How to Update a Glass Tile Kitchen Backsplash - An Easy Revamp

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We’re actually quite lucky as we’ve inherited a decent kitchen in our new house, although I wasn’t too keen on the glass tile kitchen backsplash.

Figuring out how to update a glass tile kitchen backsplash was one of the first things I researched when we moved in. I didn’t want to replace it as we were eventually ripping this kitchen out and turning it into a guest bedroom! So I needed some kitchen backsplash ideas on a budget.

I don’t think the kitchen is that old, with white gloss cabinets, real granite worktops, a breakfast bar, and my favorite item, the pull-out pantry! It’s fresh, bright and modern. Although, as you always find when you move house, things don’t work as they should!

white gloss kitchen with karndean flooring and a granite worktop. There is a blue glass tile backsplash and a hob — Our new kitchen with its blue glass tile kitchen backsplash

The lights keep flickering and going off, the sink has seen better days and whilst the modern appliances look smart, the top part of our oven and microwave element does not work. Plus, there isn’t enough worktop space and it feels like it was a bit of an afterthought.

white gloss kitchen with a granite worktop. There is a blue glass tile backsplash and a hob and a double oven — Integrated oven and grill with top oven and microwave… that doesn’t work

However, there is ample storage, and the worktops, although not enough, are in fabulous condition. It is quite well thought out with bins tucked out of the way and everything within easy reach. Who knew I would get so excited about a pull-out pantry??

a pull out pantry in the kitchen filled with spices — I never knew how much I needed a pull-out pantry in my life!

It also has a neat little breakfast bar on the other side which is perfect for the kids in the morning when they are eating their breakfast.

It’s a bit of a tight squeeze though and they’re constantly having to duck or get out of the way so I can get into the cupboards or fridge!

white gloss kitchen with karndean flooring and a granite worktop. There is a blue glass tile backsplash above a breakfast bar with bar stools — There’s a little breakfast bar on the other side of the kitchen with a mini pull-out pantry to the left. The previous owners had a TV installed here.

Eventually, this kitchen will be our guest bedroom as we are extending our house out into the garden and creating a huge kitchen/diner space as we had in our old house.

We love to entertain and I much prefer having the kitchen leading out into the garden as this is the space we use most as a family. So, this kitchen really doesn’t work for us and I didn’t want to spend too much money replacing the kitchen backsplash tiles.

You can read more about our new house here.

new house ground floor plan — The potential floor plan for our renovations. The current kitchen is in the room in the bottom left-hand corner.

white shaker-style kitchen with a large woodland blue mural in the background. The walls are painted in Hague Blue and there are exposed pine flooring — We absolutely loved the kitchen in our old house, it was a huge sociable space.

DIY Kitchen Backsplash Research

We’re hoping to renovate ASAP, so I didn’t really want to do anything to this kitchen, just update it a little.

I didn’t like the blue glass tile kitchen backsplash so I started researching kitchen backsplash ideas on a budget and came across peel and stick kitchen backsplash tiles! I found some great options for stick-on kitchen tiles and decided to give it a try.

monochrome tiles in the kitchen with green kitchen cabinets and gold taps — How amazing is that tap? I also love the green cabinets and of course, the backsplash that Claire has used. Image credit: @ck_homestyle

monochrome patterned backsplash above the over in the kitchen — This is a vinyl backsplash from jesrose.co.uk. Image credit: @jayneepops_

monochrome tiles in the kitchen above a range cooker — Emma has also used jesrose.co.uk vinyl to change her backsplash. Image credit: @stove_pipe_house

duck egg blue mermaid tiles for the kitchen — Shell blue peel and stick kitchen backsplash tiles from Dunelm

subway tiles — Subway peel and stick kitchen backsplash tiles from Homebase

patterened black and white tiles — Art Deco Grey Vinyl – jesrose.co.uk

patterned blue and beige tiles in the kitchen with dark blue kitchen cabinets — Lisbon Blue peel and stick kitchen backsplash self-adhesive tiles – Dunelm

I wanted something simple and monochrome to fit in with the existing kitchen and as you probably all know by now, I absolutely love patterns, so I settled on these Algarve Black Self-Adhesive Tiles from Dunelm to start my DIY kitchen backsplash.

monochrome patterned tiles in the kitchen with dark blue kitchen cabinets — Algarve Black peel and stick kitchen backsplash self-adhesive tiles – Dunelm

But wait! Make sure you get the right ones first. I saw the above image online and knew I wanted those exact ones, but when I went to buy them from Dunelm, they were going to take about 10 days to deliver.

So I had a little shop around and found the same ones at Homebase. However, they were designated floor tile ones and not for the backsplash, so when I tried to put them up, they wouldn’t stick.

It wasn’t until I googled to find out why I was having such problems with putting them up that I realized I had bought the thicker vinyl tiles instead of the sticky plastic film so I had to go back to Dunelm and order them anyway.

Always check and double-check you have the equipment for the exact DIY project you’re about to undertake!

