Smart Tiles - Bellagio Keystone
So one of my laundry list of things to do was to give my kitchen a backsplash. Having the twins on my hands and DH away all the time meant either we’d have to hire a contracter..(mega $$$$$$!) or look at a peel and stick option.
I decided to go with Smart Tiles. I know they aren’t the cheapest option but from what I read online they seemed like the best quality option. I figure if I’m going to do a peel and stick option I may as well spend a little extra to ensure they don’t peel off on me in the near future.
What I also liked about Smart Tiles was that they were a Canadian company, and I like to support my country if I can afford to do so.
The colour I chose was the Bellagio Keystone. It’s hard to tell the colour when looking at it online vs. how it will look in person, but I took the plunge and ordered 6 packs of 6 tiles from the Home Depot website. Home Depot is associated with ebates.ca so I would get some cashback for the purchase :).
My kitchen has maple cabinets, matching maple drawers, stainless steel appliances, pinky/beige laminate counters and matching pinky/beige floor tiles. Once I opened up my package to finally see the colours in person, I soon realized my worries were over and these tile blended perfectly into the colour scheme of my kitchen. The Bellagio Keystone colours in person have some pink undertones that I was unable to detect when looking at it online... so yay!
So some crappy before and afters...because I forgot to take a proper before picture, and I don’t have a proper camera to take a real nice picture...
Installing: (total time to install was approx. 2-3 hrs)
So in a matter of a few hours I was able to give my kitchen a little makeover. I am definitely pleased with the end result. It really makes my kitchen stand out now and gives it a defined space.
Total cost was under $300 CAD. The tiles I used measure 10″x10″ and we ended up needing only 5 packs of the 6 that I ordered (so 30 tiles total) and I returned my extra pack to the Home Depot. Tools required are a box-cutting knife, scissors, a ruler, and a board to cut the tiles on...all of which I already had ready to use at home.
Easy installation! No need to get special tiling supplies such as a tile saw, grout, things that spread the glue, drop cloths, tile spacers, etc.
Quick! The whole project was completed in 2-3 hours. No need to wait for glued tiles to dry, no waiting for grout to dry.
Looks great! While you cannot be fooled into thinking this is an exact copycat product of the real thing, it still gives a high-end feel.
The tiles are removable by using a hair dryer to heat the tile so the glue would soften enough to be removed from the wall.
Caution aligning tiles. While the sticking process is relatively straight-forward, if your walls and cabinetry aren’t 100% perfectly square, there will be some improvisation needed to get the tiles to line up where they need to go.
Can be pricey....I wouldn’t suggest doing this tile over a large project, like an entire bathroom or something. I don’t think the convenience cost justifies it. At around $11 CAD per square foot, you would probably be better off doing traditional tiles.
One installation tip I will put out there: When it came to do around the electrical outlets and around the kitchen hood, I used the backings of already stuck on tiles as templates to ensure the proper measurement of the cuts that needed to be done.
Overall I would say these tiles are a great beginner DIY project for someone who has little to no experience doing renovations. It was definitely convenient for me as a stay-at-home mom with twin toddlers running around. I wouldn’t hesitate to use Smart Tiles for my next backsplash project.
