Tile Murals – A Beautiful Inspiration

So many different types of tiles are made available today and they come with a variety of purposes. If you want your project to be right, then choose the appropriate types. If you think that only bathrooms and kitchens are tiled or decorated with murals in the past, think again. Today, almost every room in your house can have attractive tiles in them.

Mural mosaic tiles can now be found as decorations in bedrooms, living rooms, in swimming pools and so on. Think about this: if you tile your walls rather than use those alternative coverings, what a beautiful inspiration you will have right in your own home. 

Quality Hand-made Tiles Delivered To Your Door

Exotiles, the leading online tile supplier in Australia offers a wide selection of decorative wall tile murals, even single tile accents. Be glad to know that our products suit a range of wall applications. And these include - a feature wall, bathroom walls, splashbacks and more.

Our tiles are all hand-made piece by piece. Mosaic mural designs can be customised depending on your specification, and it’s only for you and your precious home.

Find a gorgeous selection of art and designs which you can’t find anywhere else. Learn from the professionals about various options for breath-taking tile projects. What’s more, we can refer you to skilled artists and designers that can turn the best photo you own into a tile mural of accent tile.

Mural Mosaic Tile Accents For A Beautiful Home

You’re free to choose from smooth surface ceramic, to glass tiles or tumbled marble natural stone tiles, and more. With a decorative wall tile mural added, your home can really create a statement. If you want a reproduction of original artwork, scenery, paintings, landscape, drawings, whatever it is that inspires you, then you’re going to have it, if that’s what you really want it to be, and more.

Let your friends and guests admire your personal taste and style with decorative wall tile murals and accent pieces from ExoTiles. You’ll be astonished with our large number of tile mural selections for kitchens, backsplashes and bathrooms.

Tile murals can be applied to backsplashes on kitchen sink or behind the stove, in the shower or tub, on tabletops, countertops, even around your swimming pool. Choose your own tile mural and backsplash designs when remodelling your home or building, and savour the lasting beauty a tile mural gives you.

Visit our Facebook page to have a great view of our product line. Browse our pages for a quickoverview of the kitchen and bathroom tiles types we offer.

The Brain is a Wonderful Thing...

There's this thing called life in which you do things, or you don’t, but even if you don’t, you’re still doing something, and that’s doing nothing. I’m kidding, you shouldn't be like that since life will go through being boring, to being too boring, to being “I want to kill my self” boring. I guess that that last stadium is definitely the end. After that there is no going back, so please do not be like that. You should do things, from those you want to do, to those you do not. They are all part of life. One might think that life should be all work, all the things you don’t want to do are supposed to be the only things you do, or one might think that life should be all play, only doing things you want to do, nothing hard to do, only the easy stuff, but both these dudes would be terribly wrong. You are supposed to find balance – both these things must be done; that’s just the way life is and there must be bad aspects in order for there to be good ones, and vice versa. You think I’m wrong? Do you honestly think that good would be called “good” if there were no bad things? The word itself would lose meaning. Two sides of the same coin will always exist, and that’s the way life is and each and every one of us has to accept it and move on through life.

By doing things in life you create your life in a way. Those things that you do – these things are part of your life and they are your life. Each and every one of them is a part, no matter how big or how small, they still are. They might not all be important, but they are still part of it and should be treated as that.

But as it always is, nothing is that simple. You always need to consider what you’re doing. Are you supposed to do it? Is it ok to do it? Is the thing I’m doing bad for someone or something? And many more other questions. Thankfully, we usually can answer all of these questions, it might be hard, but it is still doable.

So many things are done in life, and it’s hard to keep track of all of them. That is unfortunate really, and it would be nice if we were able to remember everything, or, what I actually mean, it would be great if we were like computers with hard disks and whatnot. That way, remembering something would be as easy as typing whatever you want in the search bar. But this way, I guess that the process of learning some knowledge would lose its actual meaning. What would teachers do since there would be no more schools, as they too would lose their meaning and necessity? I guess that this scenario would be heaven to do youngest of us, but not to many other, older people. But, who knows, maybe this scenario would not be so bad...

The good thing is that in so many cases, the things you do, you don’t really need to remember them. Many things we do are just generative, little things that you only do and need not think about them further. Thus it is good that our brain can remember an important thing much easier than some other, less significant thing. Those little things get stored somewhere in the brain, I guess, and remain there forever, without ever being “taken out” again. Our brain is a powerful thing, since it knows what is needed and what is not. It also knows to store, or better said, suppress some memories which can only bring pain to us, and much more. But it certainly isn’t perfect since we don’t have easy access to anything inside of it. However, nothing is perfect. Not even our brains, which are often described as perfect machines.

