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Time to finalize the backsplash!

28 days ago

Hi all,


I know that I have opened several posts regarding my backsplash, but I still haven't made my decision yet. I really need to get it done already because my walls are getting damaged.


A couple of people mentioned adding some warmth to the kitchen with a wood look backsplash, but I am not sure if what I found works. What do you guys think about it?


The last photo has 2 tiles one is matte and one glossy. They are both beautiful and have some color variations but in the white family. The second one is glossy. Both are handmade, meaning they have imperfect edges and have texture to it as well and apparently that's what the beauty about it is. They can go in either direction, vertically or horizontally.


I would appreciate to hear opinions.


Thanks!




Comments (49)

  • 28 days ago

    were these options in your other posts?

    without seeing the whole space, I would go for the verticle woodtone.

    2nd option the darker of the two.

    G G thanked Lyn Nielson
  • 28 days ago

    @Lyn Nielson

    No, these are new options and weren't in my other posts.


    Both photos of the wood look tile are the same. One is just a close up.



    Here is a photo of the kitchen. It is all white and sterile looking. But I am adding wood floor when I redo the floors in the whole house, in a year or or so.

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  • 28 days ago

    I meant the darker of the two subway tiles on the countertop as my second shoice.

    I love the verticle woodtone.

    G G thanked Lyn Nielson
  • 28 days ago

    Because you're adding wood floors, I wouldn't choose the wood-look splash. Light European Oak is a floor option. You can use a sample to get an idea of what color it'll add. The wood tones of the floor and backsplash may not exactly match. Problem.



    Three different tones. You can't match the wood-look tile.

    G G thanked dan1888
  • 28 days ago

    @dan1888


    If I am not changing the floor, then you would suggest the wood look backsplash?

  • 28 days ago

    I wouldn't add a wood look tile backsplash. It doesn't relate in color to your counter (or anything in the space) and that reeded texture will be difficult to clean. Even if you change the floors to hardwood, matching floors to backsplash doesn't seem like a good look and if the wood tones are off then it'll look like a mistake.

    Of your selections, I like the darker of the two tiles, but maybe in a longer tile shape more like the size of the light tile.

    G G thanked tlynn1960
  • 27 days ago

    I like the fluted wood look tile, but I suggested it. In the end, it’s your space. You do you.

    G G thanked eam44
  • 27 days ago

    I like the uninterrupted vertical lines of the fluted tile. It also adds texture. I don't think it needs to be wood-look. The correct off-white tone would be my choice. You could then use it with the current floor or any engineered floor you want to add later. I'd replace your range with a slide-in induction before tiling. Frigidaire or Bosch industrial are two.

    G G thanked dan1888
  • 27 days ago

    Your kitchen is sleek and modern. I don't see a handmade tile look fitting in here. What about a white mosaic with a brass accent in it?









    What are you doing in your kitchen that is destroying the walls where the backsplash is? I have painted walls instead of a splash and nothing about them is destroyed. In fact, they are easier to clean than tile.



    G G thanked Kendrah
  • 27 days ago

    You could wait until you do the wood floors, and use the floor material for the backsplash for a perfectly coordinated match.


    In the meantime, who cares if the wall get scratched or dented, it will be covered by the backspash anyway.

    G G thanked John Liu
  • 27 days ago
    last modified: 27 days ago

    new floors will make a big difference. I would wait on the backsplash . A Year goes by quickly. Start browsing at flooring centers ...you'll be able to do something really nice w the wider range of coordinated options. . Not sure about the fluted texture.... I picture maybe a sweeping pattern or bold but simple ....rather than that mini detail w the ridges. In your kitchen you want to break up the white but not necessarily make the backsplash the focal point.....there is seating to make into a destination when you get to that. Contrast but dont define the space w such intricate and unusual character at the splash. You also could get tired of the ridges IMO. I just think you should wait on the splash. many folks do .

    G G thanked herbflavor
  • 27 days ago

    @John Liu


    I don't think I will like the look of a matching backsplash and floor. But thanks for your help!


    @Kendrah

    I like the ideas! My only concern is that I don't want to go with a "glam" look, won't there be too much gold ?

  • PRO
    27 days ago

    IMO you have posted so many times that now no one knows where you are or what you want. When ever you post a dilemma all things related to that post are then dealt with that first post in comments . I have no idea what was already suggested so I am not going to suggest at all.

