Mixtiles offers a modern, damage-free way to display personal photos with its signature lightweight tiles that stick directly to the wall. In contrast, Smallwoods specializes in handcrafted, personalized wood art and decor with a distinctly rustic and farmhouse aesthetic. The primary difference comes down to materials and style: Mixtiles provides sleek, versatile photo tiles perfect for contemporary spaces and renters, while Smallwoods delivers warm, textured wooden pieces ideal for adding a bespoke, artisanal touch.
Let's break down everything you need to know to choose the right home decor brand for your space.
Mixtiles: The Modern, Damage-Free Photo Tiles
Mixtiles gained popularity for one simple but brilliant idea: making it incredibly easy to hang photos without nails, holes, or wall damage. The brand is focused on lightweight, frameless photo tiles that adhere and re-adhere to your walls, appealing to renters, college students, and anyone who loves to frequently update their decor. Their entire process is streamlined through a user-friendly app and website, making custom gallery walls accessible to everyone.
- Product mix: The core product is photo tiles. Customers upload their own photos, which are printed on lightweight tiles with a special adhesive backing.
- Style/vibe: Clean, modern, and minimalist. The frameless design puts the focus entirely on your photographs, blending easily with contemporary interior styles.
- Price point: Accessible, with gallery wall sets being the best value. A set of 9 tiles starts around $99, and the price per tile decreases as you order more.
- Quality &, Materials: Tiles consist of high-resolution photo prints mounted on a lightweight foam composite. The matte finish helps reduce glare and fingerprints, and the adhesive is strong yet gentle on most wall surfaces.
- Dimensions/Scale: Mixtiles come in standardized sizes, typically around 10x10 inches, simplifying the process of creating a balanced and grid-like gallery wall.
- Delivery &, Installation: One of their biggest selling points. Delivery is fast, often within a week. Installation requires no tools - simply peel the backing and stick the tile to the wall. They are designed to be repositioned multiple times.
- Shopping Experience: Extremely intuitive. The mobile app and website let you easily upload photos from your phone or social media and preview how they’ll look.
Mixtiles is the perfect solution for anyone wanting to create a personalized photo wall quickly, affordably, and without committing to permanent holes.
Shop Mixtiles: mixtiles.com
Smallwoods: The Handcrafted Rustic Decor
Smallwoods is a family-owned company that focuses on creating personalized, handcrafted wall art with a warm, rustic charm. They go beyond simple photo prints, offering custom wood signs, framed art with typography, and unique decor pieces made from real wood. Their products are designed to feel like personal heirlooms, adding character and a handcrafted touch to homes with a farmhouse, transitional, or traditional aesthetic.
- Product mix: Extensive selection of wall decor including personalized wood signs, framed prints, custom photo-on-wood pieces, and even home accents like blankets and mugs.
- Style/vibe: Rustic, farmhouse, vintage, and cozy. The emphasis is on natural textures, distressed finishes, and personalized designs featuring family names, quotes, or important dates.
- Price point: Varies widely based on size and customization. Smaller pieces can start around $50, while large, intricate custom signs can cost several hundred dollars.
- Quality &, Materials: The brand prides itself on using real wood and high-quality, eco-friendly inks. The handcrafted nature means each piece has unique grain and texture, providing a more artisanal feel than mass-produced decor.
- Customization: A key feature. Customers can choose fonts, colors, imagery, and text to create a truly one-of-a-kind piece.
- Dimensions/Scale: A wide variety of sizes are available, from small 8x8 squares to large statement pieces over three feet wide.
- Delivery &, Assembly: Because items are handcrafted, turnaround times are longer, typically 2-4 weeks. These are traditional decor pieces that require nails or screws for hanging.
Smallwoods is an excellent choice for those who value unique, customized decor and want pieces with the substantial feel and warmth of real wood.
Shop Smallwoods: smallwoods.com
Mixtiles vs. Smallwoods Comparison
Price Comparison
Mixtiles offers more predictable and generally more affordable pricing, especially for creating a large gallery wall. Their set-based pricing, like $99 for 9 tiles, makes the cost per piece quite low. They frequently run promotions, making it even more budget-friendly.
Smallwoods has a more varied price structure. While you can find smaller signs for around $50, their hero products - large, customized wooden pieces - are a bigger investment, often running $150 and up. The value here is in the craftsmanship and durable, high-quality materials, so you're paying for a lasting decor item rather than a flexible photo display.
