What to do when you find that a gust a wind causes your market umbrella to shatter your glass patio table? Well you could have a piece of glass or acrylic cut to fit. But that’s not very fun or interesting. While we were picking up the tiny pieces of tempered glass I had an idea. Why not make my own mosaic table? I had thought about it before. However, I never had the right frame to use.
Our table is sort of an odd shape. The best way to describe it is an oval with semi squared off ends. We don’t have a jigsaw. So, we created a template out of wrapping paper and brought it to the local lumber yard. We found a piece of marine grade plywood that would fit the depth of the existing frame. It also allowed room for the mosaic tile. As a next step, I painted the underside of the table with exterior patio paint that was left over from painting our porch. In addition, I primed the top with a mosaic primer for wood. We attached the wood to the frame with Liquid Nails. Then, we applied pressure so the wood did not bow in the center.
Now it was up to me to make this happen. I had done a few mosaic projects before, i.e. coasters. It was quite daunting to sit at this six person dining table with a blank canvas. Moreover, I sketched out a design that was based on floor mosaics. My husband and I had seen them on our recent trip to Greece and Turkey.
Supplies
- plywood, marine grade if the project will be outdoors
- a frame, ours came from a broken glass patio table
- glass tiles, I started with 1″ tiles that were part of a 12″ tile
- nipper
- dry wheel
- pick
- spatula
- caulking gun and adhesive
- safety glasses
- This kit is a good place to start
Once I had the table sketched on paper I transferred it to the plywood. The grape vine design has a balance of organic and geometric motifs. The R monogram is for our last name and the grapes were part of our Mediterranean wedding theme.
I used 3/4″ glass mosaic tiles, tesserae, that were cut into rectangles, squares, circles and triangles depending on which object I was making. I glued the black inset border first, then grape vines, grape clusters, and leaves. The field was left for last. I chose the Opus Musivum flow or “Andamento” for the field that creates a dynamic flow. This is because the field tesserae are cut to follow the contour of the objects.
I picked a pink neutral champagne color tile for the field. Each tile has a mix of pink, white and gold. This color mix also added to the movement. In conclusion, to finish it off my husband grouted the table with a linen colored grout. It blended perfectly.
Finished Project
In a future post I will write more about our trip to Greece and Turkey. I will also write about other trips that have inspired many projects in the pub, garden and home.
Cheers, Amy