intricate tile backsplash behind the stove or sink. The Tuscan tile would continue in matching hues, but larger tiles throughout the rest of the back splash behind the counters. I recommend breaking this Tuscan faux tile back splash project down into two projects. The first one should be the more intricate back splash behind the stove. After you have completed that then tape of the remainder of your wall space and start creating faux Tuscan tiles behind your counters.
I like to start this project by painting all of the walls receiving the faux tile treatment in the kitchen a warm Tuscan inspired color that will be the grout color. There is no white left in this project, so this is a good way to prevent any white area from seeping through your Tuscan faux tile paint job. A nice warm gray color is perfect for the grout. A color like Realist Beige from Sherwin Williams would work well for this project. Once this has dried you are ready to start taping off. If you are completing this DIY Faux tile treatment over the weekend try to paint your base grout color on Friday night. Completing this one step will allow you to start working on the detailed part of the Tuscan faux tile treatment first thing in the morning.
I begin by taping off the specific area behind the stove that will be the more intricate Tuscan faux tile back splash. The thin blue painter’s tape will be your grout line. Use scissors or an exacto knife to cut your painters tape so you do not have any rough edges. Create your own intricate unique Tuscan inspired pattern by playing with some designs on paper. Use a level and ruler to make sure your faux tiles are level and equally spaced on the wall. This is the time to incorporate some smaller faux tiles in combination with larger ones. You can make up your own tile pattern or take inspiration from kitchen dÃ?©cor magazines. You may find it helpful to lightly draw your design on the wall with a pencil. Use a white artists eraser to remove any visible lines after all paint has dried for at least 24 hours. You could also use a Mr. Clean magic eraser.
Now that your Tuscan faux tile back splash is taped off you can start painting. For this project it would be best to create a few different looks for your tiles based on your two paints. Have one tile be closer to paint color #1, the second tile be close to paint #2, and create a third unique paint color by mixing an equal combination of the two paints. Mix your tile colors in their own paint trays and add some glaze. The glaze medium will keep your Tuscan inspired paint wet for a longer period of time, so you can do this mixing on the wall. If you want though, you could go ahead and mix these colors in their own paint trays.
Color suggestions: for a bold Tuscan look try colors like Reddened Earth and Tatami Tan. For amore neutral warm Tuscan color palette try a combination of colors like Bagel and Diverse Beige form Sherwin Williams.
When you are applying your paint on the wall do not over work it. You want some variation in the paint. The tiles should not be a flat or solid color.
Once you have the base coat of your faux Tuscan tile wall treatment painted you can added some extra detail and interest with a little splattered paint. Take a clean brush and lightly dip it in one of you original two paint colors. Lightly splatter it on the wall where you have been working. Very lightly. You could also lightly stipple the wall with a very dry brush with very little paint on it. This will create that dimpled uneven effect that natural tile often has. Just remember, you can always add more, so work in small amounts.
Once you have finished painting your Tuscan tile back splash you can move onto the remainder of your walls. I recommend painting larger tiles in these areas. Tiles that are anywhere from 4″X4″ to even 8″x8″ would work well depending on your kitchen. A nice Tuscan inspired pattern would to occasionally have a tile placed in a diamond shape with square faux tiles all around it. Here are a couple web sites with good photos of authentic Tuscan tile used in a kitchen to help you establish a pattern. http://www.morrisblack.com/pages/bakitchen/kitchen3.html is a great site for some Tuscan tile inspiration. Scroll down for a view of some Tuscan tile in a kitchen.
http://barefootfloor.com/ceramic-tiles/ has some great examples as well. Click on floors and tiles. Scroll down to their Cortona by Tangina tiles. These are beautiful and have a heavy Tuscan influence. http://www.lindapaul.com/tile_murals/Tuscan_Kitchen_Tile_Backsplash.htm has some great examples of intricate backsplashes behind the stovetop. Although these are murals, you can see in some of the photos that they use larger tiles behind the rest for the counter, which is trend in Tuscan inspired kitchens.
Once you have finished painting your faux Tuscan tiles, carefully remove the painter’s tape. Allow your faux tile treatment to dry for at least twenty-four hours before you start accessorizing your Tuscan kitchen.