One of the things that your brain doesn't store and which is also almost completely not worth remembering and irrelevant is home design. You will be spending most of your future in the space you arranged, but you certainly need not remember the very process of arranging your home, right? Unless something out of the ordinary happens during that time, like your wife calling you at home to tell you that she is in the hospital giving birth or someone else calling to tell you that someone you hold dear has just passed away, God forbid, or something along those lines. But, usually, that time goes along without much happening. You just can’t wait to finish it all so you can finally enjoy your new home.

One terrible part of this so-called job are the walls, but to be more precise, the walls in the kitchen and bathroom most usually, and what to put on them. It isn't as simple as painting them in the same color as the rest of your house. No, you have to put tiles on them, and you have to make them withstand all the dirt that will be thrown at them in time. And I’m sure that you can guess that these two rooms are the ones that can get the dirtiest.

But what if you were able to make these specific walls prettier, and more memorable and more important to you? Well there is a good way to do that and it involves putting mosaic tiles. Yes, these things exist and they are art! They are wonderful, and you should consider them. From stainless tiles made of steel to wooden tiles, or even sea shell mosaic tiles - you can have all kinds. Possibilities are numerous and all are worth it. All that you get you will be able to do wonders with! You can even create patterns and images from these tiles. A lot of things can be done and this part of your job could get interesting or even worth remembering.

When you look at this example, maybe it is possible to make seemingly unimportant events memorable...

The Feeling within You that can be woken up by the Art of Mosaic

Art has always been the most powerful thing that can play with emotions of people as well as with their sense of beauty. There is a whole branch in philosophy that is called „aesthetics“ which studies the ways we perceive beauty in things and people. As the ages change so does art and the approach that an artist makes becomes different, although the techniques do not change - just develop. There are, of course, some newer arts such as film or comic books, but the old ones are the ones I want to talk about. To be more specific, I want to write about mosaics and how they are used to decorate homes. I must warn you, I'm no expert at mosaics whatsoever, but I did a little research, in order to understand what is the purpose of it and how can it be fit into today’s homes.

As I've mentioned in the introduction, the approach to art changes almost daily. A mosaic is also the part of this never-ending process. When it was invented as a form of art, artist used to gather small colored stones in order to build a picture. Although this material is still popular, people are finding new ones on a daily basis in order to make mosaics more unique. My friend, who is an artist himself, was collecting buttons from different shirts for five years and then he made a mosaic out of them. After that he simply made millions of small crunched colorful papers and later made another masterpiece. But then this expansion came, where mosaics suddenly became popular as a part of a house and home decoration. Many possibilities are available, but I'm going to concentrate and present only one of them – mosaics made of tiles. It may sound strange at first, but just look at your bathroom. The colorful tiles are probably making some sort of shapeless figure and enhance the pleasure of being in there. Just imagine how would it be if you are to transfer this kinds of mosaics into other parts of your house.

The kind of steel that never goes out of date

If you were to place a mosaic in, for example, your living room, the marble tiles that you use for your bathroom may not be the smartest choice. As I have mentioned, the approach has changed, and with the approach so have the materials. One of the possible materials that tiles for mosaics can be made of is stainless steel. Namely, stainless steel is said to last for eternity, but it is not its primary feature. When combined into a mosaic, tiles made of stainless steel can have a very sophisticated look. It can fit in almost every kind of living room, and can send both the message of a warm home that welcomes every guest and a modern one for a small isolated family. It is up to you to choose how you would like to fit it into the living room. The best feature of this kind of mosaics is that they never rust, as the name suggests. Cleaning it is important, but it will take you much less time than, for example, cleaning marble tiles in your bathroom. Stainless steel tiles can be very cold or very warm when you touch them, and that depends on the temperature level in your room. Since steel is a very bad conductor of temperature, it tends to keep the same temperature for a very long period of time.

Mosaic as a window to your soul

Now, you might wonder what kind of silly title is this. Well, believe it or not, there are mosaics that are made only of glass. Each tile is designed with a special technique that involves a lot of effort and sleepless nights, and each one is carefully measured and shaped so that they will give off the feeling of transparency. These kinds of tiles are not always square shaped - they can also have more of an oval form. When they are fit into a mosaic they simply shine. If you do not believe me, just put your mosaic against the window on the east, and when the sun starts to rise, and the light touches the mosaic, it will simply start to glow with this magnificent simplicity and style. I recommend putting this kind of mosaic in bedroom, although if you are not a morning person, this morning „glow“ can be a bit of a problem for you. On the other hand, if you like and enjoy sunny mornings, this is just the thing to do. Finally, these kinds of tiles look magnificent when you put them into a swimming pool (keep in mind though that if you do chose to put them in a pool, make sure that the pool is not filled with saltwater, since it can damage the tiles). If you combine it with neon lights, you will be able to make those playboy like parties that everyone dreams about. Just imagine it...

