The Great Mosaic Table Project!

I'm refacing a dining table with some glass tiles, ceramic tiles, black and white photos... it's a pretty huge project. However! It's suprisingly inexpensive and hopefully, it'll be relatively simple. I found the idea here.

I'm going to take a used table, sand it down and stain it black (that's just my preference). I picked out an assortment of tiles both glass and ceramic. Glass tiles, though I got them cheap off of the internet (here) are still more expensive than ceramic. 4x4 white ceramic tiles are only 14 cents each at Home Depot! ...And some black and white photos. The photos will be under glass I stole from cheap picture frames (make sure there's enough glass around the pictures to glue down to the table) Also, I decided that instead of having tile come to the edge of the table, I'm going to use some moulding as a border. Then glue it all down and seal! That's it!

You don't have to sand down and stain the table if you're happy with the stain that it already has. However, the adhesive will stick to the table top better if the surface is a little rough. You also don't have to have a border if you want tile to go right up to the edge. You also don't have to use photos! Everything is optional!

Here's the step by step of my table:

Here are my blueprints... subject to change/evolvolution. I've already decided to minimize the amount of red tiles and put some white in there.
This is the wonderful Ethan Allen table I got on Ebay for 36 dollars. Picking it up in Glen Burnie this Saturday!
The grain... pretty. Too bad you won't see this after I'm through with it.
The Master Plan!
The Table... as seen on Ebay
The Table... as seen on Ebay
Oh, the crack! This is what makes the table 36 dollars.
Meh. Maybe when I'm done staining it black you won't see this anymore.
I was expecting glass tiles to come in from the mail... could this be the package I was waiting for??!
The Table... as seen on Ebay
The Table... as seen on Ebay
I got something in the mail!
Well... is it??
Yay! My glass tiles are finally here!
Here is my mix of red tiles! Also.. I'm going snowboarding on the 19th! President's day!
Eh?!
Score!
Red Mix
They're a little smaller than what I expected. Is that a half inch?!
This my group of "hot" mix tiles. Fiery Oranges! Crazy Yellows! Other such colors!
The day has finally come to pick up the table! This is my dad. He's going to help me pick it up.
Hmm...
"Hot" Mix
Dad!
And by "help" I mean, do all the work while I stand by and take pictures.
We're good to go! I paid my 36 dollars and we're off like bandits!
Here it is in all it's glory. Immediately after bringing it in (It's very, very heavy) and marveling at the wood and structure, we decide we're going to sell it and buy a different more suitable, crappier table for this project. Who wants a table for $150?!
Yep...
Strapped in!
Beautiful!
Ace was having a sale where anything you can fit in this brown paper bag is 20% off! One day only! What luck!
This is what was purchased at Ace Hardware. Mosaic Tile adhesive, wood glue, Polyurethane sealant, grout, and sanding papers.
This is how much I spent at Ace Hardware... I bought a couple things for my mom while I was there (latex gloves and Pledge). 31 dollars! So this plus the table (36) plus the glass tiles (30) puts me at 97 dollars so far! That leaves me with 20 more dollars to spend if I want to hit my budget of 120.
Ace Hardware 20% Off Sale!
The booty!
The bill!
This is a picture of the grout.
This is the picture of the glue.
I know it says Home Depot List... but who could pass up the 20% off sale at Ace Hardware??! I'm still going to home depot. I need to pick up more tile, and the moulding for the frame of the table. And black stain.
Grout
Glue
The List!
I bought these cheap Certificate of Excellence Award frames at the dollar store to steal the glass.
I was so eager to see what it might look like when I started putting things together that I unwrapped some of my frames and laid them out on the table.
Imagine what it would look like if the tiles were all around the glass and the glass had black and white pictures underneath it ....and if there were 4 other pieces of glass laid out on the table in the same manner. And! Imagine all of that on a different table.
Dollar Store Bargain!
A little test run.
So yeah...
By chance, right as I'm about to go to Home Depot, my mother remembers that we just received a coupon in the mail for 10 dollars off if I spend 50. It's as if the Gods have blessed this project.
This picture was taken after throwing up my lunch right next to the car. Undeterred by my sudden wave of sickness, I carry on!
20.52! Couldn't use my coupon because I didn't spend 50 dollars. See how cheap this project is??! And like I said before I had 20 dollars left to meet my budget and here it is being met.
Home Depot Coupon!
Here we are, at last. Home Depot welcomes me!
Home Depot Receipt.
Even though I should've waited for the Ethan Allen table to sell, I checked out Craig's List and found this little gem! A cute little table and four chairs... all for 40 bucks! (Although, technically I'm 40 dollars over budget until the first table sells.)
Here's the second table at my apartment! It's a little tiny but it will dooo. I GUESS. The table top measures 29x53 (quite a difference from 42x72). It's currently disassembled and guess what! It fits in my car! Here's what it looks like laid out, so you can visualize.
I sold that Ethan Allen table for $150! Hoorah! Now my project is pretty much self-funded. Neat!
Table, the Second... as seen on Craig's List
Table, the Second...
Money!
So here are the tiles, the water-based tile sealant, and the stain (ebony) I bought at Home Depot...just so you can get a look at the brands I chose.
I calculated everything up and realized that I'm 8.11 dollars over my original 120 dollar budget. That's not too bad, I think. (We're pretending that first table never existed.)
Finally starting to do some damage. Here I am sanding Table, the second.
Last few things...
Over Budget!
Let's get started!
After sanding the table, I'm ready to stain. Black! Black like my soul!
Should have sanded it more... hopefully coat two will look better. :(
Coat number 2! Trust me, it looks better in real life than this picture represents. It hasn't dried completely, so the flash is reflecting off of the wetness. Let's hope it dries nicely, though!
Staining!
Table, the Ugly...
Table, the Less Ugly
So this is the moulding that we cut to frame the tiles that will lay on the table. I will stain the black to match. Notice also, that I forgot my camera, so I borrowed my parents (it's not as nice).
45 degree angles are hard to cut! I've got a plan though to fill in the gaps.
Here I am looking like a crazy illegal worker my parents pulled off the street to stain the wood.
Frames!
Oops!
Green Card?
Once again I get so excited I do a little pre-layout. This is what I'm planning.
I know you guys have been dying to see what black and white pictures I keep on talking about go underneath the glass. Well! Here they are! I found a picture of magnolias on flickr and blew it up using www.blockposters.com.
I borrowed this tile cutter from a friend. Just in case there are odd dimensions I need to work out.
So Pretty!
Black and White Pictures!
A tile cutter!
But who needs a tile cutter when you've got a million little half inch glass tiles! I bought more because, well, because I made such a killing on that Ethan Allen table, I thought I could splurge. Hoorah for me!
I took a yard stick, and a white pencil, and a pad and pencil, and a calculator... and marked out everything that I wanted to do to make sure that everything was symmetrical and that it all fit.
So everything is glued down-the framing around the edge, the mosaic tiles, and the glass. It's supposed to dry "crystal clear" so let's hope it does that, otherwise the white glue around the pictures will be very ugly!!!
More Tiles!
Precision Planning!
Glued!
I over calculated how much supplies I needed... I'm thinking matching coffee table!
I covered the wood and the glass so I didn't get a lot of grout on it. It's supposed to wipe away, but you never know on wood and also since the glass is such a large space... I dunno.
Here we go... I just thwap it on. Yup, thwap. (Hey, it's a word. It's on a chipotle cup.)
Better safe than sorry.
Prepare to grout.
No turning back!
That's what it looks like before I start removing the excess.
See! It comes off! You wipe off the "haze" about an hour or two later.
By the way, I told you I had a plan to getting rid of those gaps in the wood frame. Plan = fill it in with grout, put black stain on it.
Mess ensues
Hazy
Seamless!
Now I put stain sealant on the wood. See how I'm covering up the table now? ...leaving you in suspense?!
But enough of stain sealant, that's boring. I decided to frost the glass around the picture because you could see a little bit of the glue even though it dried pretty clear.
Here is a little detour. When I put some of the final sealant on the table, the frost melts away. So I frosted these transparencies and I'm going to put them on top of the glass - frost to frost - and then seal it with glue.
Stain Sealant!
Frost!
More Frost!
I got this Enivorotex Lite stuff off of the internet. It's like an Epoxy, where you mix the two bottles of goo together and they form a strong, hard, coating.
I didn't seal the area around the frosted glass well enough and some of the sealant is seeping though! Augh! Can I deal, yes, It's my first time! Maybe I should've just gotten a large piece of glass to go on top though.
I'm done. I'm happy.
Final Seal
My Worst Nightmare!
Done Done Done!



