These kitchen backsplash dilemmas are just getting too good not to share. I do not make these up…..I swear!

I received these two uploads this week on one of my old blogposts about kitchen backsplashes. I couldn’t help but plunge in and answer. I love resharing these problems so others can benefit from the suggestions and information too.

Just when I think I’ve seen it all…..there’s another tiny deviation of where to end a kitchen backsplash or how to detail it.

Reader Question 1:

Help!

I have to make a decision about where to end the tile ASAP and I can't figure it out! The dang light switch (and it cannot be relocated at all) is throwing me off. If I go straight down from the upper cabinet, then about 1/4 of the light switch will be included. All the way over to the door trim leaves the tile floating.

Carla, your thoughts??

My answer:

That's too bad. We sometimes use these type switches that stack, to get a smaller j-box in the wall. That might just be enough to scoot it beyond the alignment with the upper cabinet. This link is just one example, there are lots of combinations and switch styles. It would be worth getting a licensed electrician to have a look, even perhaps a second opinion.

You could even move them to the right to be totally on top of the tile, that would get them out of the way of the end of the backsplash.

I typically see situations on jobs where nothing is impossible, it's really just how much you want to pay for it. :-)

Reader Question 2:

We are in the middle of a kitchen makeover. We want to change the backsplash, however, we hate the current placement of the tiles. As you can see our dilemma, the cabinets are at different heights. Do we have to put the tile all the way up to the cabinet on the left or can we keep the same height all the way across from the cabinet on the right?

My Answer:

What about tiling the whole area around the window? It's not that much more.

That will create a consistent look and solve your dilemma of having one side look awkward no matter what you do.

Don’t leave a raw edge of tile on an outside corner around the window. That should be properly finished off.

You could return the tile inside the window area to butt to the window or you could do a small wood trim to frame around the window and then fill in with tile like we did in this job.