Two is always better than one

If you are one of those indecisive people, and you can't choose whether to put glass or stainless steel mosaic into your room, there is the third option for you. Glass and steel can be combined and an even more spectacular and magnificent effect can be achieved. You can have a bit of both – the glow of the morning sun and the style and endurance of stainless steel. However, if you are about to choose this option, I recommend to consult someone who already has some experience with home design, or even better – glass mixed metal mosaics. These kinds of decoration are not really expensive, but they certainly can't be very cheap. So, if you are about to spend money on this, do it wisely. Of course, you should also consult Google – the ultimate know-it-all. You should consult Google for everything, in fact.

To sum up, art can wake up the most sublime and the most powerful feelings in a human. You may not be aware of this, but art is all around you – even in your house. If you are to follow the flow of this river, I strongly recommend getting at least one mosaic made of tiles, because it is one of the latest and very popular kinds of art, and many people nowadays choose it to decorate their home this way.

Let me Take You to the World of Modern Art

I am no expert when it comes to home decoration and other issues that involve style and taste. However, I made a thorough research on the net and found out a lot of interesting data that helped me decorate my home as best as I can and trust me, there are several aspects you should take into account, when it comes to home decoration. The comfort comes first. You don't want your home to look beautiful and to be total eye-candy, if your body cannot enjoy it. After comfort comes the usage of it. Let's face it, it is much better to have a sculpture that is a fountain at the same time, and you use it to drink water from it, than just a sculpture that stands in the corner of your room. However, this is totally optional. Finally, the look of the certain piece of decoration is taken into account. You should always pay attention what you put and where, because an ugly home, however comfortable, will not be appealing to the people who visit. Of course, there are some eastern techniques, such as feng-shui, that combine beauty and comfort, but they are mostly based on beliefs that are not really scientifically proven.

The art ages old gets a new form. Place tiles all over your house.

What I really want to focus on is the art of placing tiles and making mosaics out of them. You have probably seen on the television those big mosaics made out of small stones. Well, I'm not really talking about that kind of mosaic, but a more modern form. Tiles are nowadays produced in many materials, and each material has its own advantages and disadvantages, but we will talk about that, later. First of all I want to ask you this – where do you think you can place your mosaic made of tiles? Well, believe it or not – everywhere. There are tiles in the bathroom, and that is nothing new. Yours probably has tiles. However, you can take that to the next level of creativity and style and, for example, use painted tiles in your bathroom instead of boring one-colored ones. That way you will enjoy yourself more whilst using the bathroom and you will break the monotony that can sometimes be a feature of this part of the house. Now, lets move on to the other rooms.

Bedrooms can be very interesting if mosaic tiles are added there. There are the ones made of glass which literally glow if the light in the room is vivid. Can you imagine the feeling of waking up and facing the glowing mosaic made out of glass tiles. It is indeed like heaven on earth, and you just woke on the cloud that floats on the surface made of sunshine.

How about living room? I know it sounds weird at first, but there are people who add mosaic tiles even there. Tiles made of stainless steel can have a very calming effect, and its color fits almost every style of living-room. Whether you enjoy those old fashioned living rooms with a fireside and two rocking chairs, or you prefer those modern ones with big TVs and a lot of electronic devices, mosaics made of tiles will fit everywhere, especially those made out of stainless steel.

Finally, you can even take the decoration outside. If you live in a house and have a yard, and you don’t know how to decorate it, I suggest that you place mosaics. Of course, watch out that it fits the rest of the house when talking about design. My favorite one was the thing that my neighbor did with tiles. He placed them at the bottom of his swimming pool. He added some lighting beside it and it had this amazing glow even during the night.

A word or two concerning the materials out of which tiles are made

As the title suggests, and as I have mentioned before, tiles can be made out of several different materials. All of them have certain qualities that make them special in their own way. But whichever one you choose, it is important that the design itself possess certain quality. Because, believe me, I have stumbled upon very fragile ones which were literally breaking under the slightest pressure of my hands. You certainly do not wish your mosaic to fall apart after a week. Therefore, durability is very important. Now when it comes to stainless steel, durability is not in question at all. These kinds of tiles tend to last for decades and they do not even rust, as the name suggests. They are also not very difficult to maintain – you may need to clean it maybe once or twice a month, just to remove the dust and make sure that you can see your reflection in them.

There are also tiles made of stone. Now you have probably seen these more often than those made of stainless steel, but if the approach to combining them into a mosaic is unique, they can be pretty interesting. Although their durability is not as good as the durability of steel tiles, it is good enough if you pay attention

Finally there are tiles made of glass, which I, also, have mentioned before. Although you may think that this kind is the most fragile, it is not so. Namely, these kinds of tiles are designed so that the glass is so thick, it is almost impossible to break them.

To sum up, colors and styles are all mixed-up nowadays as the art suggests. Therefore, people have taken tiles from bathrooms and started placing them all around the house. Little by little it became an art on its own – the art of mosaic tiles. Although it existed long before, this approach is new, and these mosaics fit in each and every room. There are different materials to choose from, and different shapes and figures to be made out of tiles, all according to your own taste.

