Are high heels tacky? If you think not you're thinking Christian Louboutin, not my solid mirror soled, platform, silver disco shoes which I keep as a conversation piece.

Your linked designs are gorgeous!!!

Igloochic has gorgeous chickens. (They really are lovely.)

And I've seen some really really tacky ones in the stores.

Re the price, think of it this way. You're not buying hideously expensive tile. You're buying art. If you wouldn't hang it over your fireplace, don't buy it. If you would, well, that's not a bad price.

I'd throw some shoe money at it and figure it'll last a lot longer. The difference is less than one pair of CL's!

I just looked again at the specific one you love. Particularly for this one which has so much character, the other question I forgot to ask earlier is what the rest of your backsplash is going to be? More travertine? That would be fine. Sometimes the "tacky" comes from an inappropriate combination between the inset pattern and the field tiles.

Murals can be tacky. They tend to be very taste-specific. Meaning, you may love something but the next buyer (or just visitor to your home) would want to rip it out with their fingernails. The more pictorial they are, I think the more they need to be well-done, individual pieces of art.

But I wouldn't call those murals. They look more like mosaics. They're beautiful, and the appeal is very wide. There's no way you could call those tacky, unless, as pllog suggests, they just don't fit with the rest of your kitchen.

Are you really looking to save a few hundred bucks to get something that doesn't look half as good--and then live with it for ten years? Can't you just leave it open for now, and add the tile later?

I love them! It is artwork and like the other posters said, more mosaic like not so much mural.

Beautiful. I don't know how I missed this tile in my countless searches.

If you can afford it, I really think that getting a piece of art is priceless and well worth the cost. And, if you look at it in the entire kitchen budget, that extra money may be well worth spending.

Your choice is far from tacky. It will be as beautiful on your wall as a beautiful oriental carpet can be on the floor. I say splurge and get it! Save your dollars somewhere else.

Beautiful tiles! I've bookmarked it, thanks!(I think...it's only going to make my decision tougher!)

When your husband asks you what you want for Christmas, tell him you've been dreaming of the tile mural.

i think your choice is lovely and while i have definitely seen tacky murals, this is not one of them. a lot depends on your other materials though.
that said, i'm not a fan of murals of any kind, anywhere. besides being taste specific, there is a good chance you will grow out of it before it's time to re do the kitchen. just me though. i can't wait to see your kitchen!

Hm... Kateskouros has a point if your the redecorating type. If you change out your wall art, get rid of your knickknacks regularly, paint your walls, buy new furniture, yeah, it's a problem.

Some of us do it once and keep on loving it until it wears out. Know yourself before you do it. :-)

I think that is a gorgeous tile mural. Are you choosing it or is it choosing you? If the latter, then don't deny it. Otherwise, you stand the chance of settling on a plan b choice you are likely to regret time and again. Again, if that mural is calling your name, go for it! Figure out how to work it into your budget by cutting back on something else.

Well actually, they're mosaics not murals, so of course they're tacky...murals are the only classy stove back splashes silly :oP

I'm kidding...and now the real answer.

Cheaply done, the mosaics you've picked will probably end up with a feel that is "tacky". There's nothing worse than cheap tile (Sorry folks but I'm a tile snob). You look at the mosaics you liked to and see quality. It's in the finish (not too bright, subdued colors even on the colorful ones) etc. The combination of that color and finish make the mosaics feel timeless, antique, etc (they remind me of several of the tiles in our 1889 fireplaces in the winter house...and they're NOT tacky).

But take that and try to reduce the costs too much (and darling....I know it's all relative, but that's not a bad price....this tile snob has seen MUCH higher for similar quality...I'm talking 5x higher at least). But picture those mosaics done for Home Despot.....brighter tones, glossier finishes, thinner tiles....ummmm 1980's tacky tile back splash redone in 2010....you get the idea right?

So my answer is, first, murals are never tacky (ok some are but not mine LOL) and frankly...murals are a bunch cheeper (mine was about 300 on ebay). But since you insist on mosaics, you have to answer a couple questions...

First, can you afford at least this quality? Can you do this without having to sell a child (though we are looking for one so if you have an extra red head we can talk) :oP and can you send those you keep to college and still enjoy the backsplash?