    G G thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
  • 27 days ago

    It might read glam. I guess I thought with your chandeliers, flat cabinets, and sleek counters glam might be the look you are going for. What style are you looking for? What was your inspiration for the look of this kitchen?


    I have not seen anything else you have posted. Catch me up.



    G G thanked Kendrah
  • 27 days ago
    last modified: 27 days ago

    @Kendrah

    Thanks for your help!

    I am really not going for a glam style though I am not sure what the style I am looking for is called. I like simple clean lines. More modern than traditional. Organic colors. I hate visual clutter.

    This kitchen is the result of a design gone horribly wrong. These were the inspiration photos to begin .





    I hired a designer to help me plan the kitchen. The space is not big and I was having a hard time figuring out the layout. It's not big enough for an island but very wide for a classic galley. She helped me with the layout and when I showed her my inspiration photos she told me that my kitchen is too small for the wood because it will make it look much smaller. I listened to her and did all white but now it looks so cold and sterile.

    I would've loved to continue the countertops to the backsplash but it is going to be too expensive.

    I am having a very hard time finding the right color that matches the countertop because it is not a pure white. It is slightly off white but not cream.

    Sorry for my long post.

  • 27 days ago
    last modified: 27 days ago

    It seems to me that you don’t want "cold and sterile", but everything chosen for the kitchen is just that - cold and sterile - and the two possible backsplash tiles you showed are more of the same. White and light gray. Basically the same color that you already have everywhere.

    It’s going to look like a spaceship interior set from a 1960s movie, think “2001: A Space Odyssey”, before movie makers decided that real spaceships are cluttered not sleek smooth all-white.

    So, why are you headed to more of the same undifferentiated shades-of-whiteness sterility? I think you are cautious, these are big-ish and seemingly permanent decisions, you’re afraid to take risks and possibly be “wrong”, so you keep backing yourself into the white-white-almost white-more white corner that your designer initially trapped you in.

    My suggestion is, do something to break out of this trap. Stick some COLOR in that kitchen - barely-gray is not a color - and live with it, enjoy it, see how no lightning bolt strikes you down for daring to be not-sterile.

    To be practical, I would do the color in a way that is inexpensive and not permanent. So if burnt umber turns out to not agree with you, you can flip to cobalt blue, then gleaming gold, then rose red, and so on.

    The obvious way to do that is PAINT. Where the backsplash will eventually be. On the surface that is going to be covered anyway.

    Specifically, I would go to a paint store, bring back a bunch of color cards, pick three or four colors, buy the smallest can of each (a pint) plus some brushes, tape, and plastic sheet, and paint that backsplash a bunch of different colors. Live with them for a few months. Replace with some different colors. When some color “clicks”, go looking for backsplash options knowing that yes, you can do other than white and gray.

    I mean, you probably won’t end up choosing an acid trip orange backsplash, but having experienced a variety of colors there will, I think, lead you to give youself "permission" to introduce color into your otherwise white spaceship kitchen.

    Oh, and I still wouldn’t make the actual backsplash decision until you have the floors in. There is so little color or texture in that kitchen, that the warmth and grain of real wood will be a big change.

    Who knows, you may find a way to work some wood into your walls after all. That’s what you wanted initially, before the designer stuck you in her white box.

    G G thanked John Liu
  • 27 days ago
    last modified: 27 days ago

    P.S. I would definitely replace the range, and don’t get a black refrigerator please.

    P.P.S. Can you get your cabinet people back out to adjust all the doors so they are even. You have glossy slab doors with minimal hardware (very spaceship-y) and uneven gaps, crooked door edges, etc stick out like a sore thumb with those. Needs to be pretty perfect.

    P.P.P.S. I do like the gold. Gold is a color. Lean into it?

    G G thanked John Liu
  • 27 days ago

    @John Liu

    That's alot for one post. lol.


    The cabinets BTW are matte white, not glossy.

    I am getting a new set of appliances, all stainless steel. The fridge (36 inch, french door, counter depth) and dishwasher are arriving next week and the oven will be replaced when this one dies... I think that will be pretty soon :)


    The cabinet doors have been adjusted already. In the photo with the fluted wood sample you'll see that it is all straight.