A Psychological Approach to the Design of Your Home

We always try to say something about ourselves in many different ways. First of all, it is just by talking – we try to be funny, we brag or we just try not to be boring. But there are many non-verbal ways by which we both consciously or subconsciously convey the idea of who we are and what we do. One of them is, for example, body language. You won't believe me when I tell that body language is actually fifty percent of communication. We just need to learn how to read those „signs“ that our body sends, and we will be able to show ourselves in a better light. Another example is how we dress. That is the thing we do consciously. We pick our garments carefully and dress proper to the ways we think and the ways we tend to expose ourselves. For example, people who love rock music will always wear some pieces of clothing that will somehow tell: „Hey, I love Led Zeppelin“, or people who work as lawyers, for example, will wear suit that will say: „Hey, look at me, I am on my way to the courtroom“, and so on... But the thing I want to talk about in this article is actually not connected to dressing yourself, but to decorating your house. After all, your house should best reflect who you are, what you do and what are your attitudes towards certain things.

Our house in the middle of the street

First of all, let's say that you just moved in and that your house is not in order at all. There is furniture all over the place and you need to arrange it. After you have done that, you should consider some “deeper” decoration. The thing I want to focus on in this article in particular is how should we fit mosaic as an art in our home, and what will those mosaics convey about ourselves? But mosaics that I am going to write about are made of tiles, since that has become very popular lately. Tiles can be made out of several different materials. Believe it or not, even the material you choose will tell something different about you. So, I am going to write about mosaics made of glass, stainless steel and stone.

The glowing extrovert

As you may know, glass tiles are transparent and, therefore, they may represent your attitude towards other people. You want other people to know you well and to like you, so you present yourself like an open book and you do not keep any mystery of yourself. But that is not a bad thing at all, it means that you are a communicative person, and you tend to approach people more than they would approach you. Your interesting stories will keep the party going and the jokes you tell are always funny. Therefore, enjoyment and hedonism are things that keep you going. Mosaics made out of glass tend to glow sometimes when there is too much light in the room. That may reflect your emotions. Whenever there is positive emotion you are positive and your sadness and your depression are saved for dark rooms, where you are lonely and cannot glow.

The parted personality

Let’s move on to the mosaics that are made of stainless steel. Steel itself can give an impression that you are a strong person and you cannot be broken easily. It also conveys that you do not fight the battle with time but you go with the flow instead and let time do its job. As a reward you tend to see your life as harmony and peace. If you fit stainless steel mosaic into a room where white color is dominant - this would mean that you are a person who likes domination. This is simply explainable due to the fact that the white color symbolizes innocence whereas stainless steel symbolizes something strong and supreme. Therefore, you like when people subdue to you and when they listen to your orders and your requests. However, if you fit stainless steel mosaic into a room where dark colors are prevailing, that would tell a slightly different story about you. It says that you are a person who likes to be lonely and has little friends. But those friends of his are very close to him and they are always there to help him. It also says that you are kind of person who enjoys staying at home and watching a movie instead of going to parties.

Stone upon stone upon stone upon stone

Stone mosaics, on the other hand, are rather specific. People who prefer this kind of decoration tend to face difficulties in their lives in two ways. One of them is to cut right to the core of the problem and try to solve it, and the other is to stand still and wait for the problem to pass you by. Stone can also say that you are materialist and that you do not believe in God or generally anything that has not been proven by science. You like the smell and the look of money and your career is much more important to you in your life than love, for example. Stone mosaics which are fit into a traditional living-room with a fireplace and wooden furniture say that you are a family person and that people related to you are on the top of your list. But more than that, stone mosaic conveys that you are a person who enjoys nature and finds peace in activities such as fishing, hiking or just spending some time in nature.

To sum up, every person in this world has its own story to tell, but all of them want that story to have many interesting details. Those details can be added by changing yourself or the things around you. When you decide to change the things around you, go to your house and try to rearrange the furniture. I wholeheartedly suggest that you take one of the mosaics that I have presented to you above and try to fit it somewhere as best as you can, thus saying an interesting fact about you – something that no one noticed before.

Mosaics Through History

It has been a technique in art, specifically decorative art, usually used indoors, on all sorts of buildings. From small ones to huge cathedrals. It consists of small pieces, usually in the form of a rectangle, made from several different materials, stone and glass for example, and always in many colors. Colors are what make them special, and the same can be used to create a pattern or even a bigger picture.

I am talking about mosaics of course. They have existed for the last 5000 years, since the first states in Mesopotamia. They were made of stone, ivory and shells in those days. But, mosaic patterns were not used until the age of the Roman Empire, which is more than two thousand years later. In the beginning, just a few were in color, but they were still very appealing.

