An Honest Review of My Peel and Stick Tiles – One Year Later

Have you ever considered peel and stick backsplash tiles or removable wallpaper as a more cost-effective alternative? In this post, I am sharing my honest experience (the good, the bad and the ugly) with both of these materials.

I know I have said it before, but for those of you less familiar with my personality it is worth expressing again…I am a bit of a rebel.

You are probably thinking to yourself,  “Great! But what does this have to do with peel and stick tiles?” 

Let me freakin’ explain…

Due to my personal disdain for authority and the idea of  “working for someone else”,  I have intentionally scaled the growth of my blog to be independent of brand/product sponsorships. So what does this mean for you?

Because I haven’t developed any monetary ties with brands or their products, I can basically say whatever the hell I want to about a product without fearing the repercussions (AKA losing money or a partnership as a result of sharing a critical review of a brand or product).

This basically just means that you can always trust me to keep it real with you babes. So here I go with the  truth bombs…

Vinyl Peel and Stick Subway Tile Backsplash Review:

Last year, I completed two home improvement projects that involved the use of peel and stick subway tile backsplash and removable wallpaper.

In my laundry room, I decided to adorn the walls of my washer and dryer closet with peel and stick vinyl tile (you can read the original reveal post here)…

I had always been curious about this home improvement revelation and decided that a closet would be the perfect place to test it out.

While the installation of the tile stickers was definitely less intimidating than installing legit,  grout-able subway tiles, the process still required some basic skill and patience.

I wouldn’t claim this project to be a breeze by any stretch of the imagination. Nonetheless, it was a quicker and cheaper alternative to learning how to lay tile on the fly.

After a half day’s work, I was pretty satisfied with the result…

As long as you didn’t actually touch the tiles, the effect was pretty convincing.

For months it seemed to do well. That is…until I recently noticed some discoloration on the tiles (pictured below).

While the adhesive on the tile stickers is holding up beautifully and has proven to be durable, some patches of tile are turning a dingy, yellow color (see the bottom three rows?).

Given this section isn’t exposed to water or dirt, I am pretty perplexed as to why this is happening. My husband is just as baffled.

I can only assume the discoloration is some sort of product defect. Needless to say, I am pretty disappointed with this product.

Bottom line: While the adhesive has proven to be durable so far, the discoloration of the white tiles leaves me disappointed in the product. As a result, I would not recommend this particular product to my readers.

Moving onto my experience with removable wallpaper…

My Experience with Removable Wallpaper:

One year ago, I transformed my powder room on a budget using vinyl, removable wallpaper (you can read that reveal post here)…

I was determined to give the space some much needed character, but refused to shell out the dough for real cement tiles.

Much to my delight,  I found a company on Etsy that sold removable wallpaper that looked like the real deal. (Here is the affiliate link to removable wallpaper. ) *For your shopping convenience, I have included affiliate links.*

I am not going to lie…installing wallpaper was a pain in the a$$ (it’s more of a two person job), but a pain that was totally worth it in the end…

(Click here for the exact wallpaper I used)

I had some readers who expressed their concern with the paper being so close to the sink, but luckily enough, this area is actually holding up beautifully. In fact, the only problem area I am dealing with is at the very top of the wall …

In the section of wallpaper closest to the ceiling, I have a corner of the vinyl that keeps coming detached from the wall. Whenever this occasionally (but inevitably) happens, I simply flatten it back to the wall with my hand.

Given I have seen this occur with traditional wallpaper as well, I am not really sure that the “removable” aspect of the product is to blame.

This being my first and only time installing wallpaper, it is possible this could be entirely attributed to faulty installation technique.

I can only keep my fingers crossed that the problem won’t surface on other sections of the wall. Only time will tell.

Bottom Line: Everything considered, I am still satisfied with my self-adhesive/removable wallpaper. While it was tricky to install, it made such a rewarding impact on the space. We shall see how well it holds up in its second year.

So there you have it, my friends! I hope this has given you a better idea of what to expect from self-adhesive wall treatment technologies.

You can read more articles about DIY backsplash ideas here.

*Update 7-18-24: I have tried my hand again at peel and stick subway tiles, but this time made of real marble facade. You can read my step-by-step peel and stick install tutorial here.

Now get out there and design some good vibes!

PS. I would also greatly appreciate your support. If you found this article helpful, please be sure to share with a friend, social media or on Pinterest (Remember?? I am a bada$$ rebel who doesn’t take money from brand sponsorships, so I depend on your support alone!)…