How to Create a Mosaic Countertop

You have been planning your kitchen redesign. You have looked through magazines and watched the home improvement and home decorating shows on television. You saw a simply fabulous kitchen redesign using mosaic tiles to create a pattern on a countertop. You want to do the same. You can do it yourself in a few easy steps.

A mosaic is a decorative design created by setting small colored pieces of tile into a setting such as a countertop. The first thing you want to do is visit a tile shop and look at the tiles and colors that are available. Take some time to research what you want to do. You can find books in the library on creating tile countertops with mosaics. Since you are using tiles for your entire countertop, you will want to buy tiles in the size you need for the major area and complementary colored tiles for the mosaic area. Sketch your idea on a piece of paper before you go shopping. Measure your countertop. The salesperson as the tile store can help to determine how many tiles you will need for your major surface and how much you should purchase to create your mosaic.

Sketch your pattern onto the surface where you will lay the tiles. Since you are creating a mosaic you want to break up the tiles you will use for it. The easy way to do this is to wrap the tiles in a towel and hit them with a hammer.

You will need small pieces for your mosaic and larger pieces for your border. You can use a tile nibbler to break the tiles into the size you need.

Place the tiles on top of the sketch to make sure you are pleased with the pattern and the colors you have selected. Mark the location of the tiles with a magic marker. When laying the tiles on your countertop, you should start from the center and work outward.

The steps in creating your mosaic are:

1. Prepare the surface by scoring it with a utility knife and then coating the surface with a mixture of watered down white glue.
2. Spread a thin coat of tile cement (thin set or mortar), about one-eighth of an inch, over the surface.
3. Score your mortar with a trowel.
4. Place your tiles in the cement according to the pattern you drew.
5. After the cement has set, apply tile grout over all the tiles.
6. Apply the grout with a trowel. Smooth it over all of the seams between the individual tiles.
7. Wipe away the excess grout with a sponge.
8. Let it dry overnight.

You can purchase grout in a variety of colors, not just white, to match the decor of your kitchen.