MOSAIC TILES

Where can I use mosaic tiles?

With origins that can be traced back to the Ancient Greek and Roman times, mosaic tiles have since evolved into one of the most practical and versatile materials designed to bring a touch of art into a home.

Today, mosaic tiles come in a range of designs, patterns and colours you can use to create beautiful, unforgettable, one-of-a-kind spaces. The versatility of mosaic tiles makes them ideal for use in swimming pools, bathrooms, kitchens, walls and floors.

Not sure how or where to start? Here are some creative ideas you can use with mosaic tiles.

Pool Area

If your swimming pool area looks a bit dated or badly in need of some jazzing up, you can infuse new life into it with the simple addition of pool mosaic tiles.

Use your imagination to ‘paint’ an exciting ocean-themed picture at the bottom of your swimming bath using pool mosaic tiles. Examples of sea-creature images you could use include baby sea turtles, dolphins, seahorses, and even mythical mermaids.

If you want something quirky but low-key, you could just add unique pool mosaic tile patterns at the steps or walls of your swimming haven, like ones resembling small waves or coral shapes.

Bathroom

Your bathroom is your private sanctuary from the rest of the world. It’s where you can allow yourself to get lost in the languor of idleness – where all your cares just melt away.

Therefore, it’s important to make your bathroom beautiful and inviting.

With mosaic bathroom tiles, you can turn your bathroom into a calming space with a spa-like ambience that also reflects your personal aesthetic. If you have a coloured bathtub, you could install two-tone mosaic bathroom tiles on the floor with one in a colour that matches the tub’s hue for coherence. You can also install mosaic bathroom tiles around the mirror or use them to mark your vanity area.

You can also create a spectacular wall section – perhaps as a backdrop for your bathtub – using decorative mosaic bathroom tiles.

Kitchen

You can add oomph to a functional space dedicated to food preparation and cooking through the application of mosaic kitchen splashback tiles.

Of course, you’re limited only by your imagination. You can stick to more conventional mosaic kitchen splashback tile patterns using basic geometric shapes, or you can get more creative.

You can use different coloured and shaped mosaic kitchen splashback tiles to create a colourful ‘painting’ of your favourite blooms. Or you could stick to using tiles in a single hue or tone you love, in the same shape and size, but with different patterns to create a nearly monochromatic yet stunning kitchen backdrop.

Flooring

High-quality mosaic floor tiles are one of the more popular flooring materials – and for good reason.

Aside from being exceptionally durable and easy to clean, they are a worthy option if you want to create elegant, stunning floors and pathways.

Mosaic floor tiles come in every conceivable size, style and colour. Their luminous quality makes them ideal for adding style and sophistication to any space in your home. You can use mosaic floor tiles to add character to your living area. Meanwhile, mosaic tiles with an attractive, intricate curvaceous pattern can highlight a grand entryway beautifully.

Walls

Mosaic wall tiles are available in a range of shapes, sizes, colours, patterns and textures.

You can use them to create a stunning shimmering effect on your walls. You can mix and match mosaic wall tiles to create artistic, colourful wall designs or focal points in your home.

With mosaic wall tiles, it becomes easy to add drama or infuse your personality into a room and evoke the right ambience. If you have a colour scheme or want to tie a room together, you can use different shades of mosaic wall tiles in one colour to achieve this. Alternatively, you can create a fun or interesting pattern to highlight a section of your home by using mosaic wall tiles.

What are the popular mosaic tile shapes?

Part of what makes mosaic tiles so versatile is that they come in various shapes.

If you want to use more popular mosaic tile shapes, you can never go wrong with these:

Hexagon

One of the most popular tile shapes is undoubtedly the hexagon mosaic tile.

The hexagon mosaic tile’s design flexibility shows in its ability to seamlessly meld into both retro and modern design. In fact, you can use hexagon mosaic tiles on virtually any surface inside or outside your home.

Whether it’s for a kitchen backsplash, feature wall, tile flooring, bathroom wall, tile bar or just about any space or part of your home, hexagon mosaic tiles are so varied, there’s sure to be one or several other options you could use.

Square

Although people traditionally associate square mosaic tiles with bathrooms, this is no longer true today.

Square mosaic tiles have been used as conventional wall and flooring materials in different spaces. These are also a favourite mosaic tile shape for making stunning wall and floor mosaic art, room dividers and even in making interior design accessories.

Herringbone

If you want to achieve a classy, luxurious effect in any part of your home – whether it’s for a feature wall or your kitchen floor – herringbone mosaic tiles are more than able to do the job.

