DIY Mosaic Tabletops

History

• Mosaics of various styles have been around since approximately the 4th century B.C. The ancient Greeks used mosaics as floor decoration to depict their own family history or stories. The Romans used mosaics to depict similar subjects as well as a sign of richness. Nowadays, mosaic is available to the masses and can be made using left over or reclaimed tiles.

Using Spare Tiles

• If you keep spare tiles from previous DIY projects you have a perfect ready-made stock of potential mosaics available. Use a hammer to smash the tiles into smaller pieces and set them into the tabletop to create your own wild designs. Reclamation yards will also have an array of colorful tiles that you can use to supplement your stock with different colors.

Creating Moroccan Style Tabletops

• Moroccan style will normally incorporate the use of terra-cotta colored tiles of various shades, alongside grey and blue. Adding Moroccan flair to your tabletop design requires the use of colors specific to Moroccan style. They differ from Mexican styles by using only two or three colors.

Making Mexican Style Table Tops

• Mexican mosaic is very elaborate and uses many colors. In a typical Mexican style mosaic, you'll see red, yellow, blue, green, black and brown tiles, set in either a random pattern or designed with inlays of pictures. If you're able to create a picture using mosaic tiles, feel free to experiment.