Know that this type of decor is totally for you. It's taste specific so if the next buyer does not like elegant mosaics and prefers chickens...well so you won't get your money back...but will you enjoy it? YES!!!

If you love it, and can afford it without pain....it's not tacky darling. They're actually quite lovely, but would look better with a chicken in the middle :oP

If it would make you feel better about spending the money...remind me to someday tell you what it cost to have a monkey painted on my son's walls...you'll feel better :oP Talk about taste specific heh heh

I don't mean to be offputting, snotty or didactic but it is a mural. It is a mosaic mural. Murals can be of many mediums-- paint, small mosaic tiles, large ceramic tiles, any tiles, inlaid woods, etc. Chagall has beautiful mosaic murals; one at the Art Institute of Chicago and another outside a building. Paris has one on a glass wall in a fountain, or is that in Washington, D.C.? Igloo has a lovely ceramic tile mural in Alaska.

I do think of a mural as art on the wall. I also think of it as a scene, scape, portait, still life, if it's realistic, or if nonrepresentational, such as an abstract, to me it should look art-like. An artistic arrangement of plain, patterned, geometric, colored tiles or any wall arrangement affixed to the wall can rise to the definition of mural. Oh and the gazillions of murals painted on the brick walls of buildings, outside and inside. Frescoes are murals on wet plaster.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, in Chicago, defines 'art' as that which it's creater calls art. Smile. Yeah, Pollock paint drips and their ilk.

Yessss. Fabulous.

Oops. I didn't pay attention to the tiles themselves, but monkeyed around with the words. I was wrong. I called the tiles 'mosaic'.

But, most, if not any, of these are not mosaic but larger tiles of your choice of 6 different stones, printed with colors of your choice, in various sizes. They are beautiful.

Mosaics are small and the smallest of these are 2" x2". These smallest could be mosaics, if they were set with pieces smaller than 2 x 2 or all of the same size in a very large configuration.

Give me a break. Maybe I should have withheld tonite's comments. No maybe. Comments unnecessary and argumentative.
I had outpatient surgery today. A septoplasty, deviated septum fix, with general anes. Kept sleeping, went home, slept til 5 and now cannot sleep. So I can't breathe too well and am tired and nose drippy and what am I doing here at 3:48 a.m.? Too much anes meds. Sorry to have offended. I will be better tomorrow healthwise and a nicer kid.

You guys were having fun and i had to be a prissybutt. My bad.

LOL at Westsider ... :-) I understand. Hope you feel better.

It is beautiful.

To be honest, I have seen, purchased and sold many properties (moved around a lot), and rarely did I find a kitchen and other people's art pieces that suited my taste.

I have this crazy thing in my mind, where I love something in YOUR house, but not in mine. I have this fear of getting tired of something that is too taste specific. This came about because I've learned a lot of lessons from owning many houses. I rather get something boring and perk it up with different accessories every couple of years. It's the way I update things.

In my next house (will be totally downsized), I will probably opt for a removable backsplash. I won't care about resale (last one, I hope-lol)and I will be changing things as I please, without resale in mind!

The mosaic or mural or whatever is just gorgeous. It really is! If it fits in the style of your home and kitchen, it probably will never hurt resale. I opted to not go with a mosaic in my house because I was afraid I would get tired of staring it for years and years. Unlike wall art which you normally just casually glance at now and then, you will spend a lot of time with a stove backsplash mural right in your face. Many many hours will be spent staring right at it. It better be something that you love a whole lot. That scared me so much I decided to just do a pattern with my regular tile and forget about a mosaic all together. I so love them.....but I seem to love them better in someone else's kitchen.

ROTFL!! I totally get Dabunch's point, but feel totally opposite. The whole point of going to the expense of owning is to get to be oneself on the walls! (At least it is for me.) I would much rather do something bold and dynamic that I loved than ever be stuck with boring. But then, I never expect to sell.

Fell better Westsider! I think the point you were getting at is that the root of the word "mural" literally means "wall", and the accepted usage is art that covers a wall. Doesn't matter what it's called though. It can be Igloo's delightful, sophisticated chickens, or Solman's rustic Talavera fruit basket, or even just a section of backsplash tiles with a rope tile frame around it, putting something special over the stove and/or sink is a common thing to do. It usually looks pretty good (and in Igloo's case, great).

