I was looking for a low-cost solution for the kitchen backsplash. I had painted the walls a gold that matches the color in my countertops using Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint, but wasn’t sure where I wanted to go from there. Maybe do some artwork with chalk or just settle for being able to jot down shopping items?

I had been thinking about the large decal mural my niece-in-law Brandy had done and was browsing decals for ideas.

Shopping and decision-making

Then I found Dali Decals. These folks have some great decals and the mini poppies that I loved were only $10 a set. I ordered two sets. When I clicked on the page they have an image of the decals as a backsplash and even allowed you to change the cabinet color, sink color (I had to pretend it was my countertops I had just painted with Giani paint), wall color, and then the poppy color to test your ideas. Different decals have different options.

This was a life saver for me — I had thought about trying to pick up the copper I put in the countertops, but all combinations I tried looked awful. I kept changing things until I found I like picking up the gold in the counters as the wall color and then black flowers to tie with the black cabinet hardware and pull out the black in my counters.

The decals and set up

It takes a while to get the decals. I suspect they wait until there are orders and then cut them so it was about a week and a half before they arrived. The shipping date was several days after the order date.

The decals came on 4 sheets, so I cut the individual flowers out and used painters tape to tape them on the wall and decide where I wanted them. I wanted them somewhat randomly spaced so it wouldn’t look too regimented. Once that was done, I used a level to make a chalk line for each flower so they’d be straight and I spaced them about 3/8″ from the top of backsplash and stove top so I could wipe down the counter backsplash and even re-caulk and not have a problem with the flowers. I don’t know if chalk was a bad idea since it could interfere with adhesion, but they all seem to be firmly stuck to the wall.

Working on decal application – flowers taped up and Nikki supervising

 You first remove a stiff paper backing from each decal, smooth the decals on the wall where you want them, use the squeegee to firmly attach each decal to the wall, and then carefully remove the transfer paper from the top of the decal. I had to be really careful to not pull the little petals and stems away from the wall. If anything seemed to be pulling up I stopped and used the squeegee more. It’s pretty easy.

Standing back and admiring

I put my tools away, put appliances back in place, stood back at the doorway to the kitchen to admire my handiwork and had two thoughts. 1. I really liked the flowers for an economical, cute backsplash and black was the right choice. 2. They were too sparse. There simply wasn’t enough of them for the space.

I got online to order another two sets in the hopes that going from 20 to 40 flowers would be enough.

 

 

Two more sets applied

I added the two additional sets and I’m satisfied with the look. Keep in mind this is a house that I purchased as a foreclosure and my goal here is to fix it up and sell it for a profit. I don’t want to put and arm and a leg into unless I absolutely have to.

The final results

I’m really happy with the look and the price.