Pretty Mosaic Décor Projects
Updated on June 12, 2017
If you’re an enthusiastic traveler and tourist like us, then perhaps you’ve seen historical mosaics in places like Greece or Italy and witnessed their beauty. Even if you haven’t had the luxury of traveling yet, you’ve probably seen pretty mosaic effects in restaurants, museums, or on art pieces. Maybe you’ve even seen faux or DIY mosaic effects before when people have made them in your friend circles or crafting groups! No matter how you were introduced to them, it’s hard not to appreciate the intricate concentration, patience, and careful skill that goes into creating something made from that many pieces and have the final product look well spaced, colour coordinated, and even.
All of that might sound a little bit intimidating when it comes to thinking about making a mosaic piece of your own, but we promised you it’s not actually that hard as long as you’re willing to invest the time and effort in your work. To help you out, we’ve made a list of 15 beautiful inspiration projects and DIY tutorials that will show you how to cut or collect and place the pieces, as well as how to make the mixture that will meld between your pieces and keep the stunning patter you create in place. Check them all out below!
1. Mosaic lady bug garden sculpture
One of the best ways to ensure that the image you’re creating when you make a mosaic piece is to start from scratch, because you can actually engrave some of the pattern into your base structure and us that as a guideline for how you’ll place your pieces. That’s what Useful DIY did here to create these adorable lady bug lawn ornaments that will really give you creative control!
2. Mosaic garden throne
Are you actually already quite experienced in doing your own mosaic pieces and patterns, so now you’re looking for something a little more advanced that will give you a fun challenge and really let you show off your skills when you have visitors? Then you might be ready to tackle this amazing garden “throne” by Dawanda! Besides showing you how they created their pretty swirling mosaic pattern on the surface of the throne, their tutorial also actually walks you through the steps of building the throne’s structure with homemade cement upon the base of a lawn chair.
3. Jack-O-Lantern night light
Garden décor and outdoor, cement based pieces aren’t the only things you can create using mosaic techniques! We absolutely adore the way HGTV created a cute seasonal piece shaped like a little Jack-O-Lantern face. Set this little light out in the hallway in October so your family can find their way to the bathroom in the night or in the window so it shines out for all the neighbourhood kids to enjoy your handiwork.
4. Mosaic CD ornaments
If you ask us, doing mosaic crafts with old CDs is awesome in more than one way. Not only do you get a mosaic motif piece at the end, but it’s extra flashy and fun because it’ll be holographic if you use the mirrored side of the CDs facing outwards. it’s also a great way to upcycle old things you’re not using rather than throwing them away! We love these eye catching little ornaments from DIY Craft Tutorials for all of these reasons and more.
5. Mosaic teacup planter
There are plenty of things you can cut up or break into great mosaic pieces, but sometimes it’s nice to use pre-cut tiles to get that evenly spaced clean edges kind of look. That is, unless you’re going to go all our and use entire pieces of porcelain dishware, of course! We’re absolutely in love with the way Dishfunctional Designs build a simple alternating colour mosaic background on a length of wood but filled those tiles in around cut halves of tea cups and coffee mugs. Using half the cups leaves an opening in each that makes a great summer planter for durable little plants like succulents or herbs.
6. Bottle cap mosaic tabletop
Cups and mugs aren’t the only unconventional pieces you can create a mosaic effect from when you do DIY! If you’re the kind of person who loves to crack open a cold, refreshing bottle of beer at the end of a long work day, then consider saving the bottle cap each time you do, because they’re great for upcycling into all kinds of DIY projects and crafts. One of our absolute favourite bottle cap pieces is this mosaic style table top featured on Casa de Fifia. You might leave the tops simply glued down but with a textured finish if you don’t mind your tabletop being just a little bit uneven, or you might seal the entire thing in resin so it fills in between the caps and dries to give a much smoother surface.
7. Mosaic art tool holder
Perhaps you’re the kind of DIY enthusiast who would really rather make every element you possibly can within a project yourself, right from scratch? Even if you’re building on a base, like you will be in this little craft supplies holder idea from Portal de Artasanato, sometimes it’s cool to make your own mosaic effect pieces when you’re doing a project like this, rather than using store bought tiles or smashing something to pieces. See how they made theirs out of clay and then painted some of the custom shaped pieces!
8. Stunning mosaic door frame
So, we know that this stunningly visual door frame featured on Tere de Coronado doesn’t come with a tutorial, or even a step by step pictorial, but we just couldn’t resist putting it on our list anyways because it’s so beautiful! You could feasibly piece something like this together with anything you collect over the years; sea glass, old dishes, porcelain pieces from other crafts, or old bathroom tiles. The more colourful or eclectic it is, the prettier it’ll be!
9. Marble and mosaic vase
Just in case you’re still very into the idea of creating a mosaic effect using something unconventional but you’d prefer something other than the bottle caps, here’s a really cool and much more whimsical looking idea from Vicky’s Home! We adore the way they’ve attached marbles of various shapes and seaside colours all across the surface of a vase, giving everything a beautiful, beach-like feeling.
10. Glass tile tree mosaic
Have you always loved art that’s made in different mediums that most people are used to crafting with? Do you enjoy the concept of making an image with your mosaic, but you’re not confident in your ability to create one on your own just using differently coloured tiles freehand style? Then check out how Happy Hour Projects pieced together this actual tree image from square tiles arranged in order instead!
11. Mini mosaic tray
Perhaps you’re new to mosaic techniques and, even though you might work your way up to projects like the mosaic backyard throne someday, you’d like to start with something a little smaller and easier than that for now? In that case, you should definitely check out this adorable little serving tray idea from Design Sponge! Their tutorial shows you the basic steps for arranging and affixing simple square tiles in place. Once you’ve learned those fundamental skills, you can practice and build on them to work towards some of the more complicated projects on our list.
12. Mosaic garden table
Are you still in the tile mosaic stage but you’d rather make something just a little more interesting than a flat tray? Maybe you’re really interested in the idea of a mosaic table but you’d rather something more streamlined looking than the bottle caps idea we showed you earlier. In that case, you might prefer this neat and tidy tile mosaic table from Centsational Girl. Whether you put it outside on your patio in the summer or right in the middle of your living room, it’ll look great in any colour scheme you choose.
13. Stone tile mosaic keepsake boxes
Here’s another one for the learners on our readers list! This simple mosaic top box idea from Instructables introduces you to the concept of stone tile mosaics and the ways they can be attached and affixed to flat surfaces. We’ll also admit that we partially like this idea so much because we’re nostalgic keepsake hoarders, so making a creative, crafty place to put the things we keep is right up our alley.
14. Mosaic birdhouses
When we say that we spend a lot of time sitting in our gardens in the summer, we mean that we spend a lot of time sitting in the garden. That’s why we’ve always had a soft spot for colourful little DIY projects that add character and fit right in with the flowers around us to make the garden an even more cheerful, relaxing place than it already was. These adorably colourful mosaic birdhouses are exactly the kind of thing we mean! Get the full instructions for making your own on BHG.
Do you know someone who loves mosaic art just as much as we do, if not more, and has been looking for some inspiration? Share this post with them to give them a little bit of motivation!