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Can you believe our backsplash is only made of STICKERS?
Hi daw sabi ng tabingi naming outlets
Yep! I ordered a bunch of sticker tiles from Stiles PH to dress up our kitchen wall and I’m so happy about how it turned out! Here’s a Youtube video on how I installed them. Note that I didn’t do it correctly so please don’t take my video as a how-to or a tutorial haha! It did turn out okay naman hehe!
So here in this blog I’m gonna review my overall experience using 3D sticker tiles by Stiles PH.
I waited a long time for the subway tile pattern to get restocked. I’ve always wanted to have subway tiles in my kitchen, so this is kindof a dream come true! Also, since we’re just renting out this unit, we couldn’t afford to do any major changes.
Read: Quarantine Wishlist Part 2
Here’s the previous state of our kitchen:
I cleared it up. Removed the stove, the hanging utensils and the dish rack. I also cleaned the wall with Kurin before starting the project.
And here’s how it turned out, 4.5 grueling hours after:
I love it! As I said, I did a lot of mistakes on this one pero okay naman diba?! *umagree ka*
Haaaay! I hope our landlord never finds out, joke. I mean, adhesives are allowed but this is one heck of an adhesive lol and it’s definitely gonna need repainting in case they decide to tear it out. Praying it doesn’t kill our deposit whew.
Anyway.
How did you order and how much did it cost?
I ordered from Stiles PH through Shopee (watch out for promos and cashback)
https://shopee.ph/product/27096241/341040740
You can also find them on Instagram and Facebook. Perfect for getting inspiration and seeing actual output and customer feedback:
https://www.instagram.com/stiles.ph/
https://www.facebook.com/stiles.ph/
This specific pattern, the subway white costs ₱148 per panel. All in all I ordered 18 pcs so I spent a total of ₱2,664 + shipping from Cebu.
How did you know how many stickers to get?
Stiles PH helped me with that. I measured the 2 sides of the wall I want to cover and sent it to them through Instagram.
Side 1: 24″L x 18″H
Side 2: 80″L x 24″H
And they responded with 18 tiles.
Was it accurate?
Nearly! I only used 16.5 stiles. But I think it’s only because I started at the wrong end of the wall which prolly messed up the numbers.
How do the tiles look and feel like?
I was surprised to find that the tiles are actually embossed. I knew it wasn’t foam, like those brick foams I see everywhere. I thought it was actually flat, and they just made it so good it looks convincingly 3D even if it’s super flat. Turns out there’s actually a level of 3D-ness to it hehe so that’s really good!
The size of the panel is 12×12 inches. Which is bigger than their previous version, as I’ve read. I do hope they also offer something that’s half the size for the remaining parts of the wall that don’t measure up exactly. 1 panel has 6 rows of tiles, so it would be cool to have something that only has 3 rows at half the price. Or I can just cut through the gaps right? Haha.
The texture of the tile is super glossy. There’s a rubbery smooth squeaky feel to it when you run your fingers on it. It’s not super smooth to the touch lamuyon? Like it would be hard to wipe it with a kitchen towel but a breeze with a damp cloth. Ayon.
How was the installation?
Frkn exhausting. If they were only based in Manila I would’ve hired their own people to install it for me. As in. But oh well, they’re Cebu-based so no choice but to DIY haha.
Installation looks pretty simple but it actually requires a lot of brain cells to get the measurements right. In short I never got any measurements right. Here are the challenges I encountered:
- Peeling the sticker is hard. Super hard. Should’ve grown my nails longer for it.
- Aligning the tiles is an acquired skill hahaha. And you can’t get it wrong the first time because it would ruin EVERYTHING. Thank God my first tile was perfect! Perfectly placed at the wrong side of the wall nga lang aaarghh!!! Hahahuhu
- Measuring uneven areas is a nightmare. The corner of the cupboard, the electrical outlets, the back of the rangehood. I got pretty much everything wrong. Not so wrong that I wasted a sticker panel, but my measurements are probably only 80% exact, leaving some ugly gaps here and there.
- Make no mistake. Once it’s on, it can never go off. At least not with a layer of paint coming along with it. The adhesive is super powerful.
Now on to my mistakes
I installed the first stile at the wrong edge of the wall, leaving me with this uneven gap to fill…
…which could’ve been mitigated had I only read the instruction manual COMPLETELY. In my defense, nobody reads manuals. I thought my overflowing amount of common sense is enough to deliver me from this suffering. Now look, I have a corner with an ugly overlap, and a folded sticker. Eeew. Good thing I have a dish rag to cover it hehe. So word of advice, READ THE MANUAL! Anything you’d gladly hire someone else to do for you is beyond your common sense. Also, just fckn read the manual.
I also made other mistakes like tile gaps…
… sticker overlaps…
… and wrong cutout measurements…
Uuuurggh, aaaaand I thought I’d make a good architect because I can draw straight lines lol jk.
But I don’t feel so bad about them because overall it still looked really good to me, and it didn’t break the illusion at all.
There seems to be a wave though hmm
But see? It doesn’t look so bad from afar. And it does the job of uhm backsplashing, so yeah. I’m good!
Finally
I like how it turned out, despite toiling almost 5 hours for it. Real subway tiles cost around ₱30-50 per piece so an 18 pc panel could easily run us at least ₱10k (plus labor, grout, snacks, and permit efforts). And these fake tiles cost around ₱3k only. So it’s a really good deal. Also, it’s not like real tiles are an option for us hahaha #RenterProblems.
Quality of the stiles are really good, better than expected. Customer support is good too, they’re helpful and responsive. Shipping was okay, it arrived a little over a week but that’s J&Ts fault lol. They packaged it nice and secure, with bubble wraps and a carton board for support. The tiles came individually wrapped.
There are tons of other 3D sticker tiles littered around Shopee but I doubt they’re as good, or that they’d even come in one piece lol. I’ve read horror stories of the tiles arriving folded and distorted, with tears, or uneven colors. SodDon’t bother. Just go for a quality local supplier like Stiles PH.
10 over 10 would recommend to those looking to refresh their kitchen but can’t use real tiles!
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What do you think of this project? Is it a yaayy or a waayy-ste? Char.