Mosaic, the art of arranging colored tiles or glass into patterns or designs, is a great way to personalize just about any piece of furniture. You can create a mosaic on any flat surface, but tables are perhaps the most common site. Kitchen tables are a particularly great place to add this touch.
Getting Ready To Be Creative
Good mosaics require time and at least a little planning. First, it is important to gather all the necessary materials. This includes craft glue and grout for securing the tiles, a sponge and a Popsicle stick for applying grout and of course, plenty of flat tiles or pieces of colored glass. While this last item sounds obvious, it important to make sure you have enough colored materials to finish the project. It can be hard to match colors from different sets, so running out of even one kind of tile halfway through can make the finished product look sloppy.
The Overall Design
Choose a design pattern such as a checkerboard or a star burst and a color scheme. For a kitchen, look at decorations and colors you currently have in place for inspiration. Look not only at cabinets and counters, but also at other items such as framed pictures or curtains. Examine the basic patterns being used. Anything from geometric shapes to kitchen-themed items such as an apple can be incorporated into a custom mosaic table. Try tracing multiple designs on a sheet of paper and coloring them in to decide which you like best. If this is your first attempt at mosaic, simpler designs are better. But for those with a little experience, complexity is a welcome challenge.
Applying a Design
Once you have a design sketched out on paper, apply it the tabletop, first as a vague outline and then with tiles. Though colored chalk is best for marking out initial patterns, a pencil will work. Make sure to center your design correctly. You can do this by drawing intersecting lines with a ruler. Then, look at your design and trace any parts that will require detailed work and smaller tiles. If there is more than one area, start with the edges and move inward. Generally, your most complex designs should go toward the middle of the piece. Only sketch out what is necessary; you will find that these patterns are just guidelines. Once it is time to start applying the tiles, focus first on any detailed areas, such as those you sketched out. Only proceed to the background once you have all details and borders in place. When applying the background, work from the edges out, so you first cover the places where design meets background. This technique of detail work first ensures that all patterns look fully incorporated into the larger mosaic.
Finishing Touches
Generally, it is not necessary to apply slivers of material to areas smaller than a quarter of an inch. The grout will cover small gaps, as well as make the tabletop more smooth. Use the Popsicle stick or other pointed object to make sure that grout gets into the small spaces between tiles. Spread the gout liberally over the entire surface, until you can no longer see the tiles; then use the side of the stick to spread it evenly. After about half an hour, wash the table down, using first the sponge very gently across the top. If you can bring the table outside, do so because using a water hose at an angle is the best way to safely clean your new creation. Wash until the excess grout is gone. Let the table dry for about 24 hours. Mosaics are never perfectly flat, so lay a piece of glass across the top.
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