How Much Tile To Buy For Backsplash May 2026

The first time Leo stood in his kitchen with a tape measure, he felt like a math genius. His backsplash area was a simple rectangle behind the stove and a long strip under the cabinets.

He headed to the tile shop and picked out a beautiful, deep-emerald subway tile. He asked the clerk for exactly fourteen square feet. how much tile to buy for backsplash

By Saturday afternoon, the kitchen smelled of mastic and ambition. The first few rows went perfectly. But then he hit the electrical outlets. On his first attempt to trim a tile to fit around a socket, the ceramic snapped like a cracker. One gone. On his second try, his wet saw slipped, nibbling too far into the corner. Two gone. The first time Leo stood in his kitchen

The clerk, an older woman named Martha who had seen a thousand "Leos" in her time, peered over her glasses. "You’re going to want at least 10% more than that, sugar. Call it sixteen square feet." He asked the clerk for exactly fourteen square feet

He rushed back to the store, but Martha’s shop was closed for the weekend. When he finally returned on Monday, he discovered a devastating truth: the shop had started a new "batch" or dye lot. The emerald green in the new boxes was a hair lighter than the ones on his wall.

"Height times width," he muttered, scribbling on a napkin. "Fourteen square feet. Easy."