DIY Kitchen Backsplash Preparation

They arrived a week later and I started the prep to put them up. Which consists of clearing the area and giving it a wipe down. That’s it! My kind of prep.

spraying the glass tile with cleaner — Cleaning with my favorite plastic-free product, Raindrop!

What you will need;

Peel & Stick kitchen backsplash tiles
Plastic smoother
Sharp knife or scissors to cut excess
Tape measure and pencil
A bit of patience

I think the most important tool from the list above is to get yourself the best plastic smoother and sharpest knife you can! The plastic smoother will help you get all the bubbles out along the backsplash and a sharp knife makes it really easy to cut along the edges.

peel and stick tiles, scissors, wallpaper smoother and a knife laid out on a kitchen worktop — Tools for the DIY kitchen backsplash job.

You are ready to go! The peel and stick kitchen backsplash I bought came in one long roll so I started from the left-hand corner and worked my way across the backsplash.

I would take off the backing about 12 inches at a time and smooth down the peel & stick tiles with the plastic smoother and it was a lot easier than I thought.

smoothing the wallpaper down — The smoother helps you get out all the bubbles and really helped to keep the tiles straight

There were a few times the tiles would look wonky along the backsplash and worktops, so I would just peel off and stick them down with the plastic smoother again. Make sure you get all the bubbles out as you go along and that’s really all there is to it!

peel and stick backsplash going up in the kitchen — This is one roll which comes in at £18

The Tricky Bits

We have sockets along this wall and it was a little tricky trying to cut around them. The first socket I could measure out on the tiles before I put them up, so that was easy to cut. But as the peel-and-stick tiles come in one long roll, you couldn’t really cut out the socket further down the worktops.

peel and stick tiles going up over the glass tile in the kitchen — I cut the hole out for the socket before I started to apply

peel and stick tiles going around a plug socket — A little bit closer. Not perfect but no one’s going to notice!

It’s exactly the same as wallpapering. I just wrapped the peel-and-stick tiles over the socket, marked out the corners of the socket, and cut into the middle. Then fold back the four corners and use scissors to cut them.

The tiles can rip quite easily so be very careful with this! I managed to rip part of the tiles on one corner, so had to cut out some more pattern and put it over the top.

peel and stick tiles up in the kitchen — You can just about make out where the tile overlaps above the socket, but again! Not noticeable.

The last bit is to try and match up the pattern if you run out of roll! Again, this was pretty simple to do but required a little patience to get it matched up. I lined it up first before taking off the backing and then slowly peeled it away, using the plastic smoother to straighten it out.

Finishing the job with peel and stick tiles going up under the oven hob — I had to cut out a separate section to fill in the tiles under the extractor hood.

A Modern Kitchen for £36

Well, maybe a little bit more. I started the DIY kitchen backsplash next to our breakfast bar and ran out of rolls so will have to order one more. But I reckon two rolls at £36 should do most kitchens.

It is 100% worth every penny!

white gloss kitchen with karndean flooring and a granite worktop. There is peel and stick monochrome tile backsplash and a hob — I love how the tiles look against the granite worktops

white gloss kitchen with karndean flooring and a granite worktop. There is a peel and stick tile backsplash and a hob — It’s like they’ve always been there

I am extremely pleased with how it’s turned out and it took me around an hour. It has freshened up our kitchen no end and it looks and feels very durable.

The Breakfast Bar

I have started on the backsplash next to the breakfast bar and will need one more roll to complete it. The next project will be to install some scaffold boards above the breakfast bar and turn it into a little coffee bar area. Any excuse for shelves in the kitchen to display my favourite kitchen products!

white gloss kitchen with karndean flooring and a granite worktop. There is a peel and stick tile backsplash above a breakfast bar and two bar stools — Looks so much better! Shelving next

FAQs

It’s such a simple DIY to do and took me about 2 hours overall. I did get a few questions when I put this on my stories so I thought I’d answer some here –

Q. Will the kitchen backsplash peel and stick wallpaper go over my tiles?

As long as the tiles are relatively smooth, I don’t see why not? Our glass backsplash had several joints and you cannot see it through the peel and stick kitchen backsplash.

Q. How many adhesive wallpaper rolls will I need?

The peel-and-stick tiles I bought from Dunelm are 108 x 18 inches and I needed 3 rolls to do the whole of my kitchen

Q. Does the peel and stick wallpaper come as one long roll?

Yes! It’s trickier to install but then you’re not trying to match up the pattern every time you run out.

Q. How do you apply peel and stick wallpaper?

It’s the easiest thing to do! A bit like wallpaper, but without the horrible paste, you peel the back of the tiles off and using a plastic smoother, slowly smooth it across the surface.

And that’s all there is to it really. I can’t believe I managed to get a whole 1200-word blog post out of this subject! But, as ever, I’ve got a lot to say!

Do you think you’ll give it a go?

How to Update a Glass Tile Kitchen Backsplash – An Easy Revamp