How to Install a Peel & Stick Tile Backsplash In a Rental (Without Damage!)

I’ve been on a mission to transform our builder basic, honey oak rental kitchen. With painting cabinets completely out of the question, I knew the backsplash area would prove key to toning down the orange and creating a fresh, bright space. But it took some creativity to achieve a modern subway tile aesthetic in a totally removable way. Today, I’m teaching you how to install a peel and stick tile backsplash, including an easy trick to ensure it comes back down completely damage free!

Our Kitchen | Before & After

Every great DIY project has to begin with a good before and after, right?!? And this one certainly is no different. Below is how our rental kitchen looked the day we moved in:

After getting our management company to swap out the dated oven and vent hood and doing a few other projects to lighten and bright then space (Shiplap Kitchen Island | Butcher Block Island Countertop), covering up the laminate backsplash became the next big task.

I chose this white peel and stick subway tile with black “grout” lines to not only lighten the entire kitchen, but also tie together with the nearby black-and-white island.

The classic tile design paired with the very glossy surface of the tiles themselves almost single-handedly transformed this dated kitchen. What felt dark, dingy, and old instantly became fresh, modern, and oh-so-sparkly bright!

This was a big project with lots of details and even more lessons learned along the way. Let me break it all down for you!

What You REALLY Need to Know About Peel and Stick Tile Before You Start

I have never before considered using peel and stick tile on a backsplash before because of one primary reason: peel and stick tile is not typically removable.

Let me repeat: just because something is “peel and stick” (rather than grout or cement), it doesn’t mean it comes down damage free. In fact, the glue used on peel and stick tile products tends to be “extra strong” to hold the heavier products up on a vertical surface. So really, the appeal of peel and stick tile is mainly about the ease of putting it up when compared to traditional tile. It has nothing to do with removability.

So…Why Did I Used Peel and Stick Tile This Time?

Whenever friends or readers ask me about using peel and stick tile on their kitchen walls, I usually say something to the effect of “run,” or “don’t,” or “beware.” So why did I use it in our current rental kitchen? Two main reasons actually!

1. I’ve never used it before. And I am all about trying something once to test and see if it is a truly viable option for me and for you.
2. I figured out a way to use these tiles in a damage-free way. As you’ll see below, I first cover my backsplash area with contact paper and apply the tiles on top. This means that the super sticky adhesive is attached to the removable paper and not my wall!

Why I Chose Individual Tiles Over Sheets

Most peel and stick backsplash products comes in 12×12″ tile sheets. But you’ll soon see that the tiles I chose are individual tiles. I opted for tiles over sheets for the following reasons:

• The individual tiles look more like “real” white subway tiles with actual indented grout lines. Sheets tend to have a plastic-y artificial appearance and very shallow grout lines.
• I couldn’t find true-to-size subway tiles in sheets.
• I wanted the option to play with different tile arrangements. While I went for a classic horizontal layout in the end, the individual tiles gave me more flexibility.
• I suspected one-by-one placement would be easier than trying to manage large sticky sheets around outlets, corners, etc.

Now having used the individual tiles, there are some cons to consider too:

• One-by-one tile placement takes longer to cover the same amount of area than larger sheets.
• Individual tiles are more prone to inconsistencies since you are placing them one at a time.

How to Install a Peel and Stick Tile Backsplash

Step 1: Prepare the Wall Surface for a Peel and Stick Tile Backsplash

Before you can even begin peeling and sticking tile to your kitchen wall, there is some prep you need to do first. At the very least, clear off your counters, remove all outlet covers, and wipe down the existing backsplash area to remove grease, dust, etc.

Step 2: Protect Existing Wall (Optional)

As discussed above, adhesive tiles are not generally considered a removable product. The adhesive is very strong; and even if you can get them to come down without damaging the original surface, it will require a lot of patience and quite likely a lot of sticky stuff left behind.

As such, if you are wanting to use peel and stick tile in a way that is completely damage free, I recommend first covering the backsplash area in something that is more removable. This can include:

• Contact paper
• Peel and stick wallpaper
• MDF or thin plywood cut to size*
• Foam core board or sturdy cardboard*

*Use nails or Command Strips to hold these products in place.

Our backsplash is covered in a beige laminate sheet. And while I don’t think the peel and stick tiles would damage this surface, I am 99.9% certain they’d leave a whole lot of sticky residue behind for me to painstakingly clean up.

I opted to cover my backsplash area in this solid black peel and stick wallpaper. It not only helped fully protect my original surface, but it also conceals any alignment issues since it matches the grout lines on the tiles themselves.

To ensure that all tiles are placed on top of the paper (and don’t come into contact with the wall at all), you will likely want to cut it a bit bigger than the actual backsplash area. Don’t trim the excess off just yet; we’ll do that after the tiles are placed.

NOTE: This solid wallpaper is one of my new favorite rental products EVER! It’s totally affordable, comes in lots of colors, and goes up incredibly easy. I have a few more projects coming down the pike that use it in fun ways!

Step 3: Place First Tile(s)

The next step is to apply the peel and stick backsplash tiles! You may (or may not) want to use a level for your initial tile placement. While you certainly don’t want your tiles crooked or running on diagonal, you likely want them parallel to your counter and/or existing grout line. When your countertop is not perfectly level, you could end up with an awkward gap between the tile and countertop if you rely on a level only. Use your best judgement for aligning your first few tiles above your specific counter situation.