Nevertheless, they became popular when the most respected art was developing, the one in ancient Greece and Rome. Large mosaics were made, usually depicting a story about some mythological creature, a God, demigod, etc. What was usually portrayed back then, it wasn't anything revolutionary of course. Mosaics weren't as prestige as paintings were, but they were still popular. Many rich Romans had them in their own villas all across the Empire.

As it always is with most things, others started using them, copying or creating something new, but this, as most other forms, was never made obsolete. No form of art can become obsolete. Thus, the first Christians started implementing mosaics in their art, first in small basilicas, then later in churches and so on. Many Roman buildings with mosaics were simply converted into Christian ones. But of course, original Roman creations, and Greek too, still exist. If they weren’t, I certainly wouldn’t be able to tell you about them, and no one else would be able to do the same either.

Rome as a nation died, but another empire inherited it, the Byzantine one, and thus, the art. It became predominantly Christian of course, yet still a magnificent form as it always has been. Thousands of mosaics were created all over the empire, depictions of emperors, saints and much more.

The Roman mosaic art continued to be made even in the middle ages, but it’s last great period ended in the high middle ages. It was very popular when the Norman ruled Sicily, where Christian and Muslim art mixed, probably the only country where these two religions, always in the state of war, lived together in peace. Just like in Sicily, during the same period in Venice, this form of art didn’t go out of style.

As you already know from visiting these places or seeing them on shows, many churches all over Italy had their domes beautified by mosaics. What is also interesting is that in many cases, not only the interior was decorated with mosaics, but the exterior too, and glass tiles have gotten more popular for decorative purposes.

During the renaissance and baroque they went out of fashion, but of course there were still people who did them. Frescoes became more popular and replaced the mosaics in churches but thankfully, there were still those who preferred the previous.

In the modern era they still exist. They are not really popular with large buildings and there aren’t many professionals, but as I have already told you, mosaics went out of fashion a long time ago. But today they are still popular among numerous artisans and crafters. They make mosaics from a variety of items, even odd ones like doll parts, beads, photographs. And these modern mosaics can be found anywhere, covering almost anything you can imagine, from benches to bicycles. They can also be found on walls, but this style owes much to the video game pixel art and pop culture. Still, this counts as well.

All in all, this is a great form of art, and what is good, it’s doable, and you can have it in your own home. If you do not want pictures, because that may be too much for an average household, because much place is needed and it really doesn't seem like it is something that will fit in with the regular stuff, but you can still have some mosaic patterns on your kitchen walls, or in the bathroom. Most of us already have tiles in these areas of our homes, and thus, why not make them beautiful. Because, after all (this I have told you), don’t they look wonderful? It is art, it’s retro and it really looks vintage. If you are a lover of something like that, this will be great for you, if not, you should still consider it.

You will surely be able to find various examples of mosaic tiles on the internet if you are now, hopefully, interested in them. I have found out that many people have stone tiles on the facade of their houses, and you are maybe one of them, but why not get stone mosaic tiles? If that does not sound good to you, maybe you should stick with the indoors. Look up some glass mosaic tiles or even a mixture of glass and metal mosaic tiles. And all of them can go in different, all great-looking patterns. They are also made from many other materials like marble, copper, and even sea shells and wood. Yes, I found that hard to believe, but it is true. If you have some sort of a weekend cottage far out in the woods, wood mosaic tiles can really come in handy if you want to keep your house from wood in its entirety.

There are many ways in which you can use these and make your home even prettier or just a bit more different than most other homes, and this is certainly one of the ways you can do that. And, once again, after all that you’ve read… really… why not have mosaic installed in your own home? They will live up the atmosphere, they are durable, and they are easy to clean. What more do you want?

Splendid art for every day view

Besides those very practical things that we use in each and every one of our lives, there are those which are only beautiful and serve no practical purpose other than looking at, or listening to, and enjoying whatever is found in just that. Music, paintings, statues, photographs - they are all part of that very important domain of our lives, the domain that focuses on beauty. This domain is Art, with a capital A, due to its inexpressible beauty and value. There is no need to further point out its significance, we are all aware of that. I only need to say that all of us should devote at least a bit of our time to it. It certainly needs not be a problem.

A regular person sets aside some of his or her time and money for art. By buying, for example, some nice statues to decorate our rooms, or some expensive paintings for our walls, or even going as far as getting an old, beautiful house built in some 19^th century architecture, we make a statement. Unfortunately, too few of us have enough financial resources for such prohibitively expensive things. So, in essence, most of us are satisfied with just getting a small little figurine to put in our collection or start a new one. All of that can be considered as a product of art, and none of it has any practical purpose in our lives. We can’t really say why we want those things, but we all know that we do. So, let’s just leave it at that and simply continue buying them and filling our houses and apartments with them like we have been doing up until now.