I think the other thing to make sure of is that the shape and size of the favored piece are the exact right shape and size for the wall in question. If it looks shoehorned in, and made to fit in spite of itself, it could look the dreaded "tacky". These designs are meant to be "rugs" on the floor, so adapting one to the backsplash is going to take some thought and care. It's beautiful! Do it nicely and it won't be tacky.

I think your tile is spectacular. I may have found just the thing for my upcoming master bath renovation! I don't think it is tacky at all. I don't think that you are likely to find anything similar within the budget you had in mind (cheap murals often do look tacky). I agree that it is art for your walls, and if you able to splurge, do it there. As far as resale, I think you are safer with a geometric design like you have chosen than something that looks like a picture (chickens, farmhouse, fruit bowl, whatever).

I love them all, whether they be chickens, fruit, veggies, abstract, it is art for the kitchen. The important thing is to pick something that fits your style and color tones of home and kitchen.

ItÂs an old, old line, but I guess we never really run out of reasons for stating that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." There is an argument to be made for not doing anything "too bold" for a home you know you will not keep, although I know of a couple who adopted that policy some thirty years ago and are still in the same home!!!! So, what they might have done to improve their home to suit their tastes was never done, and now that theyÂre on retirement income fortunately, that couple is not us!

And, really, even if you know youÂre going to move, do you really have to live to those standards of "nothing anyone might disapprove of?" When we moved into our home the original owners whoÂd been in it since their hippy yippy days had some mirror tiles in the living room that they thought were pretty slick. All the furnishings were out of the house when we first saw it, but maybe, in context, say with some bean bags and whatever else was "cool" in the early 1970s, it might have been pretty slick. But it was not for us. Those tile, along with the avocado stovetop in the kitchen were gone before we even moved in our own stuff! But neither item ever gave us a momentÂs pause about buying the house.

Relative to your question on tile, I posted a blog a few weeks ago on a Colorado company that does seem to do tile backsplashes for less (thereÂs a link below). I titled it "Endless Love," because tile murals do seem to require that kind of commitment. But, honestly, if the new house I had in mind to purchase had a tile backsplash I didnÂt care for in an otherwise "perfect" home, I mean, cÂmon. How long is it going to remove it?

Some people love tile backsplashes; some people hate them, just as it is with pretty much anything a body can recommend for a kitchen. In our case I do know we will eventually have one because our kitchen is such that the sink faces a blank wall, and my wife has fallen in love with the idea of looking at something other than dinged drywall!

I do think people are wise to not go with whatever is "hot" only because it is "hot." Every fad that ever was eventually fades. But if you are installing something you love, then what the hey, go for it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cabinet & Furniture Trends & Information

Thanks for the kind words. I do feel better.

You guys are lovely! Thanks for all your valuable advice.

It is very true that this is a piece of art, and therefore should come at a cost... we have scrimped and saved in MANY other areas of the kitchen, so this splurge would be justified... if I wasn't so darned thrifty!!

I am currently scheming to have the mural reproduced by another less expensive tile artist... she seems quite confident that she can do it. I wasn't too thrilled by what she had posted on her website, so I emailed her and asked. Her site is colorbakery.com, and she says she can do anything on tile that you can dream up. I'll link below. I will keep you all posted if I go that way!

Plllog, The rest of the backsplash will be travertine, if I go with a mural. It would be very neutral and simple to accommodate the mural. I will also take your suggestion to make sure the mural is the right size... I can purchase any size I want, really, so I'll be cautious on that. Thanks.

Westsider, thank you for the laugh! I hope you feel better - I have a coworker that endured the same surgury recently... not pleasant by any means!

Katescourous - I don't think I'm the redecorating-frequently type... but truthfully I've never lived anywhere long enough to know! We do plan to stay in this house, though... and if I live through this kitchen reno, I'm staying till I die. (Which is a long time, I'm only 29 :))

Once again, thanks for the advice!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Color Bakery - anything on tile you can dream of?

So, if you have an average life span, you're paying what? A dollar a year extra for this?

There's thrifty, like not throwing away perfectly good bags that can be reused. Then there's penny wise/pound foolish. Color Bakery does appear to have some very lovely things, but they don't do what you're looking for!