    The thing with painting i s that it is not a solution t omy problem. The issue is that there are gaps between the cabinets and walls (this is a really old house, the walls are not straight, the cabinets are) the backsplash will fill those gaps. My kids have thrown in crayons and what not in the space, hence the need for it to be done asap. And there are multiple holes on the wall from the electrical work as well.


    Decision decisions.... yes I am afraid to try color. I want it to be nice and organic not flashy but I can't find something that blends in well.

  • 27 days ago

    And here are some updated photos of the kitchen, is it a little less sterile now that there is some hardware?



  • 27 days ago

    Not to me. Though I do like the gold.

    G G thanked John Liu
  • 27 days ago

    I think the words “blends in well” capture the issue. Your cabinets are totally stark white, and your kitchen is almost all cabinet. There is only a small strip of wall on each side that is left.


    Anything that “blends in well“ with stark white, in such a modest amount, is not going to relieve the sterility that you correctly perceive.


    Yes, the wood floor will help, assuming it is not some whitewash finish. But the warmer the floor, the more cold and stark the rest of the kitchen will look.




    G G thanked John Liu
  • 27 days ago
    last modified: 27 days ago

    I agree with some others that you could use some color or pattern to bring in some interest. One thought is a very light muted green or blue green sheet glass.

    Another idea that I think would look fabulous is a terrazzo, or like shown here, a terrazzo-look matte porcelain. It would still be neutral without locking in on a color and would look great now & have the brown when you decide to add wood floors.





    G G thanked HU-412762834
  • 27 days ago

    Thanks for the backstory. It's very helpful. And, it makes more sense of why you'd like the handmade tiles. I think if you throw a few more wood toned and "organic" items in there, they - or something like them - might make sense **eventually**. But the biggest organic element will be your wood floor.


    Today, put on your counter a wood cutting board, wood bowl, and a plant. Get an inexpensive - Ikea? natural fiber runner to put somewhere in here. You are looking at an empty sterile space, it is crushing you, and making you desperate for change. Most people hate their new kitchen at this stage. Don't make decisions from this head space.


    Patch the backsplash, add electrical covers, and paint it to match your cabinets. Live with a painted backsplash for a year until you get your floors in. I'm telling you the floors will 100% change how you think about your backsplash because the floor is 1/3 of the visual field of your kitchen and it is missing. A splash is the very last choice you make. Do not decide on it now. It is too expensive a decision to regret later.


    I lived with a painted splash for a year. I lived with plywood counters covered with clear contact paper for 8 months. It can be done. (Actually both were quite organic looks that I learned to love, everyone thought they were finished selections! In fact, I chose to keep the painted splash and never tiled because I liked the natural look of the plaster finish.)


    What tables and chairs are you adding? Hopefully wood.


    What hardware are you using for the upper cabinets? Hopefully knobs or something else that is not the long slender handles repeated from below.


    Love your windows. And, I totally get how hard it is to work with an old house and crooked walls. Nothing about this renovation sounds easy. But it will come together.





    G G thanked Kendrah
  • 27 days ago

    I didn't read thru all the posts but I would go with a green glass or fireclay tile.

    G G thanked millworkman
  • 27 days ago

    @Kendrah


    Thanks for your help,


    There is aanother reason I am pressed to do the backsplash now. I have paid my contractor for it and he wants to finish the job already. (I paid a set price for the kitchen and it included the backsplash) I can choose any tile that fits into the budget or add on the difference, and obviously labor is included. If I wait, then I am losing that money and will have to pay again.


    That being said, if you would've had a choice between the 2 handmade ceramic tiles, which one would you chose? Based on the fact that the floor color will be a medium brown? The table and chairs as well will be wood but I am less in a rush to get that. When I find something that I really like, I will get it.


    Window treatment is more important for me because I don't love these old windows.

    Was thinking about something like this:



    And lastly, why would someone leave extra things on the counter, like a wooden bowl etc like you suggested? Wouldn't that just be in the way of whatever you're doing? Or maybe it's just me? Because I can't stand clutter? I don't go to sleep at night before every surface of my house is clear.

  • 27 days ago

    I like @Kendrah 's suggestions for the brass/gold accented tiles.

    G G thanked anj_p
  • 27 days ago

    Very white kitchen warmed up with patterned tile. This is an inexpensive porcelain tile.

