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Breathtaking murals and colorful inserts add beauty to a kitchen countertop
backsplash.
Let's talk about using murals to add pa-zazz to your backsplash.
Murals need space around them. Space around the mural accentuates the mural and
makes it the focal point of the kitchen.
Above the stove is an ideal place to feature a gorgeous mural. The area between
the stove top and bottom of the vent hood usually is about 30 inches wide and 36
inches high. If a microwave is mounted below the cabinets, the space will be
about 12 inches less to work with.
That is okay. Murals can be one 6 inch tile or 24 six inch tiles. The artist who
paint the murals creates the it by how much space is available.
Using murals requires careful planning when designing a kitchen countertop
backsplash. My article "How to Design Your Kitchen Countertop Backsplash",gives
the person designing the backsplash basic information for insert placement.
I mention this because the inserts should compliment the mural.
How to place a mural above the stove. To make more wall space available to
display the mural, the issue of the stove must be addressed. Three basic styles
of stoves are: use a slide in stove to free up more backsplash space rather than
a free standing stove with a high back panel.
Of the three, the freestanding stove has a panel that sticks up from the stove
up to six inches. The other two stoves have no back panel. These are the stoves
that will allow placing a larger mural on the wall, thus enlarging the focal
point of the kitchen.
To gain the space covered by a the control panel of a freestanding stove, the
stove should be replaced. The easiest stove to replace the old stove with is the
slide in stove.
Time to decide on a mural. Murals are normally painted on a 4x4 inch tile or a
6x6 inch tile. Using the 30 inch wide by 36 inch high scenario, a vertical mural
24 inches wide and 20 or 24 inches high will leave 4 inches on each side of the
mural and adequate space on top.
This will allow a attractive area on each side of the mural to add a 1/2 to 1
inch border around the mural if so desired.
A vertical mural can be 20 inches wide and 24 to 30 inches high. This also
allows space for a border.
The size of the mural depends on what the theme mural is and how light or heavy
the painting on the tiles are. Keeping in mind the whole concept for the mural
is to be a focal point not an eyesore.
Discretion is the key in designing.
Murals are painted on two types of tiles. One is a ceramic tile, made of clay
and has a baked on glaze that will not change color when painted. The other
material is natural stone. Most of the stone used is called tumbled stone.
This is a process done by the manufacturer that gives the stone tile a rustic or
distressed appearance..Tumbled stone is available in stones such as travertine,
marble, limestone and some quartz.
Chairo Travertine has been the choice of the public available in 4x4, 3x6 and
6x6 inche squares. Many murals are painted on this stone because of the color of
the stone, generally light.
keep in mind natural stone is quarried from earth thus the variation of color,
giving it the natural beauty of the stone.
The stone murals are more difficult to paint. The artist uses special paints and
sealers to capture the colors so they will not fade over time.
Stone is porous by nature, thus it must be sealed to retain the beauty of the
mural. 2 coats. The stone must always be cleaned with a stone cleaner.This helps
retain the beautiful of a stone mural for years.
Cleaners with ammonia will over time dull the mural as ammonia is caustic. Stone
cleaners and sealers are available at home improvement stores. Always check the
back of the container to be sure it for stone, not ceramic tile.
There are additional materials to use as murals. They are metal tile in copper,
bronze, nickel silver and brass. These also require careful cleaning to not
scratch the metal.
Glass tiles are very durable with a rainbow of beautiful colors. Cleaning glass
is the same as cleaning metal tile, nothing caustic to cause scratching.
Metal and glass murals do not require an artist to create a picture. Murals made
from these materials are manufactured as murals and need nothing else added.
During my career, I have assisted many people design and install backsplashes
with beautiful murals. Adding a colorful mural to your kitchen is similar to
adding a painting a work of art to your home.
Tile murals are signed by the artist as they are truly a work of art. |
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