Removable Contact Paper Backsplash

Our Family relocated a little over a year ago.

We went from our house we owned, to this duplex we would rent.

I absolutely love to decorate our home -- especially with paint! But alas, its not to be had here.

So for over a year I've been brainstorming how I could liven up our kitchen, but temporarily -- so when we move out we won't be in trouble! 

This is our kitchen the day we walked through

And after many a crazy idea that wouldn't have worked... 

I came up with 

CONTACT PAPER!

I apologize for the horrible color tone of this photo -- I took it at night, and no matter what I did in editing, it looked crazy.

First I started with just contact papering a couple cabinets and drawers, to mix it up. 

But I still was longing for a backsplash.

I don't know why but contact paper for a backsplash didn't come to mind for quite a while longer.

When it did, I went on a hunt for a shape I could handle.

I settled on this tile:

via

I printed that photo out, cut out the tile shape, and then made a stencil from cardboard. 

Then traced it OVER and OVER and OVER!

I got my contact paper from the dollar store -- I used easy remove contact paper from Dollar Tree. (This one.)  And I ended up using three rolls to do this. So this was a $3 project.

(The contact paper on the cabinets was probably another $3.)

As I traced a row of these it would create one row of the stencil shaped tile, and in between it would create a row with a bit more of a pointy-top (than the straight-edged-top I had traced.) I just decided to keep those and alternate rows. It worked just great, and I don't mind the differences.

I learned that you want to apply theses by going across the wall diagonally. That makes your spacing work out right. Going left to right, top to bottom makes spacing a nightmare.

Here's a photo showing the way to move across the wall:

 This is not a fast moving project.

And since I have a two year old and a baby, this crazy thing took me like three weeks to get around to finishing. 

Of course that's accounting for MANY breaks where I was too busy wiping noses, or not sleeping to work on this random project.

So this is not for someone who wants to get this done in an hour.

This kind of project needs someone who's willing to commit!

Also, this is a temporary solution.

We are planing to be in this duplex a year or less. So I'm not worried about long term .

This is "easy remove" contact paper, so I'm not worried about ruining the walls or cabinets when we move out. It peels right off.

I love it though.

It makes it feel so much more like home in here.

I'm really glad I did it.

If you are feeling inspired,

I made a pinterest board full of tile shapes that could easily translate into your own contact paper backsplash.  Check it out {HERE} and see if you can find something to suit your eye for design.

Its a pretty dramatic effect for $3!

UPDATE:

 I had it up for approximately 6 months before we moved. I used easy remove contact paper from Dollar Tree. It came off cleanly and easily with no residue. The paint on the walls was semi-gloss, that may have helped, but that easy remove contact paper really peals off easy. Behind the stove where it was getting the heat peeled a little more tricky -- but still came off great. So for me there was no damage to the walls whatsoever.