    Knoll - Farmhouse Kitchenette · More Info


    Bold color added to a white kitchen.

    Southern Charm in the Pacific Northwest · More Info


    This is Pratt & Larson handmade tile and they make it in dozens of colors and glazes.

    Barton Creek || New Construction || Austin, Texas || Second Kitchen · More Info



    Add texture with handmade Tabarka tile. Also comes in lots of colors.

    Westlake New Construction · More Info


    G G thanked chispa
  • 27 days ago

    If you really think one of these white handmade tiles is the trick, purchase a box of them, have the contractor mock up a board of them for you to place on your countertop and see what you think.


    This room will look sterile until your floors are in and you have a table.


    You want a white backsplash to add an organic, softer factor to the room, and it is pretty unusual for a white backsplash to play that role. Not impossible, but unusual. See if you can find an example and post it.


    Put the wood bowl and plants in there now just to see what the room looks like with some organic matter in it. You don't have to keep them there. (Though a lot of people do style their counters with a bowl of fruit or plant for the very purpose of making a room feel less sterile.)













    G G thanked Kendrah
  • 26 days ago

    @chispa


    I don't mind the second one but don't love it either. Is that a houzz photo? Then maybe I can check where it is from.

  • 26 days ago

    The thing with color is that I honestly don't love pops of color. I just prefer neutral colors. Also I think that we are defining sterility differently. For me, the sterile look that bothers me is the fact that there's no texture to the kitchen everything is just solid white. What I am trying to do is add some texture to take away the operating room feel of the kitchen. For others I guess, as long as there is no other color, it is still sterile.


    What I actually need help I guess would be finding a tile that is neutral.

  • 26 days ago

    mother of pearl is a direction I might consider. Neutral but a little more special than the cardboard looking fluted selection you have as a pick . Youll lose the sheen of the floor eventually when the white gets replaced w a wood floor . so I like the pearly patina these will bring back in. Nice with your hardware pick too, now that's done.


    Pac Heights Galley Kitchen · More Info



    Amazing backsplash with Mother of pearl tile PEM0028 · More Info

    Amazing backsplash with Mother of pearl tile PEM0034 · More Info


    G G thanked herbflavor
  • 26 days ago

    I'm with you on not liking pops of color. I'm in love with just using neutrals and consider textured whites or very subtle shades of neutral to be enough to bring a space to life. (I don't like anything anyone has suggested including the ones I suggested.)


    Most people on here are not going to feel the same way so may introduce pops of color or glam tiles. So, the question is, do you actually like the two samples you have of the handmade white tiles? If so, try them out on a sample board. And, what color grout were you thinking of using with them? They just might suit your tastes perfectly.





    G G thanked Kendrah
  • 26 days ago

    @Kendrah


    Seems like someone is finally getting what I want!


    So yes, I do like those two white samples. They both have enough texture to add some life to the kitchen.


    Maybe if you see a close up of the tile it will be easier to the texture.


    My question is considering the sizing and color of the two tiles, which one would better?


    I will add the close up photos of the tile in a new comment.

  • 26 days ago



  • 26 days ago

    They look mighty similar in the close up shot. In the distance shot the subway tile appears to blend more with your counter while the shorter one has more contrast. Do you think this is true in person as well? If so, do you care if there is a contrast?


    Can you take a pic holding each one flat up against your cabinet so we can see how the colors compare to the cabinet color?


    I'd get two big pieces of paper and draw the layout for each and hold them up and see if you have a reaction to having longer or shorter tiles.



    G G thanked Kendrah
  • PRO
    26 days ago
    last modified: 26 days ago

    Get over yourself......or suffer?

    One of your two inspo here- it really shares nothing with yours beyond white cabinets.



    See here......warm elements , warm textures. ( "wood" wallpaper)


    Everything becomes a "color" against ice white anything. The range is screaming cheap starter apartment - I'd bite the bullet now. You will hate any tile you select now in a white, the sterility will not go away UNTIL you have changed the floor, or made a firm decision. Use a WALLPAPER on the repaired splash. Prime the new drywall , for easy removal later.

    Your inspo pictures are two quite different kitchens. Get a credit from the contractor to cover your delay in the splash .Even with no credit, a mistake in a backsplash is a royal pain!



