The Reveal and the “How To” of our Penny “Tile Rug” Mosaic Writing Project…

Good afternoon! Sitting here this chilly Tuesday afternoon with this as my current view…

Ab is popping up tack strips in the master bedroom of my newest cabin project prepping for the new laminate wood flooring we just picked up from Floor and Decor on our way up here this morning and I am sipping a Starbucks Nitro Dark Cocoa Cold Brew. Yummy!

Today we are sharing the “how to” and the reveal of the tile project you may have seen us working on last week on IG stories… the penny tile “writing” installation in my mudroom. A project five whole years in the making! As you may have noticed over the years, this un-grouted rectangle has been waiting patiently in my mudroom since we finished renovations way back in 2015…

Oh and before you ask, HERE IS A LINK TO THIS WALLPAPER & ALL OTHER ROOM DETAILS ARE LINKED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST…

WALLPAPER

I had fabulous intentions of taking this project on back in 2015 or even 2016 but ya know… life happens. So it sat. For five years. And then earlier this month Ab and I were making a list of fun projects to feature on the blog in 2021 and BAM! Given that we had just completed quite a few tile mosaics at Addison’s Wonderland Boutique last Fall very similar to what I was wanting to create in here, we decided it would be a fun start to 2021. And not to mention the fact that Ab has become a “tile rug” professional as of late. So here is where I let her takeover to tell you all of her steps, tips and tricks! And then I will be back at the very end to share the final reveal I photographed earlier this week. Oh and we will be back Friday with the full design plan we’ve been working on for the most wonderful client in downtown Nashville. As I shared on IG stories last week, we will be right here on the blog FOUR DAYS A WEEK now sharing everything from life posts to our own home renovation projects plus fashion, design client reveals and lots more. See y’all Monday!

Hey fam! Let me start off by saying that the term “professional” is a loose one… I’d like to think more of an above your average “never tiled a floor” neighbor. I say that to say, this tile did not end up perfect. There are a couple of low spots and some unleveled tiles but they are hardly noticeable once everything is grouted in. SO if you decide to try this out for your own home, don’t be discouraged during the process. Keep moving and I promise that you will not even notice the little “mistakes” or missteps along the way. On tile jobs, my dad always used to say that grout hides just about everything and he isn’t wrong.

I. First and foremost, find your center point. This might seem obvious but I got so eager with the store mats that I didn’t do this. I ended up having to redraw everything.

Since we had a such a specific area that we were working with, I roughly drew out the phrase on a sheet of paper to get a better idea of what I was looking for with spacing. I also did this to get an idea of the center point of the phrase. Ex. Our mat needed to say est. 1908… e s t. 1 9 0 8… “1” was our center(ish) point.

II. We used an expo marker to mark all of the tiles that we wanted to be black. I found that it was easiest to just simply draw out the letters and numbers first and then go back and fill the tiles in. It is a lot easier to visualize how the circular tiles turn into words if you have the letter there first. What I mean by this is, don’t start filling circles to make the letter. Draw your figure out first and then fill the circles in that closely line up with what you marked out. Does that make sense? Maybe?

III. So you have established which tiles are coming out and now it is time to remove them. Ideally you should use a chisel but we couldn’t find one AND since these tiles have been sitting for quite a while, the flat head screw driver worked just fine. I’m not sure that I would recommend it for tiles that have not been waiting to be removed for five years. Since these tiles have been grout-less for so long, the wear and tear of foot traffic definitely loosened them up a bit.

IV. After you remove all of the tiles make sure that you chisel away any of the excess thin set that is remaining. You want the empty spaces to be as level as possible before you place the new black tiles in. Once the thin set it loose, vacuum the mat super super well to remove all of the dust and chunks.

V. I found that precutting the black tiles with an exactoblade makes the setting process one million times easier. It is easy to spot the patterns in the letters… EX. Most of the vertical lines were in 2’s. I cut a bunch of sheets into sections of two and they popped right into place. This just saves the headache of trying to place each individual tile and makes for a much more level outcome. The next photo depicts what I am trying to say a little bit better…

See what I’m sayin…

VI. Make sure to trim the excess graft off of the segments that you cut. It removes the headache of trying to trim the graft out after you set the tiles… which is almost impossible. The last thing you want is straggler graft sticking up through your grout. I did (: and filing them out was a pain. Don’t be like me… just trim the graft on the front end.

VII. Normally we would use a thin set to lay tile, more info on that in our next post about laying tile, but for this project we used liquid nails. It is way less messy this way and keeps you from getting white spots in your final grout. Just trust me… use the liquid nails.

I drew lines with the adhesive where I knew the tiles were going and popped them in. This is where you have to get crafty. At this point you might notice some of your tiles sitting lower than others. Try your best to put extra liquid nail in the low spots and “float” the low tiles. Let the tiles sit for at least 12 hours before grouting them in.

Grout…

VIII. Make sure you choose a sanded grout. It is better protection against stains and I find that it is easier to work with for a project like this one.

VIIII. When you are mixing the grout for this project, a small bucket and a metal putty knife with do. Most likely you aren’t going to be needing a lot of grout since it is just the mat. I always start with the grout and slowly add water to the mix until I get the right consistency. You want it to be thin since the grout lines are so narrow but not super super thin because it will not set up right. Think, ranch dressing.

X. Use a floating tool to smear the grout onto the mat. Don’t panic… it’s super easy to remove the thin layer off of the tiles. Make sure you work it into each crack and do not have holes in the grout line.

XI. Let the grout sit for a few minutes and then go to town with a sponge and a bucket of water. Your goal at this point is not to get the tiles squeaky clean. Thin grout is basically tough dirt and it will come off the following day with ease. Just do your best to get the majority of the grout off of the tile without pulling it out of the grout line. Let it sit for 24 hours and then mop up whatever is left on the tiles.

And HERE IT IS! The final reveal…