Style &, Aesthetic
The style divide is the most significant differentiator. Mixtiles is purely modern and minimalist. The frameless tiles put the focus squarely on your photos, making them a great fit for clean, contemporary, and eclectic spaces.
Smallwoods leans heavily into the rustic, farmhouse aesthetic. The use of natural wood grain, distressed finishes, and classic typography makes their products perfect for adding warmth and character. Their pieces are meant to be features in a room, fitting well with cozy, traditional, and nature-inspired decor schemes.
Quality &, Materials
Both brands offer excellent quality for their intended purposes. Mixtiles provides sharp, vibrant print quality on a durable, lightweight composite material. The quality is in the image reproduction and the innovative, damage-free adhesive.
Smallwoods’ quality is tactile and rustic. They use real pine wood with its natural imperfections, which adds to the charm. The eco-friendly inks are printed directly onto the wood, creating a textured, durable finish. This is a much more substantial and heavier product designed for decades of display.
Product Selection
Mixtiles has a very focused product line: photo tiles. While they offer different edge styles and sizes, their catalog is built around one core concept, making the shopping process simple and direct.
Smallwoods offers a much broader array of products. In addition to custom wood prints, they sell framed quotes, oversized wooden letters, canvas prints, and other home goods. This makes them a more comprehensive stop for decorating an entire room in a cohesive rustic style.
Customization Options
Customization means different things for these two brands. With Mixtiles, customization is about which of your personal photos you choose to display. You can edit and crop your images, but you aren't changing the base product.
At Smallwoods, customization involves designing the product itself. You can add family names, choose specific quotes, select fonts and layouts, and upload photos to be printed on wood. This offers a much deeper level of personalization beyond just using your own images.
Delivery &, Installation
Mixtiles is built for speed and ease. Shipping is typically fast (around one week), and installation is tool-free and takes seconds. The ability to remove and reposition tiles without damaging walls is their key advantage, especially for those who move often or like to refresh their interiors.
Smallwoods operates on a more traditional, handcrafted timeline. Production can take a couple of weeks before shipping, so patience is required. Installation is also traditional, requiring a hammer, nails, and a level to get it right.
Which One Should You Choose?
The right choice depends entirely on your decor style, living situation, and what you want to achieve with your wall art.
Choose Mixtiles if:
- You're a renter or live in a dorm where you can't put holes in the walls.
- You want to display a large collection of personal photos in a modern, grid-style gallery wall.
- You value speed, convenience, and affordability.
- You love changing your room's look frequently and want decor you can easily rearrange.
Choose Smallwoods if:
- Your home aesthetic is rustic, farmhouse, or traditional.
- You want a personalized, handcrafted statement piece with custom text or your family name.
- You're looking for a heartfelt and high-quality gift for a wedding, housewarming, or anniversary.
- You value the texture, warmth, and permanence of real wood decor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mixtiles or Smallwoods cheaper?
Mixtiles is generally cheaper on a per-piece basis and for creating a large photo wall. Smallwoods offers more of an investment into a handcrafted art piece, so individual items typically cost more than a single Mixtile.
Which brand is better for renters?
Mixtiles is unequivocally better for renters. Their defining feature is the damage-free, stick-on adhesive that requires no nails, making them perfect for temporary living situations where preserving walls is a must. Smallwoods pieces require nails for hanging.
Can I put my own pictures on Smallwoods art?
Yes, Smallwoods offers custom photo prints directly onto wood. This gives you the warmth and texture of their signature material while featuring your favorite personal memories.
Do Mixtiles fall off the wall?
When applied to a clean, dry, and relatively smooth surface as instructed, Mixtiles are designed to stay put. User reviews are overwhelmingly positive about their adhesive quality, but they may struggle on highly textured or vinyl-based wallpapers.
How long does shipping take?
Mixtiles usually ships within a few days, and most customers receive their orders in about a week. Smallwoods has longer lead times due to their handcrafted process, with orders often taking 2-4 weeks to arrive.
Which brand has better quality?
Both brands offer high quality in different ways. Mixtiles' quality is in its vibrant, accurate color printing and reliable adhesive technology. Smallwoods' quality lies in its solid wood craftsmanship, durability, and a textured, artisanal feel.
Which is a better gift?
This depends on the occasion. Smallwoods makes an excellent wedding, anniversary, or housewarming gift due to its personalized, lasting nature. Mixtiles is a great gift for friends, family, or recent graduates who want a fun and easy way to decorate their space with photos.
Do I need tools to hang Mixtiles?
No, you do not need any tools to hang Mixtiles. They are designed to be a simple peel-and-stick application.
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