Cooking Up A Surprise

While I was in Utah with the kids Jason came home for a few days and decided to tackle a huge, nagging homeowners task.  When we built our house, our builder was set on oak, dark brown, and tan.  They had no idea why we wanted to fill our house with white trim and gray paint, or black countertops and white cabinets.  Their backsplash options were a miniaturized version of our bathroom tiles, and we decided to just pass.  In hindsight, we should have taken the time to research what we wanted to and have them put it in, but we were really picking our battles to stay on schedule.  So we filed the backsplash under "someday" and left it.

And over time, I started to loathe that unfinished space more and more.  The extra strip of black granite on the wall darkened up the space, but what I really hated was the fact that any food splatters or splashes stained the wall and then took off the paint when we wiped them down.  So we started talking backsplashes, and settled on a beautiful gray and white marble subway tile.

And the first night Jason was home alone, he did this- 

 We had to Facetime- I couldn't believe it!

 It was beautiful!

And a huge mess.  I was so glad to not be there until the job was 98% done.  

It brightens up the space just like I hoped it would.  Our house faces south, and we live far enough north that all of the good sunlight shines on the side of the house that has hardly any windows.  It drives me crazy.

 And, of course, there are a few imperfections that drive Jason crazy, but overall, he did a great job!  And we love it!  It still catches me by surprise at least once a day.  A backsplash!  How nice!  And, of course, this has given Jason the confidence to move forward with any number of other home improvement projects we've got dancing around in our minds... 

Ironically, this is the latest picture that our builder has on their website showcasing a kitchen.  White cabinets, dark floors, and a gray backsplash!  I think we've started something in Iowa...