    ___________________________________________________________________

    ____

    https://www.wayfair.com/Foundry-Select--Wooden-Slats-Natural-Wallpaper-X116904472-L6161-K~W005893361.html?refid=GX712222967982-W005893361&device=c&ptid=2387400212525&network=g&targetid=aud-356699937033:pla-2387400212525&channel=GooglePLA&ireid=286729298&fdid=1817&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAkc28BhB0EiwAM001TQvgQ-xUrDTrJw-Rdn7wwjrjEj6-0yqj3Y8lomGDS9OWPjeAT3LwwxoC1jsQAvD_BwE

    ___________________________________________________________________

    Get over the totally empty ( boring ) counter thing. I too deplore clutter with a passion,, but you are your own WORST enemy,

    Surely you can live with a bowl of succulent and some LIFE in the darn place? You have children and they eat no fruit?: )



    Get a natural fiber rug on the floor, buy a couple and at under fifty bucks, cheap enough to toss if a disaster ( Amazon )



    Put a woven shade on the window.....or a linen roman shade..



    And buy a range ......sell what you have.

    G G thanked JAN MOYER
  • 26 days ago
    last modified: 26 days ago

    @Kendrah

    You're right about the 2 tiles, one does blend in better and the other one has more contrast but I really like both. That's the hardest part of the decision. Do I go with contrast or a blend? Is matte nicer than gloss or vice versa?

    Here are the photos with the tile next to the cabinets.




  • 26 days ago

    Honestly, both may look like mistakes, like you tried to match the cabinets but missed. It is *really* hard combining whites. Even differing cool whites. The shorter one looks too muddy so I'd definately not do that. I don't know if you'll be happy with the subway or regret it. Can you buy some and have the contractor mock up a board?


    "Get over yourself......or suffer?"


    This may be my all time favorite @JAN MOYER quote. I need to keep a running list!



    G G thanked Kendrah
  • 26 days ago

    @JAN MOYER


    Thanks!

    I've been waiting for you to chime in, your insight is always spot on.


    Yes the range is from our old rental appt, and will be replaced it's dying soon anyway. No gas stove here, I am not in the and gas is not the norm. Electric ovens or induction.


    My inspiration photos have one thing in common, white flat slab cabinets, which is exactly what I wanted :) I am pretty design ignorant so would never know or understand the difference between the two... but to me I liked the white and wood.


    Shades like you suggested are coming. I agree with the color you posted and like it alot.


    Regarding the backsplash, I don't really think I will regret either one of the white choices, at the end of the day, I chose white because I like white, the question is more which one of the 2 would be nicer. I agree most people don't like my style but I do. I'm not planning to resell very soon so I am going with what works for me. And yes, I am pretty sure I want to do it now and get over with it, I didn't enjoy the renovation process at all. I need to save up some mental energy until it's time to do the floors.


    And BTW my kids eat fruit, I just keep it in the fridge:)

  • 26 days ago

    @Kendrah


    I see now that I either can match the counters or the cabinets, whatever I tried so far hasn't been good, and there were multiple. I must have visited every tile store here in Montreal. I am starting to think that it is the countertop that's wrong, it doesn't really perfectly match the cabinets either, this may be the biggest design mistake in the kitchen. But I will need to work with what I have, the countertops were too expensive to just tea r them out.


    Jan is funny:)


  • 26 days ago

    Your countertop is fine. But, if you are already regretting that, I think you will regret your tile decision even more.


    Seriously, ask for them to finish and paint your backsplash and get a credit for the tile. You are going to be happier with no tile than with the options you have backed yourself in to.


    Hang the window treatment, eventually get the table and chairs, get your floor installed. By then you will have totally forgotten about the backsplash. It is simple, clean, and fine as a painted surface.



    G G thanked Kendrah
  • PRO
    26 days ago
    last modified: 26 days ago

    It was meant to be both "funny" and add to that, you are still, yes still, not getting where you want to go......

    You are very sure you love the white slab front cabs.. That's FINE! You are convinced a white texture will do the trick. Make sure you aren't confusing texture with TONE. ( I realize it was honed )

    Use your other inspo for just a minute....( I should add, for alll we know, it is AI generated )



    What do you see?

    One....... NO texture to speak of, it is CONTRAST you see. the hardware is a stronger contrast and visual than your selection by far, the wood panels are SMOOTH, dark, and no grain is really apparent.....and the floor is equally void of any texture.