I am an artist (though not currently working at it--just kitchening). Knowing what I know about it, and the trouble my custom tile maker is having to more or less match the color in the sample she made me in my actual tile order in (like round 5?), I will say, without any wiggle room, she can't duplicate your lovely piece. Can't. Really.

She can do an "homage" and make something that has that sort of look, but it won't be the same. You didn't say you wanted something that looked sort of like this. You said you fell in love with this one!

If you're going to make it the focal point of your kitchen, do it right. Really. Either get the real thing and love it, or just do all travertine and save the money. You can turn some of the tiles on point over the stove for interest.

If you like the looks of knock offs, if you'd rather wear the Payless shoes and be happy that they have a strap in the same place as the Versace and knowing how little you paid, then go for the reproduction. Otherwise, get the real thing, or look for a bargain on something else.

I didn't read the terms, but usually on custom work (which your reproduction would be) you pay half up front, and the artisan keeps it whether you like the item or not, and whether you actually buy it or not. If you want a bargain, keep looking for something that's already made that you love both the look and price of.

Plllog... interesting thing I just figured out... the design I love is in fact a William Morris carpet! (Or at least, virtually identical to it.) So it's already a knock-off ;)

I will have to negotiate with DH over this - he flat out no-ed me on the first $700 US mural, but I think he might opt for the knockoff of the knockoff... which I will go for, if not for the sake of my marriage! I will definitely get a sample of it first prior to ordering and paying (if I can't, I won't order it.) Thanks for the tip.

As for concerns about colour matching... I don't really care if they're identical, I have no specific colours in my kitchen as it stands (everything is neutral) so as long as the design looks realistic (isn't visibly pixelated, etc.), I'm a happy camper. I've never bought a pair of Versace shoes - and payless is a bit too cheapy even for me - I tend to run somewhere in the middle, I guess! Hope I can find just that!

I like the analogy of the Payless shoes. I have some Payless shoes: high heels I bought to go with a dress I'll wear once or twice. But NOT the shoes I wear every day. Those are high quality. I think in terms of dollars per hour.

You'll be looking at that mural every day. I don't think Color Bakery is in the same league as Stone Impressions. This will be the focal point of your kitchen that you will stare at every day as you stir the spaghetti sauce (or whatever). I'm afraid you might regret it.

Oh! I thought you knew it was a William Morris pattern, but that's taking an inspiration point, more than a knock off.

It sounds like you'll be happy with something in between, and now that you're forewarned about commissioning, I think you're set. It looks like Color Bakery do solid work. Just much more vibrant than your example.

If it's not this exact tile that you absolutely must have, you can also get some alternate source material--e.g., some pictures of actual William Morris textiles or papers, if that's what you like about this tile. The artist will likely be able to do a better job for you if you give her a range of the kind of thing you want, rather than just asking her to make a copy. And since it'll be made just for you, you'll probably like it better.

I use shoes as a metaphor because we all have some. :-) You might not own any Versaces, but you don't own a tile rug yet either. :-D Most of us mostly have in between. If you're happy with in between for your kitchen, that's great! And it sounds like your husband will be happier too.

Amarina, The Clermont Noire shown is printed on LIMESTONE. You have warm colonial TRAVERTINE counters. You fell in love with a sample on limestone. Does Stone Impressions' travertine go with your travertine?

Before you commit to ANY tile, double or triple knock-off (whew, I made that up-well I think I made that up)be sure that a sample will work with your stuff.

And you may wish to check if they can make the mural on a board, backerboard or such, which could be hung or propped, nah, never mind. Affixed to the wall.

I think if you coordinate the ground with your stuff, pick muted colors, find a William Morris-sey pattern, you could get a beautiful triple knock-off panel. And color bakery is only one of many tile-can do anything tile, as you mentioned. I'd shop to make your dh happy -to see if it can be cheaper. I understand his reluctance to spend 700 for a smallish mural. The feel of it can be copied but will it be cheaper or are most of these tile guys wanting bigger bucks? It is a very intricate pattern with a number of colors and a triple or quad knockoff may still be pricey.

Check custom tile ppl on ebay. Igloo's ebay mural is quality and beautiful.

