How to design your own custom photo backsplash with Zaanvo

A tempered glass backsplash printed with your own photo used to be a specialist commission — you’d find a glass shop, email a picture, wait three weeks, and hope. We built Zaanvo’s custom design tool so it takes fifteen minutes and costs no more than an off-the-shelf pattern.

Here’s how it works, start to finish, and what to expect at each step.

1. Start with the photo

Almost anything works: a landscape from your last holiday, a photo of your parents’ farm, a piece of art you own, a favorite recipe in your grandmother’s handwriting. What matters is the resolution — a phone shot is fine; a screenshot from Instagram usually isn’t. If in doubt, aim for the original file, not the version you shared on social media.

For anything portrait-oriented (a person, a doorway, a tall tree), think about how it’ll look stretched wide behind your hob. A backsplash is roughly landscape by shape, so panoramas and horizon-heavy compositions tend to shine.

2. Pick a size

Measure the wall between your counter and the underside of your upper cabinets. If you don’t have upper cabinets, measure sixty centimeters up from the counter as a starting point — that’s the standard splash zone but you can choose the size different than the standart splash zone.

Zaanvo offers a preset grid of common sizes for the most-used kitchens, and a custom-size option if none of those match. Custom sizes cost a little more but let us cut to your exact wall — worth it if your kitchen isn’t a rectangle or the space between cabinets is unusual.

3. Preview it in a mockup

The design page shows your photo dropped into a real kitchen mockup at your chosen size. This is the honest moment — some photos that look wonderful full-screen look busy or dark once they’re behind a stove. Move your photo around, zoom in on the part that matters most, and trust your gut. If it doesn’t look right in the mockup, it won’t look right in your kitchen.

We recommend previewing on both a phone and a laptop before committing. Small screens flatter cluttered images.

4. Choose how you’ll mount it

Five options ship free with every panel:

• Double-sided tape — fastest, no drying time. Best for smaller panels.
• Clear silicone — permanent, invisible from the front, works on almost any wall.
• Silicone + tape — our recommendation. Tape holds instantly while silicone cures underneath.
• Metal hangers — bracket-mounted, fully removable. Perfect for rentals.
• Screws with stand-offs — a small shadow-line gap. Modern feel, removable if you redecorate.

5. What happens after you order

The order goes straight to our studio in Florida. We check the resolution of your file, edge-map the panel to your exact size, print onto the back of a low-iron glass sheet using ceramic ink, and temper it at 700 °C. The whole production takes roughly 3-7 days.

Shipping is another 1–3 business days within the US. Every panel goes out in a wooden crate designed for glass — the box will look absurd, and that’s deliberate. Breakage in transit is under 1%.

What the finished panel looks like in a real kitchen

The photo sits behind a layer of tempered glass, so the image reads as if it’s a print seen through a very thin sheet of ice. Colors deepen slightly. Whites gain a subtle warmth. The surface is completely flat and completely wipeable — the print never touches your food or your cleaning cloth.

Common questions

Can I use a photo I don’t own? Only if you have permission. We can print any image you send us, but the responsibility for the rights sits with you. A licensed stock photo, a photo you took yourself, or an image you commissioned an artist to make — all fine. A screenshot from someone else’s Instagram is not.

What if it doesn’t look right when it arrives? Because every panel is made for one specific customer, we can’t take returns on custom orders — but we’ll always talk about it. If the mockup looked right and the finished panel doesn’t, that’s on us and we’ll fix it.

How long will it last? Longer than the kitchen. Tempered glass is scratch-resistant, heat-resistant, and doesn’t stain. The print is sealed between the wall and the glass, so nothing can wear it down.

Start designing yours, or browse pre-designed patterns if you’d rather choose from an existing collection.