Now, I find it very odd when people don’t decorate their entire homes. Since you started decorating your house, you should do all of it. Not just the rooms in which you spend most of your time in or just the rooms in which you let your guests come in. Beautifying your house should be, first of all, for yourself, and not just for others. So, pay attention to the rest of the rooms of your house, even if that means decorating your own bathroom or your kitchen. You think that’s silly? And why is that? It makes sense to decorate the rooms in which you spend a lot of your time in, so you can feel better in them, as you’ll have something nice to look at. And you definitely spend enough time in those rooms. So go ahead and decorate them!

If you do want to beautify these rooms then think about getting some nice tiles which are a good part of them. Since there is not enough room for pictures or statues and figurines, why not get some picturesque tiles instead. The best solution is buying some mosaic tiles, because, believe it or not, that too is art. There are all kinds of mosaic tiles, and they all look wonderful. From glass mosaic tiles which really look good in bathrooms or spas, to stainless steel mosaic tiles that shine very bright. I found out that these tiles also look very good in a pool, and to see how the light of the sun and the water itself reflects off of them is amazing. If not glass, there are also stone and marble mosaic tiles which look really good on feature walls. Then, there are even some, previously mentioned, stainless steel tiles, if you wish to break from the traditional ones and go for some modern looking ones. Besides the above mentioned there are also mixed kinds, for example glass and metal mosaic tiles mixed together. That can also be nice for your bathroom walls.

All of this may sound a bit less artistic when you think of it, but trust me, when you see it, you’ll change your mind (I know I did). Also, you can see some great mosaic tile designs here. Magical little contraption this internet, it never disappoints. After you get some I’m sure that all those hours spent in the kitchen preparing something, or in the bathroom, well, doing your business, won’t have to be colorless and without art around you. It is, simply better to live that way.

Mosaic up your Apartment!

You probably get bored with the home you live in from time to time and you feel that something should be changed in order to feel more comfortable and to enhance the environment itself. There are companies which take care of all the things related to home design and individuals are leaving all the work up to them. Those companies repeat the same pattern over and over again, and what you get is many houses with similar, or, even, the same design. 

But, you can take your time and plan the design by yourself. There are several ways to decorate your home without being accused of stealing someone’s idea. With modern art, all kinds of structures, forms and buildings are made out of different materials only for the purpose of fitting among other objects in the house. For example, people would choose a blue post-modernistic painting for their living-room, only because its colour fits the environment, and they wouldn't even understand the painting’s artistic value and meaning. Beauty is overrated nowadays and some are willing to pay for a simple work of art a big amount of money, if it satisfies their taste. Home design has reached its peak. But, I think that the best way to make your house look beautiful is to combine “dulce cum utili” (comfortable and useful). For such purposes, you can, for example use, tiles in your bathroom and make a mosaic out of it.

            Mosaic is a timeless art. Pictures made of small pieces of stone decorated all kinds of rooms throughout history, such as Roman baths, Christian basilicas and churches, medieval castles etc. Certain artists have dedicated their whole life studying and creating mosaic pictures. Nowadays, however, coloured stones are often replaced with different materials in the tiling process. Their primary purpose has shifted from protection to decoration. Tiles in the bathrooms or kitchens protect walls from different influences among which is, for example humidity. Yet, more and more people are having their bathrooms and kitchens decorated with not just ordinary, single-coloured tiles but with ones that form certain figures or even pictures. Furthermore, the fashion suggests that tiles can also decorate living-rooms or even bedrooms without being seen as pap. Of course, ceramic tiles are also no longer a standard and glass or stainless steel ones are growing in popularity.

            Glass tiles are easier to clean and are far easier and economic to produce. Their production takes up only half the energy needed for the production of the ceramic ones. Beautiful and sophisticated figures can be made out of glass tiles anywhere in your home. Not only are they very appealing to our eyes, but are also very durable, although your first thought was probably that they’ll easily break, simply because glass is in question. I recommend them for the pool, since their transparency produces certain effect of tranquility while you are in there.

          

            However, there are also stainless steel tiles which are even more economical. They are the most flexible kind of tiles and you are able to express your creativity by choosing from a big variety of designs or even creating your own patterns. If you want your home to have a certain modernistic look, stainless steel tiles are the things you need. As the name suggests, it is not possible to stain this kind of steel, and it keeps it primary shine for a long time – forever, might I add.

            Sometimes these two kinds of material can be mixed to produce even more interesting mosaics which will make your place look more stylish and more vividly entertaining. Both glass and stainless steel reflect sunshine, thus placing a mosaic made out of this combination in your garden would be a good and original idea.

           To conclude, people nowadays use tiles which are made out of different materials and create a fashion out of it. They can find every possible spot in the house fit for this kind of art, and if they’re creative enough, they will make extremely beautiful and vivid mosaics with tiles. Although they are still used for protection, tiles are used nowadays primary in fashion purposes. Placing tiles and creating forms out of it became practiced to such an extent that it can be considered an art on its own – the art of mosaic tiles.

