Looking For A Wow?
I have a few today; here is the first:
Is this amazing or what? Glass tiles are a wonderful material and they’re truly one of my personal favorites. As you can see in the picture above, glass opens up new ways to be creative. And glass tiles are often very colorful.
Not Just For Millionaires
Glass tile used to be really very costly, and much of it still is. But, you can find good glass tiles now for $5.00 – $10.00 per square foot. I know that’s still quite a bit, but this stuff is like Godiva chocolates, you don’t need to pig out to get some enjoyment!
One of the things I talk about often and really intend to focus on quite a bit is how to create an environment. I also talk about how to do more with less, especially in the current economy. Glass helps with that.
Glass Inspires a Feeling of Luxury
Even in small amounts glass tile can make you feel like you’re in an upscale resort! That’s what kind of environment I want to create! Don’t you? Look at this:
There is probably 150 square feet of glass in this bathroom, counting the shower, the counter, and the cool wrap around the mirror. If the cost was $3.00 per foot more than an alternative tile, you’re looking at $450.00 more in materials. Maybe less than that because glass tile usually does not need bullnose tiles at the edge, which can add substantially to the cost of a “normal” tile job. I think it’s worth the $$.
Just Do a Detail
Maybe you don’t want to rip out the whole shower! No problem, pick a small detail and try your luck with that.
This is a great way to start if you’re a part of our D.I.Y. Crew! Check out the tile around the mirror. Doesn’t that add some pizzazz! (not to change the subject, but now I want a pizza… I should have said it added flair!)
Anyway, back on point. A small job like this can be done in a total of maybe ten hours work max. Four or five on one day and a few on the next to grout it. Way cool!
You can apply a small amount of this directly on top of your drywall. You probably want to paint it with bonding primer first though.
Check with the tile supplier to make sure you’re using an adhesive that works well with glass tiles. Remember that the glass is transparent, so you want to keep the color of your setting material in mind. Don’t just grab the gray thin-set!
You Need Some Basic Tools
A notched trowel, some spacers, and good setting material are about all you need for a simple job like a mirror surround.
One thing to keep in mind is that glass is hard to cut, and REALLY hard to cut nicely. That’s why professional installation on this stuff can get pricy. You’re better off working out a layout that avoids cuts if you can.
Go Nuts with Color!
Glass is great about color. There are thousands of colors and the sheen of the glass makes them very vibrant.
Mix it In
One of my favorite tricks is to mix a few colored glass tiles in with either an all one color glass tile job, or into another material.
Like concrete! We’ll get into concrete counters and tables in the future, but just think about how a few small pieces of colored glass set into a concrete counter would look!
Nice color in this floor!
Make A Splash!
Glass tile makes a great wall splash!
How Creative Are You?
If you really want to get creative, this is the material for you. Maybe you want to make some waves:
The Grand Finale!
Look at this work of art:
WOW!
You can do this! It may take you a few weeks of nights, but wouldn’t it be worth it? You can draw out the pattern on the wall with a pencil to help guide you. Usually a job like this is set one tile at a time. If you look closely, you can see that this artist has used slices of natural stone, like geodes, in the pattern. Cool. And this is a wet bar, so more glasses!
How Cool is THAT!?
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
WOW…that is the adjective I keep coming up with on your blog
I LOVE glass tile and some day I want to do a mosaic glass tile backsplash on my kitchen wall. That bathroom floor is awesome! And I love the grey tile backsplash!
Mrs. Q’s last blog post..PhoTOTgraphy
Oh wait…wow isn’t really an adjective…ummm…it is too late to think of what word wow is…
Mrs. Q’s last blog post..PhoTOTgraphy
Beautiful! I love the idea of a small shower room with just a door way, arched of course, no door a small window & all glass tile. You know drain centered & floors pitched toward the drain. Although I really like the pebble floors too. Will have to choose… However the bath & upstairs is way in the future. Gotta get my mind back to the kitchen. =0) Maybe recycled glass counters in the kitchen??
Okay, the waves made me a little dizzy, but I’m LOVIN’ the glass tile, what about just a border to accent the plain white tiles that the builder used in my master bath?
Kimm at Reinvented’s last blog post..Saturday Shout Out
Great stuff here. Thanks for the inspiration! My favorite quote…”You don’t need to pig out to get the enjoyment.” Hee-hee.
I absolutely luuuuuuv your blog! Came across your site the other day and now have you on my google reader. We have lived in our house here in Overland Park, Ks for 16 years and the house itself was built in 1983. I am seriously wanting to update the inside but I have never so much as even used a paintbrush and the whole process of getting remodelers/designers/architects paralyzes me. I am hoping I will get courage to move on this soon because you are certainly causing serious house/home envy here.Thanks for starting this blog.
The first time I ever saw glass tile was at the Kohler Design Showroom in Kohler WI. The designer was Ann Sacks (google her she’s incredible)….and holy buckets was she expensive….great stuff but, pricey!
Thanks for the post. It’s great to see that the cost has come down.
Those last two photos are way cool. I never knew you could do anything like that!
Kelly | Purple Lemon Designs’s last blog post..Lemony Goodness
Just beautiful!!! I really want to take a tile class at Lowes or HD. Would that be enough training to be able to do a tile floor or backsplash?
Corey’s last blog post..Flashback Foto Friday
The timing on this article couldn’t be better! I have been checking out glass tile for a back splash behind a wall mount sink in my bathroom, as well as a back splash in my kitchen. Love the clean,
smooth look of glass.
Hi remodeling guy! I love the inspiring pictures you’ve shown us. Especially your comments about taking an ‘expensive’ item and using it to accent (like the glass tile just around the mirror).
I wanted to share a resource with you for all of the ‘crew’ who might be trying to pull together all of the inspiring pictures they’ve been finding. Its called polyvore.com (nester told us about it a little while back)… you can basically cruise around the internet finding pictures you love and using polyvore to collect them all together and create a collage of great items to inspire you.
HTH!
Cristy’s last blog post..
I didn’t even notice that one bathroom had glass tile on the counter! How cool would that be to do in my bathroom…you’ve got my wheels turning on this one
Mrs. Q’s last blog post..DIY:: Bring It Into the 21st Century!
I have a tiny bathroom off my kitchen. Above the pedestal sink is a wooden shelf that tops the wainscoting. The shelf is painted and we use it, but the paint is starting to chip. I was wondering how glass tiles would look? Tile would have to hold up better than the painted surface.
Denise’s last blog post..The Geek Squad hits Seattle
it’s amazing ,really a nice blog about glass tiles that tells all the creativity with glass tiles ,bathroom,kitchen,floors all looks nice and beautiful with glass tiles and the pics show the quality of glass tiles.
Do you have any more pics of the first bathroom shown with the aqua glass tile? It’s almost exactly the color of mine and I’d love to see what you did with it. I love the 2 pics you have there already!
(the aqua one called hotshower.jpg)
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