Ask the Builder: Making a simple tile backsplash that mimics mosaic

A: I love to admire mosaic tile installations of all sizes, but to create one does require a second skill set.

The good news is you can create a one-of-a-kind tile backsplash for your bathroom or kitchen using store-bought tiles. The trick is to go to the right store. In my opinion, your best bet for success is a store that only sells tile and stone. In almost all cases, they’ll have a wide variety of specialty tiles that can be combined to create a look similar to mosaic tile.

Many years ago, my wife and I did something similar even though all these wonderful tiles weren’t available (or, at least, they weren’t to be found in Cincinnati). We used standard 4×4 plain tile for a backsplash but hand-painted some simple flowers on the different blank tiles. We used oil-based paint because it was far more durable than the latex paint of the time. The paint needed to be able to withstand cleaning and not peel or flake off.

It was surprisingly easy to create these painted tiles by just copying some simple flower photos from books. The Internet didn’t exist back then. Now, of course, you can pull up photos of just about anything in seconds. Using fine artist brushes, even the beginner can do a respectable job of re-creating simple images.