          

Mosaic Tile Ideas

If you are a proud homeowner, you are most probably aware of the significance of the tiling process that is done mainly in bathroom areas and areas near the stove and sink in the kitchen. Of course there are cases where people have introduced mosaic tiling in other parts of their living premises. Actually, with the number of materials available and the infinite number of ways in which you can align the pieces, there is actually nothing that you cannot accomplish. Feel free to let the creative juices following, and make sure that you don’t overdo it, because everything that is overdone is, in plain words, just bad.

In the following piece of text I will provide you with some mosaic tile ideas that I have come across while browsing the net, and you can use these ideas in order to come up with your own. When you finish reading this article you will be amazed at what your possibilities are, and I hope that you will have a blast. So, without further ado, here they are:

1      The first design that I am going to show you is, as you can see in the picture below, a bathroom design. I have chosen this design not only because it is magnificent, elegant and stunning (at least in my opinion), but because it shows how you can create complex images using very small pieces of material. If you think of your wall as a black page on your computer, then each piece is a pixel. So, therefore, if you have more individual but small tiles, you can do wonders. However, in order to make this kind of construction you will need a good tile installer, and sufficient funds. But, if you have the means, by all means go for something like this and use it for your own home design improvement.

2      The next item on the agenda is a very unique and interesting kitchen splash-back design. This is, as far as I can tell an advanced form of art, and it shows you that you have the possibility to go out of the limb and copy some famous art piece in front of your stove. If you are a person who has taste and appreciates art and what art represents, and you have such a thing in front of you while you cook, I assure you, cooking will have an entirely new dimension. Take a good look at the picture, and consider your options.

3      Earlier, I said that the kitchen and the bathroom are not the only places where you can put a mosaic construction. The picture below is an elegant garden design with a rock mosaic. When I said that there are loads of materials that you can use, I meant it. The most conventional ones are porcelain and ceramic, but there are also materials like, stainless steel and, obviously, rock. Feel free to check out all these materials, how they look, and maybe even consider using several materials for one and the same mosaic construction, which can be very great, come to think about it.

4      The picture below is the last example on the list. Now this is a very uncommon place for mosaic tiling but it proves the point that you can incorporate a mosaic tile installation anywhere in your home and that it will look good. Again, I am advising you to explore the possibilities. You can put it behind the TV, or you can put it on the floor. Maybe you can put it on the ceiling. You can have your favorite photos put behind a glass mosaic tile, so that you can protect your wall and still have your entire life story incorporated in it, to constantly remind you of the good times. As I said, the number of options is infinite.

To conclude, there are loads of ways to beautify your home and mosaic tiling may be just the thing you need. If your home is just the way you like it, then you can just kick back and let all the worries go away. Nowadays, rest is something that we all need, and as we progress in life, the more rest we need. Make your home the best place in the world for you, and there will be no problem. 

Garden Design Improvement – Mosaic Tiling

A garden represents man’s connection to nature and the urge to be able to have nature all around your house. However, a garden is not something that you just, simply have. If you don’t tend to it enough it will die out and it will become ugly and depressing. No one wants that to happen, because it is illogical. So, people have, throughout history, done their gardening and some gardens are even considered to be a work of art as a whole. But, in this article I will not write about all these huge, marvelous garden designs, but I will talk about how to make your small, homely garden as beautiful as it can be, using something that is not very conventional for that purpose.

A Rainbow in your Home – Glass Mosaic Tiling

Having proper lighting in your home is very important. As we all know, life, as it exists today is very hard, and we have to be awake for at least 16 hours every single day, just so that we can manage to do everything that has to be done, and in some cases, that is not enough. Now, it is a fact that humans are not nocturnal beings and we cannot function at night as well as we function during daytime, so this is the main reason why you need artificial lighting. The other reason is so that you can find your way around the house, and, last but not least, everything is much prettier that way.

In this article I am not going to talk about a conventional way of lighting. Actually, I am not going to talk about lighting in the most obvious sense of the word. Bear with me a bit and you will understand what I am saying.

Tilling is a process that is widely known to be done in bathrooms and kitchens, where you use tiles so that you can protect the wall from all sorts of bad things that will happen to it due to water spills and leaks (in the bathroom) and various oil and food stains (in the kitchen). But, who says that you cannot have a tile construction in other rooms as well, particularly if you use glass tiles. You may wonder why I have chosen glass tiles in particular for this article, and there are two reasons.

1      Glass can be edited, shaped and colored in infinite ways.

2      Glass reflects light excellently.

With these two things in mind, imagine the following picture: There is a glass tile construction in your living room and it is ordered so that it is in the form of a rainbow and coloured in the colours of the rainbow. It stretches throughout the entire room, from side to side, and when, at night, you turn on a lamp, so that you can read a report that you have written and that is due tomorrow, it will sparkle and shine and add life to the interior, thus making you feel more calm and satisfied, and helping you deal with whatever it is you have to do with more ease.

