The story of our "Kitchen Tree" backsplash ~ from commission to completion
In December 2012, a couple from Washington state contacted us to discuss commissioning a custom kitchen backsplash. They'd seen our website and found images of our Tree of Life that they really liked. They emailed us the image that they liked best, commenting on how they liked the way the roots looked, and the overall shape of the tree. They also asked whether we could make the piece in cream and brown, to complement the stone in the stove area. Here's the image they sent:
Rubin tree used to base new custom piece.
Their response was "So beautiful! The tree design is fantastic!" Once we had the design nailed down, we worked more on the glaze color to use.
They emailed us images of the stone that would comprise the majority of the backsplash. Based on this image, and their request for cream and brown, we sent them 3" x 3" color chips of our yellow and our cream glazes and showed them how each glaze would look against their stone:
- Cream glaze against kitchen stone
- Light yellow glaze against kitchen stone
- Tree of Life, 24" x 24", glazed in cream
Their response: "They look so beautiful!!! We can't wait--thanks for keeping us appraised on your progress. We couldn't be happier:)"
They asked us about what sealant we'd recommend putting on the tiles since they are installed behind the stovetop. While all of our tiles have a low sheen that is scrubbable it's not imperative that a sealant is used. However, if a client wants to seal the tiles we recommend using Miracle, 511 Porous Plus, Natural Look Penetrating Sealer.
Here are images of the piece, installed. The border tile that was used is tumbled Turkish Travertine, available at most tile stores.
- 24" x 24" Tree of Life kitchen backsplash
