Backsplash for Area Behind New Stove.

[Two Much]

We did a new kitchen about 8 or 9 years ago. We've been adding on to it
and changing some parts for awhile now. It's a galley kitchen which is a challenge.
One side is 10 foot long, the other side is 8 foot long. It dies into an eating area
that is 9'3" x 12'. The entire backsplash on the 10 foot side is mirror down to
the counter.
In March we bought a new stove, a stove without a back. So we had to change
the mirror behind the stove, which previously we did in pieces, because of the
'back of the stove' and also because of an outlet located on the end.

We had several pieces of large mirror, but only one piece large enough to do
this area in one piece. Because of the outlet, we couldn't come down to the
counter. I decided to do a partial tile and the mirror on top.
Found the tile at Home Depot that was perfect. It was a slate tile which is earthy
and slightly irregular and fits the theme of our kitchen, a little bit shaker, a little bit
Rock and Roll....

We only had one shot and getting this piece of mirror right. It was 2' x 6' and the
size we needed was 18" x 57" ish...So, we did a Hail Mary and dove in.
it worked out and I am delighted with the results. Much to the delight of the
head cabinet maker, I've been cooking my brains out since I got my new
Dream Stove.

The mirrors reflect a lot of light and widen the space. The galley part is narrow
but doesn't feel closed in because of the mirrors.
I'll get the pics...

[Two Much]

Here it is after the tiles were installed, and the mirror was about to be installed.
Also a pic just after mirror installation. The mirror on the end we stopped at the
end of the cabinet (13" deep) ...and went down to the countertop. Note the
outlet on the end, which was the reason for the tiles in the first place.
When you look at it, it looks like we also wrapped the tiles under that 13"
piece of mirror. Mirrors are sure tricky.

I'll be back with better pics of the finished product. It sure hard to pick out
pics from the little thumbnails.

[Two Much]

The finished area. Since we completed this in May, I have grown to like it even more.
I think the mirror above the tiles is a better look, more earthy and fitting with the cabs.
In some pics you'll notice we have grills in the glass doors. We made them with pins on the edges
so they can get popped out for cleaning. I often leave them out for periods of time.
This was my only design flaw.
There are 6 glass doors, we should have put the grills on the
inside. Then they wouldn't need a lot of cleaning, plus cleaning the glass on the outside would
have been a lot easier. Oh, well...too late smart. I know we could re-do them, but it's too much
trouble.

Keep in mind that there is a mirror on both sides of the galley, so you're seeing the reflection
of the other side in these photos.

We also recently put a lighting strip behind the whole area behind the stove area and cabinet area...
what should have an hour job took days...what a disaster that was, fortunately it turned out well.
Don't ask, we did it completely backasswards, but in the end it turned out to be a good mistake.

[jking]

That looks really nice. I like the mirror backsplash, it does completely change the feel of the room.

[Two Much]

thank you jking.

Everything was going good until we bought a lighting strip at Home Depot.
It's the plastic rolled strip that attaches with a double faced tape it has on the edge.
It also has a dimmer. I wanted something low voltage that I could leave on all day
to light the mirror.
Well, we cut it and installed it...and it was in a word disaster! All I saw from
sitting at the table, was this blast of obnoxious light. It bounced off the mirror,
and it bounced off the microwave. Plus, the mirror under the side wall reflected
It twice. Plus, I discover later we did it backasswards...the light strip was suppose
to be installed under the cabs in the front. Not that - that would have been any better
because it still would reflect lights all over the place because of the mirrors.
Plus, it would not do what I wanted it to do, to cast a soft light on the mirror.

Note the piece of molding across the stove, that was part of the fix! Of course at the time,
I didn't think it was fixable.
I'll get the pics of the fix next.

[Two Much]

Here is one photo of the fixed disaster...and a couple of the fix.
After we ripped it down, all the sticky stuff came off the back.
So we cut a thin strip to size and glued the light strip on to the wood.
Then we siliconed the strip to the mirror, and shored it up with
sticks and duct tape.
after it dried and was solid, we installed the wood molding (it was actually floor molding)
To the back of the cabinets (In front of the light strip )

The results were good, and it did what I wanted it to do, reflect a soft glow onto
The mirror. The dimmer works great, in the pic I posted, it's on a low setting,
which is all it ever needs.

[Two Much]

BTW, If anyone is interested, here is the strip.
I did find that they had one
that was 8 foot long for 59.95 -- it comes with the transformer. I got the
idea and info from a friend on another forum.