Hi Sue, I think it would look amazing if you used some tiles with a bit of texture. The wood look tiles that are popular at the moment would be an example. If you chose a colour that toned in with your floor you would get a really nice cohesive look but with a bit of interest. I've attached a photo of a recent design of mine as an example. Just a suggestion!

Thanks, great link. Only thing is, I want the real deal, don't like fake stuff!! There are ways of neutralizing lead paints. With special varnish etc. Anyway this is for decoration only and won't be handled once on the wall.

We did pressed metal splashbacks on a display in a kitchen showroom I used to manage, and as such many of our clients opted for the same look. Powder Coated is definitely the way to go. It stands up really well for durability and is in fact relatively easy to clean compared to many splashbacks. Often people think that glass or stainless steel are the easiest for cleaning, but due to being such a flat reflective surface they show up every splash and if you're going to clean them you really have to clean the full length of splashback. The textured surface of the pressed metal means that it doesn't reflect the same amount of light so you are able to get away with cleaning it less often, and you can also get away with just cleaning the dirty area rather than the full length. The biggest difficulty we found was getting the splashbacks installed as there aren't really any tradesmen who specialize in fitting pressed metal, and those that were willing to cut & fit it were concerned about what would happen if they damaged the paintwork. We had the panels cut to size first before they were powder coated to minimize the risk of chipping the surface.

Hi Laurel, I'm a huge fan of pressed tin! If you are going to use it in a kitchen I highly recommend getting it powder coated in the colour of your choice and properly installed (you can do it yourself) and then it's good to go, scratch proof, easy to wipe down and simply stunning. I don't have any pics of it where we've installed it as a splash back but we did use it to create a cover for our fully integrated dishwasher. This has been installed for over three years in our house with four boys (3 teenagers) and doesn't have a mark on it despite their grubby paws and rough handling.