Asked on Feb 22, 2015

What kind of border for arabesque tile backsplash?

Sue P.
by Sue P.
We've ordered this tile to use as our kitchen backsplash. Any suggestions for what we can use an a border where the tile ends and meets the wall? When the tiles are cut, we'll just have a raw edge. Colors in our kitchen are shown in the other photo -- white cabinets, pale gray walls, darker gray island, weathered wood porcelain floors and gray speckled solid surface counter tops. Thank you.
  12 answers
  • Sandy Sandy on Feb 22, 2015
    Unfortunately I have no answer - just the same question! Anyone have any suggestions?
  • Patricia Drebit Patricia Drebit on Feb 22, 2015
    There usually is a coordinating bullnose or pencil tile to finish it off, or you could use a coloured silicon
    • Sue P. Sue P. on Feb 22, 2015
      @Patricia Drebit Thank you for the suggestions. Once we have the tile in hand, we'll check for something at the local tile stores.
  • MaryStLouis MaryStLouis on Feb 22, 2015
    I suggest looking for tile/stone/metal pencils to coordinate with your beautiful tile. That's what we did and it looks great. http://www.tileshop.com/search.do?query=pencils
    • See 2 previous
    • Sue P. Sue P. on Feb 23, 2015
      Will do. Thank you.
  • 1338690 1338690 on Feb 23, 2015
    You might experiment with a thin strip of 1/4 round. I used white plastic 1/4 round between my tile floor and tile walls in the bathroom. One side has an extended edge that could slide behind the tile at the top and even the bottom. Very easy to clean. You may even find it in metal the same thickness as the tile. Wood could be stained to match your floor or anything. This idea would not cost anything compared to bull nose tile.
  • MaryStLouis MaryStLouis on Feb 23, 2015
    Is your floor a wood-look tile? Whatever it is, I love it. Could you tell me where you bought it and what it's called?
  • Becky Greenwald Becky Greenwald on Feb 23, 2015
    We've done this with no bullnose or edge piece available: caulk the edge and then paint the caulk and tile edge with the wall color. It will disappear.
  • Sandra M Sandra M on Feb 23, 2015
    In Knoxville, Tn (very close to Kingsport) there are three salvage/surplus stores and Daltile which has almost everything. You should be able to find something to compliment it. That's what we did.
    • Sue P. Sue P. on Feb 23, 2015
      @Sandra M Thank you for the suggestion, Sandra. We're waiting for the tiles to be delivered (ordered from Overstock.com) before we go to any tile stores. We visited a couple of salvage stores in Knoxville a couple of years ago. One of our favorites, however, is in Baltimore -- Second Chances. When we lived closer, we found lots of good buys there.
  • Suzanne Lawson Suzanne Lawson on Feb 23, 2015
    You can order metal edging strips specifically for this situation from Schluter. They are available in a variety of styles and finishes. They don't sell to the public but you can order in the flooring department at one of big box home improvement stores. Here is their website: http://www.schluter.com/139.aspx
    • Sue P. Sue P. on Feb 24, 2015
      Thank you for the tip. As soon as this snow stops, we need to get to a local tile store.
  • Denise Freeman Denise Freeman on Feb 23, 2015
    Very beautiful choice of colors. I would just paint the wall the same as your island and when you put on your tile it will pull all your colors together. You wouldn't need to add anything more to it. You want your pretty tile to draw you into your kitchen :)
    • Sue P. Sue P. on Feb 24, 2015
      We just had the walls painted this lighted gray at the same time the island was painted.😀 The wall color is a little lighter then we expected, but we don't plan to repaint. The kitchen space includes a dining room at one end then a keeping room and breakfast nook at the other, so we opted for lighter walls. Also have two very colorful large antique cabinets in there so thought a lighter wall color would work better with them. Thank you for your input.
  • Grouchy Grouchy on Feb 24, 2015
    I would also suggest picking up the beautiful blue color of the tile just a wee bit elsewhere in the kitchen to harmonize with the tile among all the gray.
  • Sue P. Sue P. on Feb 24, 2015
    Yes, thanks. We plan to do that. Tile will be delivered soon and we can see exactly what the blue looks like. We have blue in the dining chair fabrics and valance over the window above the sink, but will use other touches of blue as well.
  • Teresa Hall Teresa Hall on Feb 18, 2017

    I have close to the same thing. We used a strip of wood stained the same color as the other wood in our kitchen. If you don't like stain you could paint it in coordinating colors!