I am a lapsed painter and a decent copyist so I was able to kind of replicate certain paintings, esp abstracts, lol. But it is time consuming. And rather than pay $700 for a painting, I'd see if I cd do something similar.

I just checked ebay and google and could not easily find a tile mural with the same feel. One search I did was for "tile mural"+"old world"+clermont- nada. It may be out there, but for me, not as easy to find as I thought. As you know, there are places that will copy and do originals but before i looked, I thought the marketplace would be flush with that look. No, not so. So take my previous post with a grain of salt-ignore it. You and the other gw-ers are way closer and have more knowledge than me. Gonna keep my mouth shut.

Sometimes I hesitate to post a reply on this forum when my thoughts don't seem to follow the rest, but then I figure that the OP can see that the tally is (for example) 30 for it; 1 against, so with the relative value in mind -- I would vote against a mural. My thinking is this.... although I am all for giving a room a focal point, but seldom does the spot behind the stove "earn" the right to have all that attention -- generally not the cleanest area, nor the best lit spot in the room, and the available space is usually pretty small. I guess there is usually a more natural (and worthy) focal point of the kitchen. I love beautiful backsplash tile (love, love it), but prefer that the backsplash be a place where the statement is made with the entire field of tile and the overall effect as opposed to a single 2x2 or 3x3 spot.
Not to say that there aren't some beautiful murals in the kitchens on this board -- there are -- it's just not something I lean toward doing myself.
Good luck which ever way you go.

Kris

I love the idea of a tile mural. As far as it being ugly or tacky, that is a totally personal decision. As long as you plan on staying in your house, do what you will love looking at.

I would compromise with DH, get the more resonably priced one. You both need to be happy with your decisions.

I don't have anything to add other than I really like them. If you can swing it financially, then do it. They are stunning and classic. Good luck!

I donÂt know, amarina. I maybe ought not to get into this, but I will anyway. I married my wife before you were born (33 years ago!), and one of the things that has made us so outrageously happy is the art of compromise, in part because both of us know what a compromise means: you get part of what you want and part of what you donÂt want. But we also know enough to let the other one "win" from time to time.

Quite frankly, if it were my kitchen remodeling in question, and my wife really, really wanted the $700 mural (after committing to how many thousands of dollars for the kitchen!!!!), I would let her have the mural unless I just thought it was the ugliest thing IÂd ever seen in this world. And then my emphasis would be on getting a mural we would both like. But that little amount of money, in the grand scheme of things, is not important enough to come between me and my wifeÂs happiness.

Just my opinion. IÂll shut up now.

Ok, sometimes I just can't keep my mouth shut!

I would not, in my k, put up a mural, b/c I'd get bored, rather permanent, affect re-sale and all other reasons mentioned. But

That stone is so pretty and you have already made a style statement with other features of your k, by that I mean, it's elegant, formal-ish, and I think that a future buyer would see that tile as a Michelangelo on the wall, and say, omg, look what they left!

I'm not sure this is a discussion I should jump into, because my mind is a jumble of 'ifs' (and a jumble this week, in general), like IF it goes with the style of the home and kitchen, and IF it coordinates nicely with other elements...and it's all personal opinion/judgment.

A concern: I do worry about hearing things like putting it in the middle of an otherwise neutral field of backsplash, because I think it should relate to the rest of the backsplash...not just sit in the middle of something that's as plain as possible. That's a hard call, though, without seeing all the materials together.

Worth the money or not: Such an internal thing for each person. I am terminally practical, but also artsy, so might splurge for something that I would LOVE each time I walked in the room, but whose price would not overshadow that love. I also understand the value of compromise, but again it so depends on the feelings of both people involved. Will DH complain for a few minutes, then forget about it while you LOVE it and him for the rest of your kitchen days? Or... Will you be just as happy to see something else for the money saved and to have a happy dh? Only his and your hearts know the answer to those things.

