Mosaic Tiles Make Your Floors Into a Work of Art

Mosaic tiles lend a high-end look to your floors and are a surprisingly simple do-it-yourself project.

More from Smart Design
Filed under: Mosaic Tile, Mosaics, Flooring, Tile

Natural slate and mesh-backed mosaic patterns were combined to create a striking floor.

Mosaic floors have a long and rich history, the technique of embedding handcut pieces of stone, foil-backed glass and glazed tile in a bed of mortar dates back to ancient Rome. Because of the labor required to produce such works of art, mosaics were often reserved for public spaces or homes of the very wealthy. Thanks to the modern affinity for Old World style, mosaics are enjoying a huge surge in popularity.

These metallic gold tiles are created in the centuries-old tradition of applying a small amount of gold leaf to the back of clear, glass tiles.

Industrial advances mean that today, machines do most of the hard work. Small natural stone, colorful glass or ceramic tiles are precision-cut then attached to a flexible mesh backing, making mosaics an easy do-it-yourself flooring project. Mosaic insets or borders can be used to inexpensively add a high-end look to a standard tile floor or live like an emperor and cover the entire floor in your palazzo with beautiful mosaic tiles.

The surface choices vary dramatically. Natural stone, such as marble, onyx, granite or travertine, is very popular, as are metallic or mirrored finishes and iridescent glass.

Finishes also vary. Glossy, polished floors remain popular as do tiles with a rustic, tumbled look. To achieve this aged surface, the tiles are put into rotating drums filled with rocks and water, softening the edges and roughing up the tiles as they turn.