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Creating Mosaic Countertops

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Accent your kitchen counter with a tile mosaic.

Have you ever been sitting a cafe, restaurant or a friend's house for that fact, and admiring the mosaic tile on the tabletops or counters? Well, it's easy enough for you to bring that look into your own home. Where is a good place to add a mosaic in your home? Kitchens and bathrooms counters and backsplashes are ideal. You can make a mosaic in just a small area of the counter for accent, or the entire counter. This is a great little week-end project for your kitchen or bathroom.

Take some time researching what you want to do before you start laying tiles down. There are tons of books on ceramic tiles at your bookstore or library. A recommendation is to just thumb through them to get some inspiration for your design. Once you have a basic idea of what you want to do, it's always a good idea to draw a sketch of your design.

Learn to lay tile

These books will give you a good start on laying tile, and designing tile countertops.

Kitchen Remodeling Lenses

These lenses are some good resources on kitchen remodeling and decorating.

Laying out the pattern

The first step would be to look in a tile shop and see what is available. Tiles are available in many colors and patterns. There are many books, magazines and TV shows that give step by step instructions as well as design ideas. After deciding a pattern or design, sketch your pattern on the surface you are going to tile over. You will want to place the actual tiles on the countertop, starting from the center and working outwards, to make sure your pleased with your design. Once you have everything in place, take a magic marker and mark the tiles' location. Before you cement the tiles in place, you have to prepare the tiles for the mosaic sections. How do you do that? This is where you can get some aggression out. Take a mix of tiles, wrap them in a towel and give them a whack with a hammer. This is the simplest way to get the broken pieces of tile you'll need for the mosaic. For the border mosaics you are going to need some smaller pieces of tile. For the smaller pieces you use a tile nibbler to break off pieces the size you need.

Cementing The Tile

After you've laid out your pattern, you'll need to prepare the surface so that the tile will adhere. You do this by scoring the surface with a utility knife then coating the surface with a mixture of watered down white glue. To cement the tiles in place, use mortar that you can buy at any tile store or home improvement store. You just trowel the mortar on about 1/8th inch thick. Then use the edge of the trowel to score the mortar. Then just put your tiles in place. For the mosaic sections you use the same process. Take the different pieces of tile and arrange them however you like. Try and keep the spaces between the tiles to 1/8th of an inch.

Mosaic Design Video

This video will give you some ideas on mosaic design, and color choice.

How to Make Tile Mosaics & Patterns : Mosaic Design & Color Formula for Mosaic Patterns: by expertvillage | video info

7 ratings | 20,045 views

curated content from YouTube

The final step, grout.

After the cement has set, (don't be in too big of a hurry) fill the gaps between the tiles with tile grout. Most people think grout is available only in white but if you look in a hardware store you'll find many different colors of grout available. You apply the grout by simply troweling it over all of the seams between the individual tiles. Then wipe away the excess with a sponge. Let it dry overnight and you're done so sit back and admire your work of art!

Links to other kitchen remodeling and home improvement sites.

Kitchen Decor Ideas: Buy kitchen decor, or get ideas for remodeling or redecorating your kitchen.
Kitchen Remodeling & Decorating: Resources and tips to help you with your kitchen remodeling project.
Resources for your home renovation project.: Tips, ideas and resources on remodeling your home. Bathroom, kitchen, basement remodeling and more.
Fix My Own Basement: If you're looking to remodel your basement, you've come to the right place. We have tips and resources on waterproofing, remodeling, and renovating your basement or cellar.
Bathroom Remodeling & Decorating: You don't have to go all out to remodel your bathroom. Since the bathroom is usually pretty small, a small change is all that's needed when remodeling or decorating.

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kitchenfloortiles Jan 27, 2011 @ 7:52 am | delete

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