Herringbone mosaic tiles comprise rectangular tile pieces meeting at perfect straight edges that create a zigzagging broken or staggered effect that’s unusual and eye-catching.

Their unique appearance can transform even the most basic spaces into something impactful and elegant. The range of choices available can be worked into virtually any design, achieving either a muted or obvious effect.

What are the materials used in mosaic tiles?

The versatility of mosaic tiles can be attributed in part to the variety of materials used for making them, including glass, marble and stone.

Glass

Transparent, opaque or mirrored, glass mosaic tile pieces work to bounce light around a room. They impart a glowing effect in spaces where they are installed. Impervious to the elements, glass mosaic tiles can be used for both interior and exterior applications, including bathroom walls and floors, for kitchen backsplashes, pools, etc.

Marble

A remarkable advantage of marble mosaic tiles is their ability to elevate the look of any space. Available in a great variety of colours, marble mosaic tiles possess a distinct look and quality that instantly make a room feel more luxurious. Since the pattern of each marble mosaic tile piece is different, you’re sure to achieve an appearance that’s unique to your home.

Stone

The grace and allure of stone mosaic tiles make them a fantastic material for creating mosaic flower patterns and colourful geometric designs for walls and floors as well as art pieces. Beautiful and durable, stone mosaic tiles also offer great temperature control, making them the best natural insulators for your home.

What are the top colours in mosaic tiles?

Whatever the overall aesthetic or colour scheme of your home, you can choose from a variety of mosaic tile colours to complement its interior and exterior design.

White

If you want to achieve an elegant, clean or vanilla look, white mosaic tiles are your best choice. Besides, you can also match white mosaic tiles with practically any hue.

Pink

Fun, pretty, cosy and luxurious at the same time, pink mosaic tiles work great for bathrooms, feature walls and kitchen backsplashes.

Green

Dressed in nature’s dominant colour palette, green mosaic tiles can imbue a dose of freshness and vitality to your bathroom, kitchen and pool area.

Grey

Grey mosaic tiles are perfect for pairing with white design materials. They are also ultra-chic and work exceedingly well when used as bathroom tiles and in kitchen splashbacks.

Black

Elegant, dark and mysterious, black mosaic tiles can be paired with white or grey to achieve a timeless look in your bathroom, kitchen, walls and floors.

Blue

Blue mosaic tiles evoke serenity – perfect for your bathroom to help you achieve a spa-like ambience, or your swimming pool.

Care and maintenance guide

Treating your mosaic tiles to some regular TLC can reduce the amount of cleaning you have to do and prevent damage. Follow these tips to preserve the beauty and functionality of your mosaic tiles:

• Right after tile installation, clean your mosaic tiles to remove excess grout, dust and debris.
• Using mild detergent, water and a soft cloth or sponge, always clean food and liquid spills immediately. Don’t forget to rinse your tiles off and dry them using a soft cloth.
• Don’t drag furniture across your mosaic tile floor to avoid scratching the tiles.
• Sweep (or vacuum) mosaic tile floors using a broom with soft bristles. Then mop the floors using a pH neutral cleaner and water. Allow the cleaning agent to sit on the floors for 5-20 minutes before mopping it up. Finally, rinse your tile floor thoroughly and wipe off any excess liquid.

FAQs

Is mosaic flooring expensive?

In general, mosaic floor tiles are not very expensive, although they tend to look expensive as they are naturally elegant and stylish.

How do I lay mosaic floor tiles?

A simple procedure would be to put the mosaic tile pieces lightly on the mortar. You can then fix or rearrange them until all the pieces are positioned exactly the way you want. Finally, press each piece firmly into the adhesive and allow the mortar to dry overnight.

Are mosaic tiles hard to keep clean?

As long as you clean dirt (such as spills) immediately, mosaic tiles are quite easy to clean.

Are mosaic tiles good for bathrooms?

Since mosaic tiles are resistant to moisture, durable and easy to clean, they are considered an ideal bathroom material.

Are mosaic tiles less slippery?

For bathrooms and other spaces that tend to get wet or come into contact with soap and water, you can use anti-slip mosaic tiles for safety. You can also use regular tiles, but make sure you also install anti-slip treads, non-slip rugs or safety mats.

Can you use bleach on mosaic tiles?

You can clean mosaic tiles using only mild detergent and water; this is not to say you can’t use bleach on mosaic tiles. However, using bleach comes with some downsides:

• It can discolour coloured grout.
• It can weaken the grout, causing it to crack and crumble.
• It is bad for health.