Some might get confused with why I have used the term “mosaic” in the title. Well, every tile construction is a mosaic, in a way. Since a mosaic is an art form where the artist uses small pieces of material, and he or she aligns them and combines them, so that they form a bigger image, one might say that tiling is, in fact, mosaic making in its essence. Now, we all know that it is always good to have art in a closed environment, just because it makes the place look better, and feel better to whoever is inside and a mosaic tile construction may be just the thing that you were looking for.

At this point, you may even consider redesigning your bathroom and kitchen splash-back. But make sure that you do the things one at a time, so as not to make a lot of mess. You can try and perform the installation process yourself, but I must say that that is highly inadvisable. Any tile should be installed by a professional, because loads of things can go wrong, and if you don’t tend to them properly, the outcome can be catastrophic, and instead of beautifying your home, you will spend a lot of money repairing the damages, so that it can, maybe, look as it was before you got into the entire venture in the first place.

To sum up, I would like to say that anything you do in order to make your home a little bit more beautiful is great. There is nothing better than kicking back in your favorite spot and just reminiscing about all the good things that had happened to you up until that moment. Every home should be designed so that it is a reflection of whoever is living in there - at least this is how other people see your home. No one wants to be compared with a plain white wall. 

What do you think?

How to Install Stainless Steel Mosaic Tiles

Stainless steel is a very common choice for material used for making mosaic tiles. This is due to the fact that stainless steel has properties that are very desirable when it comes to tile constructing. 

These properties are:

●             It is lightweight;

●             It doesn't oxidize easily;

●             It cannot just simply stretch or discolor;

●             The shine it has can last for more than 20 years…

So, it is safe to say that stainless steel is a very durable material.

People have had these kinds of mosaic tiles installed as various, both commercial and residential interior decorations. Some have put them on walls, floors and ceilings, while others have put them on backsplashes, countertops, various water features, and so on.

Full and detailed mosaic tiles installation guide on ExoTiles.

http://www.exotiles.com.au/mosaic-tile-installation-guide/

The following article is concerned with tips on how people should perform the installation process, when stainless steel mosaic tiles are concerned:

●             At the very beginning, it is very important to note that the installation process of these kinds of mosaic tiles should be done by people that are experts in the field. This is because you have to watch out for various possible problems. For example, if any sort of electrical work is being done around the tiles, people can get electrocuted easily (since metal is a good conductor of energy). Also, care is required in places where high temperatures will surround the stainless steel (fireplaces, stoves, etc.), as well as extremely cold places. Furthermore, if you are installing this kind of mosaic tiles, you should avoid installing them in places that may be subject to impact by a strong force, or where there is heavy abrasion. Having all this in mind, you can conclude that an expert hand is somewhat necessary.

●             Sometimes, stainless steel mosaic tiles can be installed on gently curved surfaces. In order for them to have uniformity between each individual tile, the tiles themselves have to be manipulated. This is done by using both larger and smaller individual tiles. This design can end up being very stunning and impressive.

●             The substrate (the underlying layer) should be prepared well. It should be fixed, flat, cleaned of all contaminant materials such as dust, or oil, or paint, and it should be dried properly. All this is done in order for the tiles to get attached to the substrate correctly. Special care is required in humid areas, such as bathrooms and kitchens. The material usually used for substrates is concrete, cement and is some cases treated plywood.

●             Waterproof membranes are also a very important thing to have when installing tiles made out of stainless steel. They are used to prevent water leakage through walls and floors. Special care is advised when adding the membrane up the wall and outside shower areas. Actually, the waterproof membrane system is advised to be used in all wet and humid areas. Keep in mind that some systems may require the use of a primer.

●             There are various adhesives (glues) available on the market for purposes of installing tiles. It is highly advisable to follow the instructions provided by the adhesive manufacturer within the package point by point. There are many brands of adhesives available on the market and most of them are suitable for installing stainless steel tiles. The most commonly used are cement-based adhesives. They are usually recommended for places where no movement is anticipated. On the other hand, there are modified cement-based adhesives that can be used where there is movement. 

●             Grout is used to fill up the spaces between the tiles and to keep them joined together. For the best possible results, a constant use of a firm sponge is advised. This is due to the fact that grout gets separated from the tiles after it is dried. So, therefore, you should apply the grout at least 2 (in some cases more than 2) times. The second time the grout is supposed to be non-sanded.

So, after you have gone through all this, you should end up with having stainless steel tiles installed wherever you want. Now, you are advised to clean them regularly, in order for them to keep their original shape for as long a period of time as possible. Most stains can be cleaned just by the usage of a small cloth or sponge to which you can add a soft detergent. Fingerprint stains can be cleaned with olive oil. Just do not use soap or bleach, as it can damage the tiles.

To sum up, this is all you need to know concerning the installation of stainless steel mosaic tiles. Here are some examples, just to show how beautiful and well installed tiles look like.