How To Easily DIY A Stone Backsplash

When we were building our new home I knew I wanted a rock backsplash but I didn't want the standard mosaic tiles, I wanted the full profile of the rocks, with all their flaws and oddities. I fell in love with these rocks at Old Time Pottery and bought enough to finish off my project.
 
My husband was leery, to say the least, so he made plywood backs for me to work on instead of putting it directly on the wall. That was fine with me because I had enough work to do at the house (tiling, painting, countertops, etc) this I was able to work on in front of the T.V. and get a break from the craziness of building the house.


By this time I'd done plenty of tile-work so I tried applying the rocks like tile, with mortar. Yeah, that didn't work. When he went to attach my finished boards to the wall they just fell right off. I was determined to have this backsplash so I started again. This time I used construction glue and a caulk gun. Worked like a charm.

You need to be careful around outlets and choose fairly flat rocks, I still have some gapping here and there but it's workable.

With other natural stones I've used they recommend sealing the stone before grouting, I did not do any sealing before I grouted, I am fine with the way the grout settled into the cracks and crevices of the rocks, if you don't like that then seal the rock first.  Here you can see the profile a little better, I love that it has so much character!  After I grouted I did seal it with an OTC sealer from Home Depot recommended for natural stone.

 Here's the finished product, I really love how it turned out and can't help but wonder where else I might be able to use it. 

What does your kitchen backsplash look like?  In need of an update?  There are so many wonderful, easy DIY's out there to give your kitchen a fresh look without breaking the bank.  If you've got a great DIY backsplash idea we'd love to hear about it and see some pictures.

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