Mosaic Tiled Table Makeover

Lara Hesser shows how to makeover an old tabletop with a unique mosaic tile design.

All About

Product Ideas

Laura didn't want to get rid of her old coffee table but it didn't match her new couch, so she decided to give the coffee table a new look. She added a mosaic design to the tabletop and gave the table new life. In this project, she shows us how she did it.

Materials and Tools:

marker
3-4 colors of shiny wall tiles
hammer
cloth to wrap tiles
mastic adhesive
grout
grout float
grout sealant
table or other surface to mosaic

Figure B

Steps:

1. Start by sketching a design for the table on a piece of paper. Using a marker, transfer the design to the tabletop (or other surface, or a piece of wood that will become the base for the mosaic design).

2. Decide on the general color scheme, using about three or four different colors — one background color and then some accent colors. Buy shiny wall tiles that are either 3" x 3" or 6" x 6." Floor tiles are too thick.

Figure C

3. Take one tile at a time and wrap it in cloth. (Note: It's important to wrap the tiles in cloth and/or wear safety glasses. The broken tiles in the image aren't wrapped so they can be visible for instructional purposes.) Using a regular hammer, break the tile. Be careful about how hard you hit the tile, because it's easy to damage the glaze.

4. Look for tiles that match the outline of the sketch, so you can actually "draw" the outline of the sketch on the tabletop using the small tile pieces. Attach the pieces one at a time using tile adhesive (mastic). Mastic adhesive is pre-mixed and comes in a bucket.

5. Fill in the design with other tiles pieces, breaking tiles along the way.