If you're going to compromise, I think it'd be safer to NOT try to copy the exact look. I really wanted some beautiful painted tiles for my baking wall backsplash, and I wish I had the inspiration pic to show. But the colors I wanted didn't seem to exist...for any price that was anything close to reasonable. Instead I chose to do a pattern myself of small mosaics that gave me an intricate pattern and the richness of color I was after...Overall, a similar impression without being a copy of the painted. I'm not trying to say this is what you should do, just that I felt it was safer than trying too hard to get the look without spending the money for the 'real' thing. I still spent more for those colorful little mosaic marble tiles ($25/sf) than I would have OK'd as a price for tile anywhere else in the house...Because the color and overall look was crucial to my vision of that area. For the approx 15 sq ft area, and in the scheme of things, it was worth it to me.

Plllog, in particular, has said a lot of things I agree with here, but these 2 things really stand out for me, and would be things I would have said:

1) There's thrifty, like not throwing away perfectly good bags that can be reused. Then there's penny wise/pound foolish. There is a difference between getting something cheap or at a good value. Value has to do with quality and how much it means to you for the price, a cost for the life, not just how many pennies you have left after leaving the cash register.
2) I would much rather do something bold and dynamic that I loved than ever be stuck with boring. YES! ;-)

Best wishes. Most of us have had to make similar tough decisions (because 'pretty' is important, too) and completely understand the related...

I have been considering buying one of the other Stone Impressions tile murals and I have looked at some in a tile store and they looked good and high quality.

Some of Rhome's ifs made me remember

Just to clarify...I'm not against something special standing out, as it should to be a 'focal point,' but just prefer to see some of the tile or colors that connect in the rest of the backsplash, rather than have it be completely plain.

I hadn't seen Cleo's mosaic...That is beautiful.

I'm wondering what you decided? I've been pondering the same idea, though I recently saw a backsplash niche behind a stove done in mirror and that looked really lovely...and much cheaper I'm sure.

I love tile mosaics. In a dream house, I would have one of those Moroccan tile treatments all over in various colors and trims.

I think your choice is very lovely. I think it could be absolutely stunning. I also think it needs to relate to other things in the backsplash or countertop. I really don't like kitchens where there is a backsplash feature plopped behind the cooktop without any relationship to the rest of the kitchen. Personally, I also really don't like pictorial backsplashes- you know the sort of things with painted tiles of landscapes/fruit/vegetables/vines/animals/chickens/sailboats, etc, etc. Just a personal dislike.

Before committing, I would make a copy of your choice and blow it up to a lifesize appearance. It probably won't be a good copy, but you will get an idea of it from across the room. Then live with it for a while.

I sound a bit arrogent but forgive me in advance...

Sometimes you get advice that might sound ok, and you have your own inner design "no's" that you would think you'd never break, then you see one of those no's of yours or someone who's advised you, and realize that "yes" it works. I've learned that if nothing else from the decorating forum here. "Should I do pink in the dining room?" My personal first answer to those pink (or blue) question is YUCK NO WAY (I hate pink). but then someone will post a pink hued room that is beyond stunning (it's possible....believe me I didn't think so but it's possible LOL0

I read here, the backsplash has to be of the same thing, has to blend, not stick out, not be specific, blah blah blah....there are design rules to break but these are not up high on the list :)

I personally think my backsplashes are lovely, both of them, heck there are actually three if you count and each is of a different material not related to each other, but with careful design they all relate as a whole....but if someone said "should I do stainless steel, marble and hand made crackle subways" what would the answer be here? E GADS YUCK!!! But my kitchen has been featured in magazines for just that "horrible" mix of crap. My stove backsplash has no relation to the stainless it butts up to nor the crackle across the way, but it still works.

If you don't have the confidence to go nuts, but want to, pay a designer to help you out to make sure it works :) But don't stick to boring rules like "it will never keep it's resale if you use x and y" Personally, it's likely that the person posting that might have a kitchen you'd never buy :) And they might never buy yours. You should think resale, but don't go so freaking nuts you do white white white with no personality just for resale...because if you search this forum, you'll find one of the worst kitchens ever posted was white white white, done for resale :o)

My chickens could kick the arse of a white on white on white kitchen anyday. :oP

Overstock.com has a lot of tile murals that might work. I didn't see anything identical, but some have a similar feel. I personally wouldn't spend $700 on a part of a backsplash, but I'm cheap like that. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Overstock murals

Hi, sorry a bit OT, but igloochic, are there pics of your kitchen posted somewhere? I have searched but am unable to find them. I'd love to see your chickens. :o) Thanks!
~Missy