Step 4: Build Out the Pattern

If you have a perfectly smooth surface, peeling and sticking the tile will go quite fast once you have the few first in place. I did not bother using the level every time. I just ensured the vertical edges were perfectly lined up as I worked across the wall horizontally. I then moved up a row, offset the tile by half, and kept placing.

Step 5: Trimming Down Tiles

Inevitably, especially in a kitchen, you will run into outlets, windows, edges, or other features quite quickly and repeatedly. And unfortunately, you will have to stop your speedy installation and deal with each one individually as you get to them. Do not try to skip tricky spots and keep your pattern going (unless you are very good at measuring), as there is a good chance you’ll end up with unwanted gaps or tiles that don’t line up right.

Although these tiles “can” be cut with a sharp scissors, I found a scissors warped the tiles ever-so-slightly, which then prevented them from sitting flush on the wall.

After much experimentation, I found it best to cut down the tiles using a few passes of my rotary cutter against a straight edge on a cutting mat. After the initial line is “scored” a few times, the tiles will snap cleanly apart! (Watch the video to see exactly how this works.)

Even if a notch is needed in a particular tile, using the rotary cutter to make tiny (repeated) slices was the only way to get smooth, clean, straight lines without bending the tile itself. Admittedly, this can be a bit imprecise and tedious.

In the event that you need a rounded edge, start with straight cuts and then carve out curves as needed with a sharp craft knife.

Keep placing tile by tile and row by row until your backsplash area is filled.

Step 6: Filling Gaps & Edges

There’s a pretty low chance that you’ll be able to perfectly fit a neat number of full tiles on your backsplash area. Inevitably, along the top or sides, you will have to trim tiles down to fill all remaining gaps and create a wall-to-wall effect.

After lots of experimenting, I found it easiest to skip the measuring with a ruler. Instead, just hold the tile up to where you need it and mark the cut point(s) on the tile itself with a pencil. After trimming it down using the methods above, it will mostly likely fit right into place. (Again, this is heavily demonstrated in the video tutorial!)

This only becomes problematic when working around diagonal or curved edges (like shown below). On these types of edges, you will not be able to hold a tile flush against the wall in order to get precise measurements. Instead, I recommend pressing a piece of paper (such as a Post-It Note) into these edges, creating a fold in the paper where the cut needs to occur on the tile.

You can then trace the edges onto the tile before cutting…

…and sticking into place!

Step 7: Trim Away Contact Paper

Once all your tiles are in place, use a sharp craft knife to trim away any excess paper and create a clean edge.

Step 8: Replace Outlet Covers

The final step is to replace the outlet covers. This will instantly clean up the entire tile installation. I have more information on the best way to deal with outlets below.

Working Peel and Stick Tile Around Outlets

Without a doubt, the most complicated and exhausting part of this entire project is navigating outlets. And unfortunately, when installing a backsplash in a kitchen, there are a lot of them! Our small kitchen has no less than 7 outlets above the counters.

My original plan was to keep the outlet covers in place and cut the tile to fit around them. But as you can see in the photo below, it was very challenging to get clean, straight cuts all the way around the cover plate. Not only was it tedious to make all the various corner cuts, but the imprecise results really bothered me.

I eventually determined it was best to run the tiles under the cover plates. To do so, cut the tiles as close to the actual outlets as possible, only cutting away what is absolutely necessary to ensure the tiles sit completely flush to the wall.

Although this still requires some “complicated” cuts, I was actually able to use more full tiles and didn’t have to be quite as precise since all ugly edges are eventually concealed behind the plate.

When replacing the outlet cover, it will sit on top of the tile. However, since these tiles are rather thick, you’ll notice that the plate and the plug no longer sit flush. That bothered me too!

After some more experimenting, I discovered that these contoured metal outlet covers really nicely cover up the tile edges while also remaining flush along the front of the plug.

Admittedly, dealing with the outlets can be frustrating and tedious. But the result of a clean display along your countertops will be well worth it!

Working Peel and Stick Tile Around Corners

Another tricky situation you might have to deal with in your kitchen is corners. Thankfully, I only had one corner to deal with, and the individual tiles made it a bit easier than I originally expected.

There are likely several different ways to maneuver around the corner, but here is what I recommend:

• Cut down the tiles to end at the corner, just as you would at the end of the wall.
• Instead of discarding the remainder of the tile, place it perpendicular to its other half, continuing the pattern around the bend onto the next wall.

Yes, this does mean the corner will have a “cut” crease down the corner, but there really is no great way to “bend” these tiles in a straight, 90 degree fashion. If the crease bothers you, you can always fill it with some white caulk.

FAQ About Installing Peel and Stick Tile

So there’s the “secret” behind our rental friendly subway tile! Since first sharing sneak peeks of our kitchen progress, I’ve actually gotten quite a few messages from readers, concerned that I installed real tile in our rental. Hopefully by now, you guys know I usually have some trick up my sleeve!

This tile installation was indeed a tedious project, but I think the pay off was well worth it! We get so many compliments on it, and I’m really glad I gave peel and stick tile a try. If you too have been tempted to use it but were nervous about potential damage…I say go for it! Using my tricks outlined here, it should come off your wall without issue (and probably a lot quicker and easier than it went up!)