    This is white tile, with texture.....


    Second,

    Most all veined white quartz, is less blindingly white than your cabinetry. Less so than your floor as well.

    Opinion of one? Nothing in multiple whites, honed as you have above will really work UNLESS and until there is a wood on the floor.

    You'd be far better off to get more of the quartz, go up the splash and you will get your inspo above, within reason, can still always change your floor. In no way will you be out of SNOWY LAND until a floor change , but you will be out of the unknown hell of a backsplash selection, grout, and what works with what.

    The lack of really looking at inspos, determining what makes any of them work and appeal to you on w.h.o.l.e and not just one element in any? Interpreting to suit? You have to do that...or be where you are. Not kidding and not funny, I 'm sure. But again, your inspos were two DIFFERENT kitchens.

    Below. There's a glossy white pale pale "oak" veined quartz in the kitchen. I didn't want to do the top. A little too glossy glam. And I paired it with a honed tile that does work, but only because of the oak and the flooring and the painted cabs. The texture of the pendants as well. Call it staying on message....to blend with the rest, the intent if you will, for the house on whole.


    Wrapped views · More Info



    Wrapped views · More Info



    Wrapped views · More Info


    G G thanked JAN MOYER
  • 26 days ago

    @Kendrah

    It's not like I regret the countertops, I like them alot but the color of it is proving to be a challenge.

    Is there no way any white would blend in? I am not looking to make a statement, I want to keep it neutral.


    @JAN MOYER

    Can we focus on everything but the floor? The will come when I am ready to do it, and I am sure it w enhance the look of the kitchen. But it's not happening yet, it's too of a big project to undertake time wise and 💰. It's 35,0000 Job. just bought our house in August, and already put 100k in .


    I know everything will look all white until the floors are in, let's pretend the floor is there. Say I have a beautiful medium tone hardwood flooring, which tile in the white family will work in this kitchen? I just want this kitchen to be done once and for all!


    Thanks @Kendrah and @JAN MOYER for your help, I really appreciate it.

  • PRO
    26 days ago

    I can't advise , won't advise, because it is always a case of you must drag in the samples. It is an in person decision. For ANY kitchen. You see the whole and we can not. You can't see the whole, until you have samples in your hands.


    G G thanked JAN MOYER
  • 25 days ago

    I think the “wood” looking tile would be beautiful.

    G G thanked jamieanddominic
  • 25 days ago

    I think the hand made tiles look incongruent with the kitchen you’ve created. The “wood” looking tile would give warmth; texture, and keep with your modern feel

    G G thanked jamieanddominic
  • 25 days ago

    I really think that designing a kitchen using only one’s imagination - pretending a wood floor is there and trying to imagine what backsplash will look good with that pretend floor while perfectly matching and blending in with the counters and cabinets which don’t ” perfectly match “ each other - it is just too hard. Can’t be done.


    You need to look at and live with samples, in fairly sizeable pieces/areas. More than two single tiles.


    This is very doable. You can go to a flooring supplier, buy some pieces of the beautiful medium tone wood flooring you’re considering, tape them down on your floor. Then get multiple pieces of the tile(s) you’re considering, use two-sided tape to stick them to a board, lean that up against the wall. If that looks promising, have the tile thinset to the board and grouted in the color you’re considering. Make sure the lighting including any under-cabinet lighting is the hue and brightness you’re going to use. Live with that mock-up of floor and backsplash for at least a few days.


    If you are determined that the backsplash has to be tile and has to be done ”now”, that’s what I’d do.


    On the tile - it seems pretty clear you want an all white kitchen (except the floor) and want the backsplash to “perfectly match” either the counter or the cabinets. I imagine it will be easier to match the cabinets - they look pretty stark white, and there are plenty of stark white tile choices. Take a cabinet door to the tile shop(s)?





    G G thanked John Liu
  • 25 days ago

    If you're looking to go with a version of white (neutral) for the backsplash, consider the zelige tiles to "marry" better the countertop and cabinets with blended whites for the backsplash. The two tiles you're considering just seem restricting in their shade of color. These are ideas below. They could be laid staggered, aligned or vertical depending on the aesthetic that appeals to you.


    G G thanked jackowskib
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