Comments

Posted by Melodie on Monday, October 1, 2007 @ 12:50PM
Trish you are so inspiring! I found your site while I was searching for a way to make my coffee table a bit more interesting and once I saw your project I was hooked! I'll let you know how my masterpiece turns out as soon as my table is fab like yours!
Posted by Una on Saturday, September 1, 2007 @ 8:18AM
Hi trish. I found you because I am planning on doing a mosaic table when my kitchen is renovated. I love your idea it was the perfect inspiration for me. I think I am going to put a lip around my mosaic and put a glass top over my mosaic. Thanks again.
Posted by trish on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 @ 5:24PM
My worst nightmare just laughs at me in the face. I STRONGLY putting on Envirtoex lite in thin layers.. I dont think it would've seeped through as much. Also I find that the Enivrotex lite is sticky in some places and never dries. me no like.
Posted by Tellie on Thursday, July 19, 2007 @ 9:31AM
Looks great! How did you get rid of "your worst nightmare?" What was that, anyways - stain?
Posted by Jonas on Thursday, July 12, 2007 @ 6:37AM
For your next project you could make the pictures behind the glass replaceable. So you pop out the glass and put in pictures to match the seasons :)
Posted by yolanda on Sunday, June 24, 2007 @ 9:42AM
im gonna try family photo's for christmas gift,loved the work!
Posted by Matt on Thursday, April 26, 2007 @ 6:59AM
it looks awesome! great work!!!
Posted by Sean on Thursday, April 26, 2007 @ 6:47AM
Great job, Trish!
Posted by Dave on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 @ 3:13PM
Can you have a party based entirely around the table when it is complete? No one can use it. We can only admire it's awesome from a safe distance
Posted by Angela on Thursday, March 15, 2007 @ 9:37AM
looking good. when will it be done??
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Supplies

  • Table/Work Surface
  • Weldbond Tile Adhesive
  • Wood Glue (Optional)
  • Polyblend Sanded Grout
  • Glass Tiles
  • Ceramic Tiles
  • Glass Picture Frames
  • Photos

  • Double Sided Tape
  • Wood Stain (Optional)
  • Flat Moulding (Optional)
  • Stain Sealant(Optional)
  • Tile Sealant
  • Sanding Papers, Nails, brushes, etc.

Tools

  • Tile Squeegee thing
  • Hammer (Optional)
  • Sander (Optional)
  • Tile Cutter (Optional)
  • Jigsaw (Optional)

Budget

$ 120







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