Splashbacksguide recently caught up with one of the companies really making waves in the splashback world right now – Pimpyourkitchen. They create stunning and amazing photo splashbacks that can be totally customized. Check out the amazing effect a photo splashback can have in the kitchen in some of the pictures below – truly breathtaking.
Pimpyourkitchen are the pioneers and inventors of picture and photo splashbacks and are run by John & Patricia, a small, but perfectly formed team out in the Netherlands. The pimpyourkitchen team were kind enough to do a quick interview with us to answer some questions about their amazing splashbacks:
Q. You are pioneering the concept of photo splashbacks that allow people to have a high colour photo on their kitchen splashback wall. How long has this technique been available and what new technologies are used?
A: John Kraft is a photographer of origin, he thought it would be a great idea to have an image of Cows in the Field behind his kitchen worktop. He found a producer who is specialised in large prints and together they created the prototype that featured in John’s studio. This was back in 2006. Response to his kitchen was so overwhelming that he decided to start PimpYourKitchen in the Netherlands. Where people could choose a design for their kitchen. The splashbacks are a combination of high quality prints, with a special laminate that guards it from UV light and makes it easy to clean. The material can also be cut to size to fit any kitchen.
Q. What kind of things inspire you to create new designs? Do you get inspiration from music, art or nature for example?
A: John is always looking at the world through a photographer’s eye. Most of our designs are inspired by nature, but also food is a huge source of inspiration. The trick is to capture the image just a bit differently from what you would normally expect. We are also inspired by our customers, they come with an idea, which we turn into reality for them.
Q. You offer the option of choosing any photo to be included on a splashback. What are the strangest or most memorable designs people have chosen? Have you ever had to refuse to produce a design?!
Next to our own extensive range of designs, we offer to create splashback designs based on own ideas or images. We’ve made designs with pets, or wedding pictures, these are very personal of course. Nothing extreme comes to mind that we’ve had to refuse to produce. We do keep strict guidelines in terms of quality. Since the splashback makes a feature in your home, the image needs to be of sufficient resolution and you need to be sure that it is an image that you want to look at when preparing sandwiches. If we can’t produce it, it’s mostly because of images of insufficient quality.
Q. You have sites in a number of different countries including the Netherlands, UK, Belgium and Germany. Are there differences in the types of designs people in different countries choose?
We have tried to keep track of trends, but there’s not really a pattern. Our Red Peppers are more wanted in the UK and Germany, not so much in Holland. Poppies do well in the UK. We’d like to think that most designs appeal to everyone, so maybe that is why we have a number of designs that are favorite in all countries. We do like to get more panoramic images of cities all over the world. These may appeal to a more specific audience.
Q. Because you operate internationally customers must measure and install the splashback themselves. Is this easy to do this or do you get a lot of mistakes happening?
The measuring isn’t that difficult. The basics that we need is total length x total height of the splashback. It can get more complicated when corners, height difference and sockets are involved.
But we’re experts in our field, if we suspect that something isn’t right or that we have incomplete information, we always e-mail or call our customers. Our goal is to create the best for their kitchen and we always reach that goal.
Q. You have been doing this for nearly half a decade now, starting in 2007. Have you seen the splashback market grow during that time? Has it been affected by the recession?
We’ve noticed that there are a lot of small businesses that are trying to get a foothold in the splashback niche market. Which is how things go, I guess. Of course our product is a luxury item, which are affected by the recession.
On the other hand, a lot of our customers have their mind set on a splashback. They are sometimes just waiting to move into a new home where they can have the splashback that they’ve wanted for 2 years.
The trick is to be the best at what you do, that will pay off eventually.
Q. Pimpyourkitchen is already a huge success with a great team and happy customers. What are your plans for Pimpyourkitchen in the coming year and into the future?
We are indeed a great team, with happy customers. People may think that they are dealing with a large company, but we like to keep things personal so we always know which client we are dealing with. For the future we’d like to expand, this means adding new great designs on a regular base. Inventing new products and materials, to match our customers needs. And we’d love to expand to other countries as well. So that are some big plans for us.
Thanks so much to pimpyourkitchen for talking to us – looking forward to great things from this company. To finish, here’s a picture of a couple of happy customers in their kitchen with a photo splashback of course!
Pimpyourkitchen on splashbacks guide
Related articles
- Interview with Steve Robinson – splashback and glass artist (splashbacksguide.com)
- Pimp Your Kitchen (splashbacksguide.com)
