How do I tile this splashback?

[MindatWork]

Pic attached - please help, wise mumsnetters!

We’re sprucing up our house to go on the market. Our kitchen has wooden worktops (hate them - see ring mark on photo) and no tiled splashback or upstands, just painted wall. We’ve been here 4.5 years and always intended to fix it but have never had the spare cash for a tiler.

We’re repainting/decluttering the kitchen but I think we at least need to do something about the splashback behind the sink. It’s grubby and the paint has peeled where water has collected, despite best efforts to wipe up. I reckon I could tile it with a lot of research and YouTube videos, but the awkwardness is the size. I want to do the length of the windowsill - it’s 177cm long which is fine, but 12cm tall from worktop to sill (give or take a few mm).

I’ve looked online and really struggling to find tiles with that width/length. I don’t really want to have to cut anything as we have no tiling tools/supplies so would be buying everything from scratch. Would 10cm work or would there be too big a space for grout above and below?

Another option could be to use mosaic tiles that we could then trim to fit? Or I’ve also seen acrylic splashbacks that look quite smart, but not sure about fitting.

V grateful for any opinions, thank you.

I'd opt for small mosaic tiles on a netted sheet. Much easier to cut to those kind of sizes for a small space like that as you just trim the netting and grout around.

Something like this for example: www.tiles-direct.com/wall-tiles-c26/bijou-mosaics-c2153/white-matt-bond-tiles-4-5cm-x-9-5cm-wall-floor-tile-p5011

I just tiled a splash back for the first time and it was easier than I thought! I bought a manual cutter for £10 and chose tiles which were handmade so a bit wobbly to hide mistakes. The mosaic ones would be very easy in that they wouldn't involve cutting which would be good. Otoh threw a lot of grout which would be harder to keep clean, and they're a little dated. If I were buying a house I'd prefer to choose my own.

Do you know anybody who can lend you a tile cutter for a day ? Or failing that hire one not sure how much it would be but it can’t be a lot .
You could then buy any tiles you want/ like or maybe a bigger tile cut in half ? Put the cut side at the bottom then a bead of silicon to seal the edge.

Could you get some copper or brass cut to size? Couple screws and bobs your uncle

As you’re moving and just want to tidy things up and for so narrow a strip, I’d be tempted not to tile and to go with something like polished acrylic: www.simplyplastics.com/catalog/products-by-use/acrylic-kitchen-splashbacks/coloured-acrylic-splashback/c-24/c-103/p-622

Just paint over it with zinster as an undercoat to stop any previous splash or grease marks showing through and paint over with your usual paint and that’s it done?

Hell of a lot cheaper than buying tiles.

Buy a larger tile rather than trying to find one that fits and cut it either in half if you can find one that is just under double the size or cut off a sizeable chunk.

Don't cut a sliver off a tile, it is much harder to do. If you go a a good tile place you can buy just a few tiles rather than a box and then practise with a tile cutter.

Back butter the tile, ie don't put adhesive on the wall, slather it on the back of the tile, then use a notched tile trowel and scrape off the excess, then put it on the wall.

I have tiled bathrooms, kitchens including a narrow bit above the sink due to upstands, I have even tiled floors.

The best way to master something is not to do the actual thing you are doing. So get some tiles, practise just using a tile cutter, not the measurement you want for the bit in the kitchen, just get used to using a tile cutter. Buy a tub or ready mixed adhesive and grout in one and prop up a loft board or piece of ply and tile onto that. Get the hang of it, then tackle the job you want to do.

It depends on the style of the decor in the rest of your kitchen. but I like this style, patterned encaustics:

www.porcelainsuperstore.co.uk/saigon-blue.html

I wouldn't bother either, just repaint it and let the new owners do it if they want to, they might want to get rid of the worktops anyway and then it'll get ripped out anyway, also poorly done tiling will be more noticeable than slightly peeling paint IMO, save yourself the hassle and if you're in any doubt ask your estate agent what they think