Tile Options that DON’T need Grout!

This week I wanted to talk about tile! (I can hear half of you groan and half of you get excited at the prospect of tiling something) 😉

We’re in the midst of figuring out our backsplash for our laundry area and while we’ll be tiling the floor with a large scale tile that would largely be covered by the washer and dryer, the backsplash is a place in this space where I can add in the pretty! As I started my search, I discovered some alternatives to standard tile. Alternatives that would save a ton of time and effort – I’m talking peel and stick people!

There are two types of this tile that I found that I’m keen to try out:

Aspect Peel and Stick Tiles.  I recently received a shipment of these tiles to try and I picked a glass mosaic tile called “Rustic Clay”.

Photo courtesy of Wayfair

While I have yet to apply these beauties, I can honestly say the quality of the tile exceeded my expectations (Note: I was NOT paid to endorse this product!) It is actual glass tile (exactly like the ones you’d find that require grout) but you literally peel and stick them to your surface. You do still need to cut the tiles using a wet saw (a normal procedure when working with regular tiles) but apart from that, peeling and sticking is the maximum effort required to get the job done. Ok, maybe the measuring part will require most of the effort 😉 I’m a little excited to try these out!

Another product I came across is called Smart Tiles. This product is very similar to Aspect Tiles but they’re made of a resin-like material to simulate the look of tile. And with this product, you only need a very sharp knife to cut them. An interesting idea! I have seen them in person but wondered how they would look installed on a whole wall (would the grout lines look fake?) Here’s an example of what one of these tiles looks like:

Photo courtesy of Lowes

The nice part about either option is that NO GROUT OR SEALANT IS REQUIRED! The only caveat though is that they are not meant to be used in a place where loads of water will go on them. They’re perfect for backsplashes though (even in humid bathrooms) so this will save you SOME work if you’re looking to refinish a whole bathroom.

While I intend on using Aspect Tiles in our laundry area, I have an idea on where I can use Smart Tiles as well which will provide a great comparison –  I’ll report back once I go to install them! In the meantime, if you’ve used either product, please tell me your thoughts!