How to Mosaic a Tabletop

The texture and color of a hand-designed mosaic tabletop will add intrigue to any room or patio.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tables
• Tile Grout
• (optional) Grout Sealant
• Tile Adhesive
• Tile Adhesive
• Tables
• tiles, pottery chips, or other mosaic fodder

1. Decide on your materials and a color scheme. Incorporating sea glass and shells or broken pottery may look fabulous but if an uneven tabletop will drive you insane, stick with tiles that match.

2. Cover your surface with a single sheet of paper (any paper is fine, but something like plain newsprint will be less distracting.) Cutting and taping is fine.

3. Arrange the pieces of tile on the paper-covered surface (no glue yet), working from the middle out to the edges and leaving 1/8 to 1/2 inch between the pieces. Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle and look for contrast and complement.

4. Leave it alone for a bit. Walk around it, see what it looks like from various angles, then rearrange the pieces if you change your mind.

5. Lift the paper (carefully!) with your entire mosaic on it off the tabletop.

6. Transfer the pieces to the tabletop one piece at a time, using tile adhesive to secure them and working from the middle out.

7. Allow to dry fully.

8. Mix your grout and apply it to the tabletop, forcing it in between mosaic pieces, molding it to irregular edges and smoothing it to the table's edge.

9. Wipe any remaining grout off the mosaic pieces with a damp cloth, turning it frequently.

10. Allow the grout to cure for at least a week before using the tabletop, misting frequently with clean water.

Tips & Warnings

• Choose a sturdy table (mosaic is heavy!).
• This technique can be used on just about any table top - but let's face it, if you have a gorgeous marble table top why would you want to change it? Your best bet is a non-breakable, porous one such as wood or particleboard. If the table top is very smooth (stone or glass) check the tile adhesive to make sure it will adhere to non-porous surfaces.
• Drawing a grid on your paper with a thick felt pen may help you lay out your design, particularly if you are aiming for symmetry.
• If the table will be used for food or drink, consider applying a sealant to the grout after it's cured.
• If your mosaic incorporates odd-shaped pieces, you may want to apply the grout directly to the crevices bit by bit with your fingers. (Directions for grout always tell you to glop it on and then wipe it off; this works well for flat tile surfaces but not as well for irregular surfaces.)

[baf1981]

on 2/12/2009 How do you deal with the edges? Do I need to wrap some sort of border around the outside edges or do I just fill around the edges with grout and then file to smooth?

on 6/30/2006 Instead of drawing the design on paper, you can use chalk and draw the design on the table itself. This way you don't have to worry about being careful about lifting the paper. This only works if your table is wooden, of course.

on 11/22/2005 Use 12 inch x 12 inch or 12 inch x 14 inch tiles at each place setting at the table. This way, the plates don't tip on uneven surfaces. You can also use smaller tiles for water glass placement. Then, do whatever you want in-between each setting.

on 11/22/2005 Find a theme such as a sports star from a magazine or poster. Lay it on a flat surface and cover it with clear plastic. Make your ceramic pieces to match like puzzle pieces of the subject. Place them on the plastic so you can adjust or recut with nippers.