I love subway tile.  So naturally I  was thrilled when we moved into our house and it already had subway tile in the kitchen.  The grout was white and a little stained, but I didn’t give it much thought at first.  As the months went on, the discolored grout bothered me.  Also, the subway tiles I loved so dearly, just looked blah. I needed to update my backsplash!

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I found a few tutorials on how to clean the grout and then I came across something amazing….grout colorant!  To date, this is one of my favorite transformations in our house.  Below I will take you through the step by step process of what I did.  ( *don’t mind the broken oven, the circuit board melted while my husband was boiling sap…new oven for me!)

Step 1: Cleaning the Grout

Step one is to clean the grout.  I bought a specific cleaner for grout and tile at a local home improvement store. Click Here to check out the grout and tile cleaner.

Step 2: Remove the Outlet Plates

You will need to prepare the area by removing all the outlet plates.

Step 3: Colorant

Told you this would be easy.  I went to Home Depot and picked up some Grout Renew all in one colorant and sealer.  Dark gray grout is my favorite, so I picked the color Natural Gray.  Want colorant too….click Here.

I poured a small amount of colorant in a container.  My husband pulled the oven out since it was broken and when he did I realized the backsplash went all the way down to the floor.   The perfect place to practice. At first I tried painting the colorant on with a very small brush and staying in the grout lines.  It was really hard to keep a steady hand and make it look nice.

It worked much better with a bigger paintbrush.  I covered the grout thoroughly.

Then took a wet sponge and wiped the tiles off.

I continued doing little sections at a time.  Yes, my back hurt and my wrist cramped….but I knew it would be worth it!  At least that is what I kept telling myself.

It didn’t disappoint.  Once it was all wiped off….it looked so good!  No more blah.  Plus, it was really cheap.  Other than being a little time consuming…it cost less than $20.

Adding gray grout not only updated the space, it changed the feel.  I love industrial touches and by adding a GE slide in oven, along with the backsplash it made a huge difference.

Down the road, I would love to redo the cabinets and replace the countertops….but one thing at a time.  For now, I am loving my new backsplash.

Thanks for checking out my post!