Faux Tile Wallpapered Backsplash Idea

**This post was sponsored by Fancy Walls. All opinions are my own.

Since I’m pretty close to running out of walls to wallpaper here in our little brick ranch, I’ve turned my attention to my parents’ house just across town. They’ve got plenty of plain walls to dress up, and I’m excited to start dreaming of ways to liven things up with wallpaper. What can I say? I just can’t get enough of pretty patterned feature walls in interior design.

Happily, wallpaper is such a classic accent in the world of interior design. It has been used for literal centuries to decorate rooms in homes, so I feel confident that the work I’m doing will stand the test of time. Even if I have to swap out a pattern down the line to mix things up, the peel-and-stick panels from Fancy Walls that I always work with now aren’t hard to remove so I can easily start over with something new. Point being that even though wallpaper is a classic material, it has come a long, long way since, say, 200 B.C.

But I digress! Let’s chat about my latest DIY wallpapering project. As I mentioned, I’ve been bringing more pattern into my parents’ house (evidence seen here), and I recently pitched the idea of creating a faux tile “backsplash” in their kitchen. The small built-in desk in the space doesn’t have tile running up the wall behind it like the rest of the meal prep sections of the kitchen do—it’s just painted drywall—and I thought we could add some nice texture and personality with wallpaper that looked like tile but wouldn’t take days to install like real tile would.

After looking at a few pattern option on FancyWalls.com and ordering samples of some so we could see them in person, Mom and I ultimately landed on a wallpaper design called “Gray Retro Geometric.” We loved the neutral color palette that picked up on the gray tones and shades of soft blue that they already have in their decor, plus the repeated design really did mimic the look of tile. So, I went ahead and ordered a full run of the wallpaper based on the dimensions of the stepped wall we would be covering.

As always, the process was super easy and straight forward. I slowly peeled off the backer paper to reveal the sticky backside of the wallpaper, lined up the top with the bottom edge of the cabinetry, and then used a wallpaper smoothing tool to press it evenly over the wall, working out any air bubbles as I went. When I reached the bottom, I used a fresh sharp razor blade to slice off the excess wallpaper. Then, I repeated the steps with the next panel, carefully lining up the pattern so that the seam was invisible.

We all love the way it turned out! The pop of pattern makes this desk area feel so much more sophisticated and modern, yet the subtle colors in the design aren’t too in-your-face. It’s somehow the perfect blend of “understated” and “statement,” and was just what this once-plain desk needed.

Can you even imagine how expensive and time-consuming it would have been to install real tile? And the idea of changing out tile if and when it becomes dated makes me cringe…Instead, if this wallpaper ever starts looking a little past its prime, all we have to do is gently peel back the paper and then start over. It took 30 minutes to install, and would probably take half that time to uninstall should the need ever arise. The good news is that, as far as we’re concerned, this pattern is here to stay for the long haul. Let me know what you think about it in the comments!

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